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The Workplace Does Not Mean Going Back, but Forward in the Post-COVID World

COVID-19 is an onramp to a new way of working.

This is a fairly short article to get your brain juices flowing on the future of work in a post-pandemic world: "These are the skills you need to be successful in a hybrid environment."

There will not be a single model for what it means to "go to work." We are not going back to what was, but rather going forward in multiple directions simultaneously. This will be a dynamic era in the culture of work. While businesses are willing to experiment, I don't see the same happening immediately in the government world. 

Likely business will have to lead the way and government will drag its feet with an HR rope tied around the leaders' necks. Labor agreements will be another dynamic to consider as we move forward. "Working conditions" are a negotiable aspect of most labor contracts. 

It will be an interesting time for thinking about what it means to "go to work." 

Eric Holdeman is a contributing writer for Emergency Management magazine and is the former director of the King County, Wash., Office of Emergency Management.