My name is Jeremy Spaulding and I have been a member of HFES for almost 20 years, have contributed to past conferences, and participated in several technical groups. An alternative role of mine to the one listed on my profile is COO of Evolve Impact LLC, a change management firm focused on wellness and well-being. (www.evolveimpact.com)
"From our first days in the modern workplace, we are taught to break apart problems, to fragment the world. We're told this makes complex tasks and subjects more manageable. But we pay a hidden enormous price. We can no longer see the consequences of our actions; we lose our intrinsic sense of connection to a larger whole.
There is a deeper movement toward realizing whole organizations and bringing our whole selves to work, part of the evolution of industrial society and a necessity in turbulent times. We see increased engagement around corporate wellness, team emotional intelligence and social awareness, diversity and inclusion, executive leadership vulnerability and respect for individual agency, creativity, happiness and dignity at all levels of an organization." ~Evolve's Team Development site
Part of what we do is organizational analysis and workplace design (physically, culturally, as well as socially). What we are now experiencing related to COVID is extreme and something we have never witnessed. I am sure I don't need to remind any of you of the severity and seriousness of this situation. This is a big global change, as well as a big global test, and the need for resiliency is greater than ever.
There is also another phenomenon that is occurring in real time. Digital/virtual interaction technology is being put to the test on a grand scale and communication, participation, and interaction are being equalized across organizations at all levels. Many large (corporate) organizations have globally geographically diverse teams familiar with digital interaction. Even in these environments there tends to be significant local (geographic) interaction beyond digital. For the majority of small and mid-size organizations, this is new. Even in the large organizations, this may be new for local teams.
I am reaching out to the human factors community to gain your insights (and maybe even practical assessment methods) regarding:
- How will this period of forced digital interaction change a given organization moving forward?
- What are some tools we can use to measure effectiveness, efficiency and interaction style for –
- Leadership
- Individuals and teams
- Organizational culture
- What effects this will have on embracing or overwhelming global team participation?
- How will our shifting social dynamics play out in a digital or virtual space?
- How are global and local organizations going to manage changes in workplaces due to this shift in social dynamics?
I would love to hear from you either in this forum or privately if you prefer. Thank you in advance and I look forward to your insights!
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Jeremy Spaulding
Founder + President
JMS Innovation and Strategy, LLC
Washington DC
+1.248.953.4372
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