2020 has been a challenging year for everyone. Perhaps the biggest challenge for workers and companies is in managing economic needs whilst handling extreme change in working conditions. Many people and companies may have been thrown into remote working for the first time and are feeling out how best to implement and change procedures.

Our customers have been telling us there is a need for a tool which helps companies, managers and employees to know how best to cope with this extreme change. Whilst some people relish the opportunity to work alone, others may find the lack of structure adversely affecting their productivity and happiness. It is sensible to know the predispositions of your people and allow them to know themselves.

edease has teamed up with Dr. Steve Glowinkowski, a world leading psychologist, whose life’s work has been the study of what successful people do differently. He has worked both in academia and in industry working for, and consulting to, some of the world’s leading companies.

Dr. Glowinkowski has developed the GPI™ (Global Predisposition Indicator), a measure of how an individual prefers to behave rather than how an individual chooses to behave. GPI™ consists of 19 bipolar dimensions, all developed for and tailored towards application in a working environment. Whilst this broad array of dimensions give unparalleled detail for a measure of personality, they are combined in the GPI™ to produce three simple feedback models of everyday working life.

GPI™ data is utilised in a very practical way thus allowing even the most sceptical of psychometric clients to walk away and feel either that this is useful to them personally, their organisation, or both.

‍You can read the 'Developing GPI' paper here.

Supporting and managing individuals

The edease Coronavirus Response Tool uses GPI™ to assess the fundamental behavioural predispositions of an individual which provides a picture of who they are and how they are likely to react to situations. More specifically we see it as an accurate prediction of the individuals' reaction to the constraints and opportunities of the current environment. It can predict reaction to:

• the lack of structure caused through having to work from home;
• the impact of reduced colleague and team interactions;
• the impact of working alone;
• the strain of virtual communication;
• the impact of ambiguity or lack of clarity about the future;
• personal reaction to change; and
• managing stress and anxiety

By using the Coronavirus Response Tool it is possible to tailor the most appropriate form of management and support for each individual. This means that the mental health check-ins actually mean something. Vulnerable employees can have enhanced support and those that are less likely to need support don't feel as though they are being too highly managed.

Mitigating corporate risks

Uncertainty inherently causes problems and the Coronavirus Response Tool identifies risks for individuals or groups. We can work with leaders and HR teams to set plans to mitigate these risks and ensure that productivity and efficiency are maintained through the challenges that coronavirus is creating.

The future of work

Social distancing is likely to remain in place for some time and so the number of available seats in the office will be significantly reduced. We can work with companies to help craft their back to normality plans by identifying employees that are likely to be best suited for returning to the office and those for home working.