In our round-up of the 10 most popular reads in 2020, the havoc wreaked by Covid on our working (and personal) lives has, understandably, taken centre stage.

Issues surrounding the rapid transition to remote work – such as balancing work with childcare, managing remote teams and building trust – have made it onto the list. Furthermore, as we began to realise the extent to which Covid would change our work and lives (and work-life synergy), content exploring the longer-term impact on the likes of employee wellbeing, company culture, leadership, and rewards and recognition piqued the interest of our readers.

For more insights on what has grabbed the attention of your peers across this hugely challenging year, browse our list of most-read articles…

1. How to work from home with kids at home

As a digital nomad who has been homeschooling her daughter for a number of years, Blaire Palmer knows a thing or two about working from home with children around. This article, published just before the UK went into its first lockdown was the most read article on HRZone this year – this is no surprise to us given what working parents have had to endure in 2020!

2. How Covid-19 will impact employee wellbeing in the long term

Our second most popular piece of content explores what has been one of the top concerns for HR and business leaders in 2020 – employee wellbeing. In this article Ken Oehler, Global Culture and Engagement Practice Leader at Kincentric, highlights that deep fatigue and burnout among employees is at large due to the long-term effects of the pandemic.

3. HR leadership: five trends for the post-pandemic workplace

Just when we started to realise that Covid was going to change the way we work for good, David Storey, EMEIA Workforce Advisory Leader at EY, outlined five trends that should be influencing HR leaders’ planning for the post-pandemic workplace.

4. Nine ways to reward your remote team members

Recognising and rewarding the achievements of employees has been critical for keeping morale and motivation levels up during the pandemic. Fiona Adler, Director of HR Partner, shared nine tips for rewarding remote workers.

5. Coronavirus: the role of the unexpected remote manager

Managers have had a huge challenge on their hands with the shift to supporting and managing newly remote teams this year. Pilar Orti, Director of Virtual not Distant, provided guidelines for dealing with this unique context. 

6. Why empathy can help us bridge the diversity and inclusion gap

Diversity and inclusion has been another key focus of attention this year, with the Black Lives Matter movement gathering renewed momentum. Our most-read article on this topic was from Speaker & Communication Coach Shola Kaye on why empathy is a key driving force behind real change. 

7. How to cultivate a culture of wellbeing in the changing world of work

Our most popular report of the year was developed as part of HRZone’s Culture Pioneers initiative in association with Bindia Sidar, Senior Leader at Sodexo Engage. Written by Natasha Wallace, Founder of Conscious Works, this eBook offers five key steps to creating a wellbeing culture in a fast-changing, uncertain world.

8. Culture transformation: changing behaviours in the post-pandemic workplace

Another piece of content associated with our Culture Pioneers initiative was this culture transformation article from Ella Overshott, Director of Pecan Partnership. Here she provides six steps to making good habits become the cultural norm.  

9. Employee trust: a valuable commodity in times of crisis

The unease and uncertainty of this year has brought back to the surface the importance of trust among employers and employees. Back in April, Gethin Nadin, Director of Employee Wellbeing at Benefex, explored the need for trust, particularly in times of crisis. 

10. Five tips for motivating employees and celebrating the festive season in 2020

The festive season of 2020 has been very different from the usual calendar of work Christmas parties, indulgent team lunches and after-work mulled wine. With this in mind, Debra Corey, Speaker, Author and Consultant of DebCo HR LTD, shared examples of how different organisations were celebrating the end to a tough year.

Looking ahead

So that’s a wrap for 2020 – a year that I’m sure most of us are happy to say farewell too. Looking to the new year, we will be bringing you guidance, strategies and insights on how the people profession can transform the crisis-mode changes of 2020 into longer-term improvements to our worklives. Here’s to a brighter, healthier 2021!