Editor’s note: The Skinny blog is written by WRAL TechWire co-founder and Editor Rick Smith

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – Welcome to the “new normal” in the workplace – which is pretty much still the same when employees talk about their bosses. The upper crust lives in a different reality despite the wrenching changes taking place across the global economy due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

So says a new study from IBM: “COVID-19 and the Future of Business.” We can look forward to never-ending change. No going back. Exciting times, scary times.

Didn’t Dickens say something about that?

Business is as divided in attitude as in pay. For example, a recent Economic Policy Institute study found that top execs are paid on average 320 times as workers at the top 350 firms in the US. And the problem of attitude is global since IBM surveyed execs worldwide.

Bosses tell IBM’s Institute for Business Value that they are adapting to the pandemic by acclerating transformation of their companies – from more digitalization to improved worker safety.

Rick Smith is editor and cofounder of WRAL TechWire

Employess say bunk to that.

“Leaders surveyed called out organizational complexity, inadequate skills and employee burnout as the biggest hurdles to overcome – both today and in the next two years,” the study says.

But there’s a “significant disconnect” between those surveyed in the executive suite and on the front line:

  • The bosses: 74% of executives “believe they have been helping their employees learn the skills needed to work in a new way”
  • The workers: 38% of employees agree
  • The bosses: 80% of executives “are supporting the physical and emotional health of their workforce”
  • The workers: Only 46% of employees surveyed “feel that support”
  • The bosses: 86% say they are spelling out new normal guidelines
  • The workers: 51% concur

Are you – be honest, now – surprised? (Workers say some companies do in fact have good leadership, as we reported in this post. Note which companies aren;t on the list.)

Here’s a chart from the study that spells out in graphic terms the divide:

IBM graphic

Bosses tell IBM that the biggest obstacles to change in the days of COVID are “organizational complexity, inadequate skills and employee burnout.”

But 66% of the 3,800 execs surveyed say they are pushing ahead with initiatives now that would have encountered resistance pre-COVID.

So are workers adapting – or surrendering to the invesitable? Think about that.

How about job security as digital becomes more important with artificial intelligence and machine learning?

As the following chart notes, bosses are at least more concerned about workforce safety and security than other issues such as customer retention and digital transformation:

IBM graphic

But more technology is coming.

Notes the study:

  • Prioritization of AI technology will increase by 20 percentage points
  • 60% of executives surveyed say they have accelerated process automation, and many will increasingly apply automation across all business functions
  • 76% of executives surveyed plan to prioritize cybersecurity – twice as many as deploy the technology today.

But IBM warns: Don;t forget people.

“As executives increasingly invest in cloud, AI, automation and other exponential technologies, IBM recommends leaders should keep in mind the users of that technology – their people. These digital tools should enable a positive employee experience by design, and support people’s innovation and productivity.”

‘Empathetic leadership’

So can the divid be bridged and workers provided training and opporunity in this “new normal”?

“For many the pandemic has knocked down previous barriers to digital transformation, and leaders are increasingly relying on technology for mission-critical aspects of their enterprise operations,” said Mark Foster, senior vice president of IBM Services about the study.

“But looking ahead, leaders need to redouble their focus on their people as well as the workflows and technology infrastructure that enable them – we can’t underestimate the power of empathetic leadership to drive employees’ confidence, effectiveness and well-being amid disruption.”

Some recommendations

What to do?

“To address this gap, IBM recommends executives place deeper focus on their people, putting employees’ end-to-end well-being first. Empathetic leaders who encourage personal accountability and support employees to work in self-directed squads that apply design thinking, Agile principles and DevOps tools and techniques can be beneficial. Organizations should also think about adopting a holistic, multi-modal model of skills development to help employees develop both the behavioral and technical skills required to work in the new normal and foster a culture of continuous learning,” IBM says.

Here are some suggestions from the report:

“In the race for competitive advantage, it is imperative that organizations react in real time—that is, now—to navigate this new environment. Businesses need to take action in three critical areas in order to survive and flourish.”

Key points include:

  • Lead, engage, and enable the workforce in new ways with inspirational leadership. Provide support for more flexible work options (like hybrid models of remote and in-office work). Emphasize employees’ mental health and well- being, and skills development. All this can help in driving trust, binding the right talent to the organization long-term post-pandemic.
  • Apply AI, automation, and other exponential technologies to make workflows more intelligent. Focus on supply chain resiliency, cybersecurity, and adoption of automation and AI.
    Improve operational scalability and flexibility, including the prioritized use of the hybrid cloud and moving more business functions to the cloud.
  • This new world permits no time for complacency or nostalgia. There is no going back to what used to pass as normal. The risks and opportunities are too great; the stakes too high. Executives need to prepare their businesses for ongoing uncertainty, inevitable disruption, and never-ending change.

Are you saying to yourself: “Too bad time travel isn’t available yet.”

Workers speak: These 15 firms have best leadership teams – and some big names aren’t on it