Four Seasons Before Lunch Gauteng (Pretoria)

 I have lived in Pretoria for half my life, but even at almost 50, l still am not ready for mornings like this . I step out of  home in the morning at 7 a.m., greeted by a warm, gentle breeze and sunshine so golden it felt like summer had arrived overnight. The sky was clear; the jacaranda trees glowed purple; the air smelled of warmth and possibility. “Perfect day,” l muttered, locking his door. By the time l drive out—five minutes later—the sky starts to be darkened. A cold wind came crawling in from nowhere, sweeping dust across the pavement. The temperature dropped so suddenly that  l have  to switch the heater for warmth. Laughing. “Ah, Pretoria… you never disappoint.” Halfway to the office, the heavens opened. Not soft rain— a storm . Sheets of water hammered the road, street gutters overflowed instantly, and distant thunder rolled like a grumpy giant waking up too early. People scattered, hiding under bus shelters already too full.  “Ten minutes ago...

One of South Africa’s biggest banks is making a permanent work-from-home shift

 

Nedbank has informed staff of a planned shift in its workforce structure, with a number of employees set to continue working from home after the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a notice sent to a number of employees last week, the bank said that envisages a ’60/40 split’ which will see only 60% of staff work from one of its campuses on any given day.

In an emailed response to BusinessTech questions, Nedbank said that the change is in line with its ‘digital-first and first in digital’ aspiration.

“Nedbank has been on a journey over the past few years, rethinking its operating model and ways of working to keep up with the changing world and world of work,” said Deb Fuller, group executive of Human Resources.

“Subsequently, Nedbank has gradually introduced new Ways of Work and incorporated flexible work practices.”

Now, due to Covid-19, many Nedbank employees are already doing some form of remote work, she said.

“This has given Nedbank an opportunity to accelerate its aspirations, scale its digital workplace in a way that delivers the greatest value for all stakeholders, as well as formally adopt a hybrid workforce model.”

A 60/40 split

Fuller said that Nedbank’s corporate real estate team has reviewed international research and that this will inform the bank’s post-Covid approach and its new ‘hybrid workforce’ model.

“For us, a ‘hybrid workforce model’ means that we will have a portion of our workforce who will remain working from a Nedbank office or branch based site, a portion of our staff who will work remotely and another portion of our staff that will follow a blended approach whereby they move between working at home and the office,” she said.

Fuller said that Nedbank’s property portfolio is planning to accommodate a 60/40 split of onsite/offsite workers to accommodate office-bound and remote workers in the offices.

“We believe that the role of many of our offices has changed. As such some of our staff will collaborate rather than work from behind a screen, which can be done from home.

“Nedbank’s new ways of working promotes an office environment of innovation and collaboration that consists of activity-based environments that are digitally enabled.

“Employees will book office space, meeting rooms or seats, according to the functions they need to perform while onsite,” she said.


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