Anticipated hazards and AI predictions five years after COVID-related lockdowns conclude
Rewritten Article:
Business leaders are reflecting on the five-year anniversary of COVID-19 lockdowns, examining the post-pandemic impact on people, risk, and capital. While pursuing growth, they're also managing risks and opportunities in a rapidly evolving world.
Here's an update on the predictions made about the post-pandemic business landscape:
- Risk Is the New Normal - Effective leaders realize risk has become a cornerstone of business decisions, a trend that seems here to stay. The intricate risk landscape, as revealed in Willis Towers Watson's (WTW) Emerging Risks Survey, shows no signs of slowing down. The increases and multifaceted occurrences of high-impact risks necessitate a firm grip on an interconnected "portfolio" of risks at the enterprise level. This portfolio includes environmental, geopolitical, health, financial, supply chain, talent shortages, and human capital risks, among others. The role of the Chief Risk Officer has grown increasingly important at the board and management level, aiming to create flexibility and minimize risk across the organization.
- Remote and Hybrid Work Models - A landscape shift, COVID-19 didn't create remote work completely, but it greatly transformed it. Before the pandemic, about 350 million people were working remotely worldwide, making up roughly 10% of the global workforce. During the pandemic, this number grew to approximately half to two-thirds of the global workforce, globally. Despite initial expectations of most workers returning to workplaces post-pandemic, with about one-third remaining remote, recent research by WTW indicates a more diverse work arrangement. Around 31% of employees work on-site 80% of the time, while 19% are remote 80% of the time. The remaining 50% are hybrid, blending on-site and remote work. Most companies require employees to be in the office for a minimum number of days each week, with less than 5% completely prohibiting remote work. Effective leaders navigate this new terrain, considering the unique factors within their organizations.
- The "Great Resignation" to Permanent Talent Shortages - Effective leaders focus on building desirable workplaces, regardless of circumstances. While many predicted that the "Great Resignation" would subside and labor markets would stabilize, they have remained more stable compared to the past five years. Permanent demographic shifts, such as a "baby bust", have caused prolonged talent shortages in certain jobs, skills, and geographies.
- ESG and Sustainability - Effective leaders analyze their jurisdiction and set of stakeholders, reducing ideological rhetoric, and targeting relevance and impact on their business performance and risk. The pandemic impacted corporate approaches to topics related to climate and DEI. Some doubled down, continued efforts, while others reduced emphasis or eliminated focus on ESG altogether.
- Employee Wellbeing and Organization Resilience - During the pandemic, effective leaders learned to prioritize employee wellbeing, recognizing its connection to a healthy, resilient organization. They continue this focus beyond the pandemic through a comprehensive view of resilience, connecting financial, operational, and workforce dimensions. WTW's 2024 Global Directors and Officers Survey Report identified health and safety as the top risk category across more than 50 countries. WTW research also demonstrated the positive impact of employee wellbeing on key talent retention, productivity, and financial performance.
- Technological Renaissance - Effective leaders learned during the pandemic that technological advancements often follow pandemics. Post-COVID, technologies like generative AI, the metaverse, spatial computing, and quantum computing have seen rapid development and adoption. While these technologies open new opportunities, effective leaders understand the need for new skills and knowledge to maximize their potential and protect their organizations.
- As the Great Resignation persists due to permanent demographic shifts, such as a baby bust causing talent shortages in certain jobs, skills, and geographies, effective leaders focus on creating desirable workplaces to retain employees.
- In a rapidly evolving world, the role of the Chief Risk Officer has grown increasingly important at the board and management level, aiming to create flexibility and minimize the impact of risks associated with environmental, geopolitical, health, financial, supply chain, talent shortages, and human capital risks, among others.
- Despite the increases in risk seen in the intricate risk landscape, as revealed in Willis Towers Watson's (WTW) Emerging Risks Survey, business leaders are navigating the trajectories of hybrid and remote work models, considering unique factors within their organizations. The polarization in work arrangements shows no signs of slowing down, with about 31% of employees working on-site 80% of the time, while around 19% are remote 80% of the time.