Recently, I was a guest on CyberTheory’s “Cybersecurity Unplugged” podcast where I shared my perspectives on “How to Approach the Reality of Remote Work,” including:
- How we’re still unwinding the ramifications of the pandemic’s almost overnight shift to remote work and the rapid adoption of new technology most of us had not been using
- How the reintegration of the hybrid workforce is placing pressure on employees and how employers can stem the wave of resignations
- Security vulnerabilities and other technology concerns remote work has created
CyberTheory is a cybersecurity advisory firm. And while we certainly chatted about cybersecurity and technology, we discussed several current leadership and work issues.
Here’s a few highlights from our conversation:
- We have not come to terms with the fundamental shift and change in how we work. I’m seeing too much “slap a little remote work” around the traditional, placed-based work model. That’s not sustainable. We’ve worked too differently for nearly two years now to go back.
- Employees want to know why – why am I doing this? Why am I being asked to return to the office. Lots of three days onsite policies. But with no rhyme or reason why. Employees show up, but then they’re doing Zoom calls they could have done remotely from home. Days are driving the mandates instead of the work. There’s no planning, no coordination, no matching the tasks – the work — to the place.
- We can’t rely on HR alone to lead flexible work. We need HR at the table with the execs from tech, facilities and EHS. Because flexible work is not a policy, it’s an operating model. It’s ongoing change that encompasses people, place, space, technology, process and pace.
- Right now, we should optimize and experiment with new and flexible ways of working. Because we’re in dynamic transition period where we’re dialing up and dialing down the amount of onsite work. But that’s just one feature of a flexible operating model. That’s not a bug! It’s a benefit of flexible work, recalibrating, scaling up, scaling down as needed.
- Specific to technology: The pandemic and the need to work flexibly accelerated the adoption of technology as well as emerging pre-pandemic technology and cybersecurity issues. Now is the time to build consistency around who uses what technology when, how and why. That includes addressing data security and training everyone as a defender.
Listen to our full 30-minute conversation or read a transcript here.