On Wednesday, April 14, Axios national technology correspondent Kim Hart and managing editor Aja Whitaker-Moore unpacked how employers are rapidly reimagining their workforce for a post-COVID-19 world, featuring Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Twitch chief people officer Lenke Taylor.
Sen. Gillibrand discussed the impact of the pandemic on the workforce, highlighting the economic case for paid leave and supporting the workforce as a key piece of American infrastructure.
- On the Family Act in Congress, which calls for 12 weeks of paid family leave for any family member: “If we had had national paid leave in place, this pandemic would not have been so disastrous for working families. It would not have upended the careers of caregivers, resulting in over 2.5 women no longer employed."
- On the economic impact of paid leave: "We are the only industrialized country in the world that doesn't have paid leave, and it's a real drag on our economy because it means too many people have to leave the workforce to meet an urgent family need."
Lenke Taylor unpacked how Twitch has adjusted its work to the constraints of the pandemic and discussed the trends that will remain as businesses and offices reopen.
- How the pandemic has shifted norms around working from home: "Employees really value the flexibility that they've gotten during this period and they're looking for ways to continue to have that as we come out of the pandemic."
- On offices of the future: They will be places "for employees to connect face-to-face...[then] work remotely or flexibly from home to complete their work."
Axios' Chief People Officer Dominique Taylor hosted a View from the Top segment with Density co-founder and CEO Andrew Farah who discussed how to understand the utilization of space in offices and buildings, and how to maintain privacy.
- "We're talking about essentially laying new infrastructure that the pandemic has sort of mandated that will either serve us or serve to undermine us. I think that we ought to be very conscious about the type of technology we decide to deploy and under what conditions."
Thank you Density for sponsoring this event.