Meet Asia Flores!

 

Transcript

Hello everyone! My name is Asia Flores, and I am part of Cohort X of the Lockheed Martin Leadership Institute. We have been working hard these past few months on our upcoming conference: #Reimagine Collaboration: Navigating the Evolving Workplace. I am excited to share some of the key takeaways from Washington Post’s recent webinar titled Future of Work: Collaboration & The New Job Market with Jared Spataro & Heather Boushey. As you can tell from the title, this webinar was broken up into two parts, which is how I will be structuring my discussion of the webinar today.

First, Jared Spataro, who is the Corporate Vice President of Modern Work at Microsoft, came on to talk about what has been called the “Hybrid Paradox”, which is a term that has been used to describe worker’s simultaneous desire to maintain the flexibility that they were given in the workplace during the pandemic while also expressing a desire to engage in more in-person collaboration. So obviously, these things seem kind of mutually exclusive.

Mr. Spataro says that one key aspect of addressing this paradox is how we define the word “hybrid” itself. For Microsoft, they look at hybrid working as not simply just flexibility in the location in which you work, but also the times you work and even how you work. To address these key needs of workers, Microsoft has decided to implement a 50% in-person reintegration to the workplace. So, workers must come into the office at least 50% of the time, but for the other 50%, they may work in any capacity they choose without needing to notify their manager. So they have complete control over the remote aspect of their jobs. And the reason Microsoft decided upon this model is because, according to their Work Trend Index study of over 31 countries, 30,000 people, 73% hoped to have jobs where employers allowed them to maintain the flexibility they had during the pandemic, but at the same time, 67% of them wanted more in-person collaboration.

When it comes to logistics in terms of what it will look like when employees do come into the workplace, Mr. Spataro said that those sorts of decisions will be pushed as far down as possible, most likely to the Corporate VIce President Level, as there is variation in the kinds of work different employees are doing that will affect what in-person models will make the most sense. Some common examples that have been used at Microsoft include neighborhood seating, which include an assigned workspace that you come to when you work in-person, and others include a hotel-type system where you sign up for an available space on the days you wish to go into work.

Next, they talked a little bit more about the changing expectations of workers as a result of the pandemic. As I’m sure everyone can relate to, a lot of people ended up spending a lot more time working over the pandemic because it wasn’t totally clear when the workday started and ended. There wasn’t that commute time that sort of separates our professional lives from our personal lives, and a lot of people had a hard time “shutting off” their work. Workers actually ended up spending 150% more time in meetings, and about 30% of them said that they felt completely exhausted from work. So, people are definitely feeling burnt out in the aftermath of this pandemic. To combat this, Microsoft has implemented a new application called “Insights” that tracks wellbeing, burnout, making sure that employees are getting enough time to speak with their manager, etc. and they’re hoping this will help them to monitor employee’s maintenance of that ever-important work-life balance. In addition to this, Jared equates the pre-pandemic worker as running on a treadmill where they don’t control the incline or the speed, but both of which are being increased by their employer without their input. At the height of the pandemic, when everything was fully remote, people were given a chance to slow down and reflect about what they truly wanted. Coming out of this time of self reflection, it was found that 41% of employees were planning to leave their current employer within the next 12 months and 46% of employees wanted to move house, so a geographical relocation. And these numbers are both much higher than we have seen in the past. So clearly, this nationwide trend that we’re seeing of labor shortages is connected to people’s reevaluation of what they desire from their professional lives.

As for the future of technology, Mr. Spataro mentioned that he believes that the next step after companies adopt the hybrid model in the workplace will be the merging of digital spaces with physical spaces, so things like the establishment of holograms and a metaverse and things of that nature. While it seems a little out there, it is definitely possible in the near future and the data that Microsoft has collected when pilot testing their new program, Viva, shows that people will prefer an avatar over a camera when interacting with others virtually. So, there are definitely some big changes coming to the workplace as a result of the pandemic, which has totally sped up the process of digital transformation like we never thought possible.

Now, for the second part of this discussion, I will be overviewing the key insights from White House Economic Council Advisor Heather Boushey. Ms. Boushey did mention that there has been an average of 600,000 jobs gained per month since President Biden took office and that the unemployment rate is again below 5%, so overall, the country is trending toward economic recovery again. She noted that a key aspect of getting workers back into the workplace and to recovering the economy is that we reach our target vaccination rates so that consumers feel safe participating in their usual activities again, and workers feel safe returning to the workplace, and this is an idea that has been unanimously agreed upon by economists.

Ms. Boushey also mentioned that benefits for workers such as paid parental leave, access to affordable, quality care for children, the elderly, and disabled individuals will play a large role in empowering people to participate in the workforce, particularly women, who typically are expected to take on this role of caretaker. And lastly, when asked about what has been termed “The Great Resignation”, referring to the large number of workers who have left their jobs in the aftermath of the pandemic, she attributes this to workers feeling they have more options to choose from in regards to their professional careers, and tying in what Jared Spataro had to say, businesses that better adapt to a hybrid workplace model and make flexibility and mental health a priority for their employees will be strongly favored by workplace talent for years to come.

So there, you have it! Hopefully you learned something about the evolving landscape of the workplace and the future of the labor market, I know I did! Thank you for watching and stay tuned for more from Cohort X and our #Reimagine Collaboration Conference!

Bio

I am from Orland Park, IL, a suburb about 30 minutes south of Chicago. I am majoring in bioengineering with minors in electrical engineering and neuroscience.

I decided to major in engineering because I love the idea of being able to apply what I’ve learned in school to solve real issues and make a positive impact on the world and the people around me. I chose bioengineering and my minors with the goal in mind that I would like to develop better medicinal and therapeutic treatments to treat mental illnesses and neurological disorders. These areas of study will empower me to think critically about how to apply learned concepts to develop solutions to hardships faced by people on a daily basis, and this opportunity to improves the lives of others is what makes me happy to be an engineer. I was inspired to join the Lockheed Martin Leadership Institute because I believe that engineering goes beyond technical knowledge and requires you to be creative, think on your feet, and collaborate well with others, and this organization equips you with the soft skills needed in order to be an effective and impactful leader. I look forward to developing as a leader throughout by time with the institute and applying my learnings throughout my various roles on campus.

Since I started at Miami University in 2019, I have been heavily involved with Engineers Without Borders. I was excited by the opportunity to be hands-on in developing projects that make a positive impact on others. Being involved in this organization has taught me greatly about the importance of being educated on and respectful of other cultures and how to effectively collaborate with others. I am excited to continue to develop my role as leader in the organization. I have also been a part of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Action Team here at Miami since August 2020. Since then, I have been working with other students, faculty, and staff to identify measurable ways to improve our campus and make it an inclusive place for everyone. I look forward to seeing our progress as time goes on. I also enjoy being a part of the Grand Challenge Scholars program, LSAMP, and the Honors college at the university as these programs allow me to collaborate with others and push myself to improve as an individual.