by anupam kaura employeeworkplace relationships are no longer what they used to be the pandemics impact on the societal psyche has forced a rewrite of the old ordercompany boards ceos cxos human resource professionals and people leaders are still trying to make sense of two new and cardinal realities what are these and what do they mean for the future of worktake for instance the ongoing war for talent this is not a simple case of demandsupply mismatch there was a message in the great resignation wave of 2021 and it will be a mistake to view it as a blip in essence the wave was a rejection of old workplace paradigms and such waves can recur as well particularly in information technology services and the gig economy where long hours and demanding work conditions are a sine qua nonwhen the collective conscious of talent decides to trade off economic sustenance for health under trying conditions they are saying wellbeing is our priority number 1 and we are okay with making calculated resets in our livelihood means around thatand recall this is not the first time either there already exists a vast experienced talent pool that has traded monies and settled careers for a different lifestyle and mental physiological health employers would do well to recognise this significant shift in social prioritisation only by doing so can two further realities be acknowledgedone that employees will continue to look for workplaces that extend care and support to them hundreds of families lost their near and dear ones to the pandemic a lot of them bread winners many had to seek mental health treatment and stress management therapies and continue to do soif individuals chose to stay with their employers it was because they saw investments in their wellbeing during those difficult phases or they had no choice owing to financial compulsionsthats a seismic change from the prepandemic days so while boards leadership and hr teams learnt to rise to the occasion in extending care and empathy in 20202021 they should not be hasty in rolling those measures back when the need and expectations remain doing so might entail a significant social cost and potentially erode the goodwill faith and equity generated by employerstwo the lure of higher pay may no longer suffice to secure longterm commitment and loyalty workplace flexibility hybrid arrangements and availability of remote work options are playing an equally important factor now if not more compared with higher pay no matter the level of skillthis zeitgeist is even more pronounced in the west so while the war for talent stoked pay inflation temporarily it was accompanied by employers having to also incorporate workplace flexibility and hybrid or remote work arrangements as a talent attraction leverto be sure the pressure on pay inflation has subsided of late but demand for flexible work arrangements hasnt particularly in the services sector in sectors facing talent crunch for experienced resources this demand is more distinctno doubt the power