How the Pandemic Could Change the Workplace Beyond 2020

Summary

WSJ Your Money Briefing

Episode: How the Pandemic Could Change the Workplace Beyond 2020

Date: December 28, 2020
Host: J.R. Whalen (The Wall Street Journal)
Guest: Tom Gimble, CEO of LaSalle Network (staffing firm)

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Episode Overview

This episode explores how the COVID-19 pandemic has upended traditional workplace norms and what longer-term changes might persist as we move into 2021. J.R. Whalen speaks with Tom Gimble, CEO of the LaSalle Network, about shifts in remote work, staffing processes, performance reviews, mental health considerations, and how managers are redefining their roles amid unprecedented change. The conversation gives actionable insight for employees, managers, and companies preparing for "the new normal" post-pandemic.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Disappearance (and Return?) of the Traditional Workplace

• Remote Work as Temporary but Transformative
  • Tom Gimble notes that for many, "there isn't [a workplace] anymore...for a lot of companies in this virtual world." (01:40)
  • He cautions that this is "a temporary fix," rather than a permanent model for most organizations. (01:57)
• Balancing Needs of Different Roles
  • Organizations face challenges managing both essential in-person staff and those who can work remotely, requiring a new level of empathy and flexibility.

    "That’s the real challenge...balancing the necessity versus want and making sure people understand and respect each other’s situations." (02:45)

2. Company Culture and the Future of Remote Work

• Defining Company Culture in a Hybrid World
  • Firms will need to decide what they want their culture to be and “stand up for what they believe is right,” even against “employee wants and demands.” (03:08)
  • Key loss with remote work is “collaboration and onboarding of new employees.” (03:32)
  • Remote work might work “if you’re a company that's gonna stay the same size,” but “it’s very hard to collaborate and innovate when you're not together.” (03:52)

3. Changes in Staffing and Recruiting

• Expedited Recruitment Through Technology
  • The move to virtual recruiting and interviews has “expedited” the process and added convenience for both employers and candidates. (04:10–05:05)
  • Professionalism, even in a virtual setting, remains key—candidates now manage visual presentation with tools like virtual backdrops.

    "Now we’ve got a situation where people...can have a backdrop that’s completely different...that didn’t exist two years ago." (04:44)

  • Scheduling is much easier: “Jane can do it 24/7. She can do it now. And that's a huge advantage.” (05:33)

4. Performance Reviews in a Pandemic Era

• Varying Approaches to Reviews
  • Some companies make reviews a “rubber stamp process,” opting for minimal changes—“here’s a 3% raise if you can afford it, or here’s no raise because of what happened this year.” (05:56)
  • Others stick to normal procedures but move them online, which “works.” (06:28)

5. Navigating Raises: Emotional Intelligence Matters

• How to Ask for a Raise Post-Pandemic
  • Employees must be attuned to company finances and practice “emotional intelligence”—the ability to assess how your request will be received. (06:54)
  • “Every employee needs to look at what their contributions were for the year...If you can't eloquently list out those three things and show them how they added value to the company, you don't deserve a raise.” (07:45)

6. Mental Health and the Home Office

• Work and Life Are Intertwined
  • Tom advocates for managers understanding employees’ personal lives: “To really manage people the right way, you need to know what's going on in their life.” (08:27)
  • Isolation and blurred boundaries are a growing issue; top companies provide “telemedicine and therapy and mental social work...for their employees. It's crucial.” (09:18)

7. The Evolving Role of Managers

• New Challenges for Leaders
  • Pandemic management requires skills not taught in traditional training.

    “It’s almost like being great at your job and then...a great athlete in the playoffs...Because there's more pressure.” (09:41)

  • Managers are urged to seek out new learning and growth:

    "Every manager should be asking...what have I done outside of my job to get better?" (10:43)

  • Need to handle added stressors: emotional trauma, economic stress, social and racial inequalities. (10:00–11:00)

8. The Road Back: Return to Office and the Future Workplace

• Will Companies Require a Return?
  • Most firms will be “very aggressive at bringing people back into the office once the vaccine is in common distribution,” potentially by late Q2 of 2021. (11:18)
• Readapting to In-Person Work
  • Some employees may struggle with the transition back—not for health reasons, but with the noise, schedules, and basic routines.

