People are rejecting corporate and government thinking on the ‘return to normal’ and want to keep the work-life-changes they have made under Covid-19 which lead to a ‘better normal’
A global survey by the Melbourne-based Centre for Optimism has found that the phrases ‘the new normal’ and ‘getting back to normal’ are dead in the water.
“Companies and government should rethink their return-to-work plans and communications and focus on a better normal,” says COO of The Centre for Optimism, Victor Perton.
“People don’t want a return to old ways or nebulous ‘new normal’; they have experienced better in the crisis and they want to benefit from change.
“People want more. The old normal was no longer working for most people with diminishing productivity and wage growth. Having weathered the Covid-19 crisis with better community spirit and optimism, they want better for their future and their children’s future.
“It’s now time for the public and private sectors to deliver more, engage more and include more people and communities in all their planning if they want to build on the goodwill they have achieved from their communities and customers. Authoritarian state-of-emergency rule is wearing thin.”
The online survey has attracted more than 500 people from 16 countries to express their views on what they want the future to be and more than 70 per cent said they want a ‘better normal’.
Overwhelming, they (57 per cent) also saw a ‘better normal’ for the country and their community.
“True leaders must use the lessons learned from Covid-19 to build a ‘better normal’ to reassure, strengthen trust and build confidence with realistic optimism,” says Robert Masters, chair of The Centre for Optimism.
“Crisis management planners need to ‘rethink’ the phase ‘back to normal’ or ‘business as usual’ and develop their strategies around how they can do better in their services, processes and procedures. This has now become the ‘trust building’ phase of crisis management. The old plans and thinking need to change. If we go back to the way things were, we will have lost the lessons.”
Supporting small business owners’ mental wellbeing in response to coronavirus
For help in planning for business continuity and preparing for recovery, Victorian small business owners can now access a free practical guide to creating a mental health plan in response to coronavirus (Covid-19).
Victorian Small Business Commissioner Judy O’Connell says that with the impacts of coronavirus being felt right across Victoria’s small business community, there has never been a more important time for business owners to think about their wellbeing.
“With many small business owners focused on trying to get their businesses through this difficult period and looking after their family and staff, they might not have prioritised their own mental health,” she says.
“Creating a mental health plan is one way to make sure they have practical strategies that they can call on to look after themselves and their staff.”
To develop the guide, the Victorian Small Business Commission consulted with Beyond Blue and drew on the experiences of small business owners with lived experience of overcoming mental health challenges.
“Our new guide helps small business owners to identify stressors that might come up, such as feeling overwhelmed over not being able to pay rent when they’ve had to significantly limit how they trade.”
Business owners can use the plan to help identify changes in themselves that signal when they might need extra support and actions they can take, such as staying connected with friends online and getting accurate information about supports, including for commercial tenants and landlords.
“Our guide comes with an easy to use template for small business owners to build their own plan with supports that meet their needs and suit their circumstances.”
Small business owners who are feeling worried or struggling to cope are encouraged to call Beyond Blue’s coronavirus mental wellbeing support service (1800 512 348) at any time to speak with a trained counsellor.
Woolworths Group awards shares to more than 100,000 team members
More than 100,000 Woolworths Group team members in Australia and New Zealand will be given an ownership stake in the company as recognition for their extraordinary efforts and contribution during a year of unprecedented challenges.
Each eligible full-time team member within the Group will receive up to $750 of Woolworths Group shares for them to keep or sell in the future, with part-time eligible team members allocated shares on a pro-rata basis. These shares are available to those employed prior to 1 March 2020 and who do not already participate in the Group’s short-term incentive schemes (STI).
As a result of this offer, Woolworths Group will have the largest number of shareholder team members in the Australian and New Zealand markets. The intention to make recognition awards to team members was first announced in the F20 Q3 sales announcement on 30 April 2020.
“From protests in Hong Kong, droughts and bushfires in Australia to the devastating volcanic activity in New Zealand and finally Covid-19, we have pulled together as a team to support each other, our customers and the communities in which we live and operate,” Woolworths Group CEO, Brad Banducci, says.
“This has taken an enormous amount of hard work and dedication and through our collective commitment we have indeed lived our purpose of creating better experiences together for a better tomorrow.
“We could think of no better way to thank and recognise our team than by making them shareholders in our Group.
“The awarding of shares is not only recognition for our team’s efforts over the last year, but also acknowledgement that our team has a critical role to play going forward as we all adjust to the new normal.”
All Australian full-time and part-time team members who were employed prior to 1 March 2020 and who do not participate in the Group’s STI, will also receive $250 in Team Member PlusCard credits. Australian casual team members employed prior to 1 March 2020 will receive $100. The PlusCards will be available to spend like a gift card in Woolworths supermarkets, Metro, BIG W and BWS stores.
Casual team members in Australia who joined the Group on or after 1 March 2020 to assist in helping the Group navigate the Covid-19 demand surge will be able to keep their team discount until the end of December of this year, irrespective of whether they stay with the group or not.
