Worklogic Directors, Jodie Fox and Jason Clark reflect on 2021.
I feel like it was just the other day I was reading my colleague Melanie Roberts’ blog on how to navigate the silly season in 2020 after the COVID lockdowns. Fast forward a year later and you could be forgiven for thinking that 2021 was, despite our hopes that it wouldn’t be, a carbon copy of the year before.
Thinking back over the year, we had to navigate a lot this year: more economic, employment and business uncertainty, managing workplace cultures in a remote working environment and of course, the issues of COVID vaccination in the workplace. Along the way though we saw the emergence of the Fair Work Commission’s ‘stop sexual harassment’ regime and more recently the release of the Australian Human Rights Commissions report into the review of the culture of Commonwealth Parliamentary Workplaces, which was certainly a sobering read.
This year was certainly a roller coaster ride again and as the festive season creeps up upon us, and we wearily approach the finish line for 2021, I think we can look back and slap ourselves on the back for getting through it again and start to look to 2022 with a great deal of positivity.
For me, 2022 offers opportunities to find new ways to do business and new people to collaborate with. It also offers the chance to reboot the workplace culture while also assisting other organisations to reboot theirs and to discover new ways to promote an agile and hybrid workforce.
I want to wish you all a very safe and enjoyable festive season and look forward to seeing you all in 2022.
– Jason Clark, Worklogic Director
Time to reflect feels like a luxury that sometimes we can’t afford, but if the ups and downs of the last two years have taught us anything it is to appreciate things before they change again! Reflecting back on the last year I am filled with admiration and gratitude. Gratitude for my resilient, positive and real colleagues at Worklogic who have worked so hard and supported each other to do a brilliant job for our clients. Admiration for our clients, CEOs, HR professionals, line and team managers who were the glue holding their organisations together and who have worked to support employees personally and professionally so that services and products could still be delivered throughout the pandemic.
I also reflect on the things we have learned over the last year or so. The different ways of working together, of getting work done and of managing people who are physically scattered, give me a sense of optimism and positivity. We have seen a new recognition from business that employees are first of all people, with friends, families, communities, interests, pets, sports and all sorts of other things that enrich their lives. The ‘digital transformation we had to have’ has opened so many more possibilities about the way we work, the talent we can tap and the opportunities for people to better balance work with the rest of their lives. There are new risks here too, but I see businesses looking at these with clear eyes and an intent to manage with a focus on the best outcomes for the business rather than on time served at a desk in the city.
We have come so far and achieved an enormous amount which leads me to my final wish for this time of year – that we take some time out to rest. To allow all of the thinking and new ways of working to sit for a while and take some time away from work in relaxation and time with friends and family. We have all deserved a rest this year and 2022 will be all the better for it.
Worklogic wishes you and your families a wonderful and relaxing festive season and we hope to see you renewed in the new year, ready for what 2022 may bring.
-Jodie Fox, Worklogic Director.