    “It’s almost like having atrophy if you're laying in bed for six months and using your muscles again.” (12:15)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the remote work trend:

  “A lot of employees are going to push the envelope and say, pound the table. I demand to work from home. And…some leaders…[will say], here’s why we’re not going to do that.”
  — Tom Gimble (00:44, restated at 03:09)

• On collaboration and growth:

  “It's very hard to collaborate and innovate when you're not together.”
  — Tom Gimble (03:52)

• On interviews in a virtual world:

  “Now we've got a situation where…you can actually see somebody…Professionalism, even if it's from the waist up…and these fake backgrounds…that didn't exist two years ago.”
  — Tom Gimble (04:40)

• On emotional intelligence at work:

  "It's the number one skill that most people are lacking, and that is to understand how your question will affect people rather than just being a question with an answer pending."
  — Tom Gimble (06:54)

• On managing people during crisis:

  “It's almost like being a great athlete during the regular season and then being a great athlete in the playoffs…there’s more pressure.”
  — Tom Gimble (09:41)

• On returning to work:

  “It’s almost like having atrophy if you’re laying in bed for six months and using your muscles again.”
  — Tom Gimble (12:16)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:44 – The demands for remote work & company pushback
• 01:34–02:45 – Work location divides and management challenges
• 03:08–04:02 – Defining culture, challenges for collaboration and onboarding
• 04:10–05:41 – Technological acceleration in recruiting and hiring
• 05:50–06:39 – How performance reviews are changing
• 06:54–08:15 – Emotional intelligence in raises and self-advocacy
• 08:27–09:31 – Addressing mental health and isolation
• 09:41–11:07 – New pressures and required skills for managers
• 11:18–12:15 – Return to office, vaccine impact, workplace re-adjustment

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Conclusion

Tom Gimble paints a landscape where adaptability, emotional intelligence, and company culture will remain crucial as pandemic-driven workplace changes evolve into 2021. Remote work provided swift solutions but highlighted irreplaceable aspects of in-person collaboration. As companies prepare for wide vaccine distribution and a gradual return to the office, both employers and employees will need to “relearn” key business and life skills, making this transitional period a true test of resilience and growth for the modern workplace.

Transcript

[Deal Representative]

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[J.R. Whalen]

Here's your money briefing for Monday, December 28th. I'm J.R. whalen for the Wall Street Journal. The pandemic rewrote the rules of the workplace in 2020. Virtual meetings replaced conference room sessions and the commute was measured in steps, not miles. But as we enter 2021 and more companies plan how they'll reopen the office, both employers and their workers will adapt to a brave new world of workplace rules.

[Tom Gimble]

A lot of employees are going to push the envelope and say, pound the table. I demand to work from home. And you're going to have to have some companies and some leaders that stand up and say, here's why we're not going to.

[J.R. Whalen]

That's Tom Gimble, CEO of the LaSalle network staffing firm. Coming up, he'll discuss how the staffing process has changed and how the pandemic has thrust managers into uncharted territory. That's after the break. The home office took on a whole new meaning in 2020 after the pandemic forced most workers to set up their desks in their kitchen or living room. But what can we expect in 2021? Let's bring in Tom Gimble, CEO of the LaSalle network staffing company, for his thoughts. Tom, thanks for being here.

[Tom Gimble]

Good to be with you, J.R. so

[J.R. Whalen]

let's talk about the workplace and how it's changed this year. Seems like working remotely has affected pretty much everything.

[Tom Gimble]

Yeah, it's interesting. I would say that work has changed or the workplace has changed because there isn't one anymore for a lot of companies in this virtual world. But I think it's a temporary fix or a temporary situation. I don't think the long term solution will be remote work.

[J.R. Whalen]

So what's been required of companies and employers to adapt to this new world, you know, even though it might not be permanent?

