Aradhana Khowala, chief executive and founder of consultants Aptamind Partners told the conference in Manila 25% of those in travel were thinking about changing jobs in 2023 and had greater negotiating power since the pandemic.
Nelson Boyce, Google’s managing director of travel, added Five-zero – meaning five days in the office, was dead: “We are absolutely not going back to what it was before.”
He added Google benefited from the level of engagement on its campuses, but now offered staff the opportunity to work from home two days a week or the chance to work from a remote location for part of the year. “It is going to be the new norm,” he said.
Michael Brown, chief executive of Travel + Leisure, which includes Wyndham, said his brands were trialling a new approach.
“The way we have decided to go, which I’m pretty convinced is not the right way, is the first two days of the week, everyone in, the third day is up to the department head. I agree 100% we will not return to the five-zero paradigm.”
Brown warned ‘Generation Z’ and millennials had high expectations about employers, preferring those that communicated well with staff and not just with shareholders. He urged “authentic leadership, not the hierarchical approach”.
All agreed video conferencing was here to stay. J.D. O’Hara, Internova Travel Group chief executive, added: “It seems like a regular phone call is almost impolite. Zoom is a wonderful tool, it allows you to foster relationships, but I think it is very difficult to build new ones.”
He admitted there were issues with productivity when working from home on some days. “I think Friday certainly I would be guilty of gearing up for the weekend.”
However, the panel agreed workflow in the evenings had increased as families put children to bed.
O’Hara said the savings made by downsizing offices could be invested in staff instead.
