It has been a year since Covid-19 transformed our businesses, upended our personal lives and altered our way of being in the world. While we are all beyond ready for things to get back to normal, the transition will not be easy despite the eagerness we feel. “The light at the end of the tunnel,” as one consultant put it, “could be just an oncoming train.” The business world as we know it is headed for a rude awakening.

Here’s what we know: Working from home and physical distancing has created shifts in people’s ability to communicate and collaborate. People’s sense of belonging and feeling connected to their work team has also been diminished. Certainly, there will be new opportunities in terms of workplace flexibility and capturing talent from a worldwide pool, but I fear the challenges of bringing people back together — or of creating a sustainable model for remote or hybrid work — have been ignored.

Here are three issues leaders and business owners need to acknowledge in order to avoid being blindsided:

Click here to read more