[Tom Gimble]

Well, that's the really interesting thing that exists today. I mean, if you take something that we are all seeing and giving congratulations to, like the medical professional. Right. So what makes a hospital run? Well, there's the doctors and the nurses, but then there's also the administrative staff that greet the families and patients. And there's back office people, administrators and executives. And then there's billing departments and finance and marketing. And you have this competing set of criteria needed to do the job, and that is frontline workers in any industry, whether it's Garbage men or water department or whatever, and delivery drivers for food. And then you have the people that don't need to be in the office, and you have this intersection. And I think that's the real challenge that most companies have had are the people that have to be in the office and then those that don't, and trying to balance the necessity versus want and trying to make sure that people understand and respect each other's situations.

[J.R. Whalen]

Is there any precedent for all of this or any kind of a blueprint

[Tom Gimble]

we can look back on moving forward? I think it'll really be what companies want their culture to be and what companies are going to feel strong enough to stand up for what they believe is right and not bow to the pressure of employee wants and demands. And that's really the biggest challenge that we're going to have moving forward is a lot of employees are going to push the envelope and say, pound the table. I demand to work from home. And you're going to have to have some companies and some leaders that stand up and say, here's why we're not going to do that. And what really wanes during remote work is collaboration and onboarding of new employees. If you're a company that's gonna stay the same size with the same people and the same tenure, remote work may be okay, but it's very hard to collaborate and innovate when you're not together.

[J.R. Whalen]

Now, let's talk about the staffing process. Everything from how companies handle applications to the actual hiring. What changes did we see this year?

[Tom Gimble]

So that's been something that is really fascinating, and I think terrific, is that companies have realized that the recruiting and interview process can be expedited using technology. We all knew it before, oh, a million years ago was when I got into this business 20, well, not a million, 25 years ago, it was phone interviews. And people didn't like those because if somebody's voice wasn't great over the phone, and this was during the ages of landline, right, if somebody's voice wasn't good, they weren't as articulate, they were rushed, you couldn't see their facial recognition, all those types of things. Now we've got a situation where people just wanted to, you know, not literally touch, but where you could actually see somebody. And now what we've seen is the zoom meeting is a great initial step. And candidates know that they have to look in a professional way, even if it's from the waist up. And we've got these fake backgrounds in back of us that we can Do. So if our, if we live in a one bedroom apartment, we can have a backdrop that's completely different. Right. That didn't exist two years ago, five years ago, to have a simple thing like a fake background to make it look more professional. And then the aspect of, it's just an initial round interview so you can still bring people into the office. But now you can't say, well, Jane is traveling, so we gotta push this back three weeks. Well, guess what? Jane can do it 24 7. She can do it now. And that's a huge advantage to the process.

[J.R. Whalen]

You know, Tom, over the next several months, workers are probably going to be having their first performance review since the pandemic redefined the workplace. Are companies approaching reviews any differently these days?

[Tom Gimble]

It really depends on the company, I think, I don't think, I know because I talk to heads of HR and CEOs and CFOs every day. And there are going to be companies that really make it a rubber stamp process this year because they don't want to go through it. They don't want to have a million of these reviews and the lengthiness that goes through it. And it's an easy way to pass, go without collecting $200, so to speak, and say, you know, what business is, what business is, we start from scratch next year, here's a 3% raise if you can afford it, or here's no raise because of what happened this year. And everybody's going to bite their tongue and go along with it for the most part. And so other companies are doing the exact same process as they normally would. They're just doing it over zoom. And you know What? It works, J.R. it works.

[J.R. Whalen]

All right, let's talk about requesting a raise. Some people might be reluctant to bring up the topic since the pandemic has put a financial strain on many companies. But has the pandemic changed the way people approach their boss about a raise, you know, without sounding ignorant to company finances?

