‘Return is the wrong word. That world is gone’: Unilever chief HR officer foresees a new, flexible era for office workers post-COVID

“Return is the mistaken phrase — that world is gone,” she stated Thursday in a Washington Put up reside broadcast on the way forward for work. “You’re going ahead and adapting positively to a brand new world.”

Unilever has been utilizing the pandemic as a time to experiment with new work fashions. For example, in New Zealand, it’s 9 months right into a year-long, four-day workweek experiment for some 90 staff who’re based mostly there.

Equally, Kickstarter introduced in June that it’s going to run a four-day workweek experiment next year.

The corporate’s CEO, Aziz Hasan, stated that the pandemic motivated him to implement a four-day workweek experiment, an thought he had mulled earlier than the pandemic.

Nair additionally stated Unilever is testing out a versatile working mannequin referred to as U-Work within the U.Okay. the place staff can elect to work for the corporate for a few months of a yr and discover one thing else within the remaining months.

“The COVID occasions have proven us that we are able to attempt to be extra versatile than we’ve been up to now,” Nair stated.

That stated, Unilever nonetheless believes “within the energy of workplaces” which Nair stated is particularly helpful for collaboration and boosting worker morale.

Whether it is secure to take action, Nair stated Unilever expects its 150,000 staff throughout 190 international locations “to be at work at their office at the least 40% of their time.”