Many employers and employees struggle with the issue of the safe workplace in these bizarre Corona times.

And that is not a Dutch problem, I travel a lot in Europe for business and I notice that this is experienced as a problem everywhere.

From an employer’s perspective, I personally think it is very important that there is freedom of choice for employees, regardless of how much I would like to welcome them back to the workplace ‘live’. Apart from the fact that I sorely miss these real contacts, there is also a business side to it. Teams flourish better when people can actually meet each other; this promotes team spirit, creativity and connectedness.

And the employees themselves are tired of working (just) at home, they also miss the personal contacts, the moments at the coffee machine, etc. But, they also want to work safely. Some ask if the entire team has been vaccinated – employers don’t know that and they can’t/don’t want to enforce that information.

All in all, a struggle for many companies and their employees to shape the new normal. However, we are almost unanimously agreed that this pandemic has also taught us that more is possible remotely than many people have always thought.

But there also seems to be a consensus that a mix of remote working and physical teamwork will be the future; in what proportions, there are quite different opinions. There is no clear line in this, either nationally or internationally.

The dichotomy that threatens to arise between vaccinated and unvaccinated people is already becoming visible in society and will hopefully not become more manifest and certainly will not spread to the employer/employee landscape.

Getting the effects of the pandemic under control is a collective responsibility and the only correct way to implement this in a sustainable way.

The extremely flexible way in which we have all dealt with this unprecedented disruptive intervention in our lives gives confidence for the future.

Luctor et Emergo – I struggle and emerge