[Tom Gimble]

Well, it's a very good question, JR And I believe that this is really leads us to the topic of eq, or emotional intelligence. And it's the number one skill that most people are lacking, and that is to understand how your question will affect people rather than just being a question with an answer pending. And when we look at the answer of wanting more money, and in a time, really in any time, but in a time like this, is number one, is the company doing well? Are they in a good financial situation? Did the company. Now, you may not be privy to everything, but you usually are privy to one thing, and that is, did the company grow? Revenue doesn't mean they're not profitable. If they didn't, it just means if they did, they should be. Or how they're running, it may be off kilter. And that's a topic for another day. If that's the case, then you have a little bit stronger room to stand on. If they didn't but you feel that you excelled, you have to really understand, understand why you excelled. And this is the emotional intelligence part, junior, is every employee needs to look at what their contributions were for the year. It's almost like putting a resume together. What were you tasked with? What did you accomplish? What were the results? If you can't eloquently list out those three things and show them how they added value to the company, you don't deserve a raise. More or less have the comfort level to ask for one.

[J.R. Whalen]

And then there's the mental health of workers. The pandemic not only blurred the line separating work and life outside of work, it also left some people with a feeling of isolation. Is that something companies are becoming more sensitive to?

[Tom Gimble]

So I am on the side of life and work being meshed. So I never believed, you know, the 1960s, 1970s belief of keep your personal life personal and keep your work life at the office. I always thought that to really manage people the right way, you need to know what's going on in their life. Because health and wellness and family and marriage and divorce and children and parents, that leads to how your brain is functioning to be able to contribute at work. And the best managers know that now what's happened is being alone in a house or an apartment, working and living in the same space all day, every day. There are a lot of other issues, as we've seen through the news media and social media. And I think that the best companies I've seen have taken that into account and worked really hard. And I think the best thing a company can do is, if they can afford it, is to make sure that their insurance is working and providing telemedicine and therapy and mental social work and psychiatrist stuff for their employees. It's crucial.

[J.R. Whalen]

Now, let's talk about managers. I imagine the kinds of sudden changes we've seen aren't exactly covered in management training programs. So how has the pandemic changed the skills that managers need?

[Tom Gimble]

So the challenge facing managers are that being able to lead a group of people pre pandemic is completely different than this. It's almost like being great at your job and then are You a good manager or a bad manager, I'll give you an even better equivalent. It's being a great athlete during the regular season and then being a great athlete in the playoffs. And why is there a difference? Because there's more pressure. Every game's on national television. Lose or go home. And that's what we've been dealing with is managing people when there is huge trauma emotionally outside of their job. Then with the economic problems of April, May and June of managing people when business may not have been as good, and then trying to communicate to your boss and manage up during this crazy time and then throwing in the social and racial inequality issues we dealt with over the summer that still exists. They're just not in the forefront of the news media is really a challenging role. And the question is every manager should be asking is what have I done outside of my job to get better? What books have I read? What webinars have I attended? What classes have I signed up for? Because While there is 3 to 7% of the population that can handle things innately, the rest of us really need outside resources to help us do our jobs better.

[J.R. Whalen]

You know, the COVID 19 vaccine and the easing of work from home directives could make it easier for more companies to reopen their doors for employees in 2021. But that doesn't necessarily mean that they will. Right.

[Tom Gimble]

That's the $64,000 question to date us both, JR. Right. Is that will companies require people to come back in the office and if so, when? And I think the majority of companies are going to be very aggressive at bringing people back into the office once the vaccine is in common distribution, which I think it, it sounded like Dr. Fauci said that the vaccine will be in wide distribution to ordinary citizens in the April time frame, which means that come the end of the second quarter, I believe companies are going to be aggressively bringing people back into the office.

[J.R. Whalen]

And so how is that likely to change up the workplace ecosystem and how people interact?

[Tom Gimble]

I believe that the number of people that are in the workplace that are going to be uncomfortable returning, not because of the health scare, though that will be a small percentage. I think the idea of now working with a group of people again and the noise and the time management and getting to work and really basic things for adults are going to have to be quasi relearned. It's almost like having atrophy if you're laying in bed for six months and using your muscles again.

[J.R. Whalen]

All right, That's Tom Gimble, CEO of LaSalle Network. Tom, thanks for coming on the show.

[Tom Gimble]

Good to be with you. Thanks for having me and happy holidays.

[J.R. Whalen]

And that's your Money briefing. I'm J.R. whalen for the Wall Street Journal.

[Deal Representative]

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