For years now, well-meaning diversity and inclusion statements, visions, policies etc have invited us to be our ‘true selves’ at work. But how many of us have really taken this seriously? Nice words, well-meaning, but often not really practical or embedded.
The answer of course, does depend somewhat on where you work and the workplace culture. My brother works for an uber cool gaming company, and he definitely doesn’t have a ‘work wardrobe’ and an ‘out of work’ wardrobe. But for those of us working in, or with the large corporates, or even many smaller SMEs, this is often not the case. We have to put on a work-outfit and a work mindset when we go to the office. As a ‘gen-x’, I have always been very comfortable with a line between work and home.
Covid-19 has not only blurred this line, it’s completely erased it. This is yet another example of disruption in the workplace that, pre Covid would’ve taken years to achieve. In the second week of lockdown, I was running an online workshop for a big corporate client with around 50 people attending, when my 11-year-old son appeared behind me. He asked me what I was doing, I explained, he waved and said hello and got lots of hellos back.
And it was completely cool, no one minded, least of all me.
In a pre Covid world, I admit I would have been mortified at my display of unprofessionalism, but now this is ok. I have been running some leadership workshops this week with a client to explore what post-Covid leadership looks like. One of the topics which keeps coming up, is that we’re just as productive when wearing a t-shirt and shorts, which would be a big no-no in many UK workplaces. And it’s not just about the dress code. The fact is, this new way of working is humanising our workplace, which for many of us is now a place that straddles our home and an online space via Zoom or Teams.
In this new world, we get to see the person behind the email. We see washing hung out to dry, art on walls, different wallpapers, tidy bedrooms, messy kitchens, full bookshelves and more. We meet our colleagues’ kids, pets and housemates. We see the reality behind the work-persona, which may be a complete surprise. I think this new world is helping to build understanding of each other and empathise more.
I hope this way of working is at last enabling us to be more authentic to who we are, and finally allowing us to be our true selves at work. As always, I’d love to hear what you think, has this been your experience? Get in touch
