The COVID-19 pandemic forced nearly five million Canadians to leave their typical work locations by mid-March. Months later, many continue to work from home and wonder what the future holds for remote work.

On Wednesday, June 10 at 11 a.m., a panel of senior executives will share their thoughts on the topic as part of the next Business Breathers webinar, “Working from home: Insights into the new norm.”

Business Breathers is a free weekly webinar series facilitated by the Goodman School of Businesses’ Goodman Group, featuring 30 minutes of live industry and faculty expert-led discussions, followed by a 15-minute question-and-answer period. Topics focus on leadership, management and innovation, as well as the financial and social impacts of trending topics.

This week, Goodman School of Business Lecturer Glenn Skrubbeltrang will be joined by Roger Favero, Executive Vice-President Data and Technology for HomeEquity Bank, and Jason O’Halloran, Partner with S+C Partners, who will discuss their experiences of leading employees in a work-from-home environment, the benefits and drawbacks of working remotely, and their insights into how their companies will address continued interest in employees working from home.

“There is going to be a push from a profit perspective to encourage people to continue working from home,” Skrubbeltrang said. “Less people in the office means you can free up overhead and not have to pay high rent.

“As creatures of habit, we get stuck in the ways we’ve always done it. For most of us, this meant going into the office to work. It takes a big change to shake up the way we think about things. I’m curious to know if people’s rationale on working from home has changed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.”

Although the Business Breathers webinars are intended for the Niagara business community of entrepreneurs and leaders, everyone is welcome to participate, including Brock University students, alumni, faculty and staff.

Interested participants are asked to register online. A confirmation email will provide a Lifesize link to access the webinar at the date and time it is planned.

Upcoming Business Breathers:

Working from home: Insights into the new norm
Glenn Skrubbeltrang, Lecturer, Goodman School of Business, will lead a panel discussion with Roger Favero, Executive Vice-President Data and Technology for HomeEquity Bank, and Jason O’Halloran, Partner with S+C Partners.
Wednesday, June 10 at 11 a.m.

Understanding distributed leadership
Presented by Camille Rutherford, Vice-Provost, Strategic Partnerships and International, Brock University
Wednesday, June 17 at 11 a.m.

COVID-19: Good governance or a good crisis for governance?
Presented by Samir Trabelsi, Professor, Goodman School of Business
Wednesday, June 24 at 11 a.m.

Recordings available for past webinars:

Leadership presence
Presented by Barbara Devine, CEO and Founder of Impact and Performance

Managing through the unimaginable
Presented by Andrew Gaudes, Dean, Goodman School of Business

The ethics of exploiting loopholes
Presented by Paul Dunn, Professor, Goodman School of Business

Brave new worlds: How augmented reality transforms marketing
Presented by Joachim Scholz, Assistant Professor, Goodman School of Business