Remote Work Trends: How a Pandemic is Changing the Way We Work Forever
There’s no doubt the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we work. However, the trends that are emerging aren’t all bad and many are even positive.
The COVID-19 pandemic has radically influenced the way people work and live. It wasn’t a fleeting event, and it still very much exists, and everyone is trying to adjust to this new normal. It’s pretty obvious that a lot has changed in the past couple of months, the most noteworthy alteration being the way we work.
It’s no surprise that COVID-19 has been completely uncharted territory for us all. Once governments issued shelter-at-home policies for the long-term, organizations began looking for alternatives to keep their businesses running. Telework or remote work emerged as a possible solution and companies have embraced it wholeheartedly since then.
As most work has now become virtual, let’s take a look at some of the ways COVID-19 is changing the way we work forever.
Remote Work is Creating New Job Roles
In our future workplaces, we will witness an increased requirement for computer scientists, software experts, AI technicians, and any individual that is tech-savvy and competent. Also, the attractiveness of remote work has given employers access to a larger pool of applicants for location flexible roles. There has been a rise in freelance job opportunities across the globe, as many corporations are now hiring “location flexible” individuals.
Organizations are recruiting executives and managers to lead virtual teams exclusively and train staff to work in a remote environment. Tech companies are also creating new jobs for professionals that can thrive in work-from-home arrangements and drive technological innovation.
Remote Work is Increasing Workforce Diversity
One major sign of healthy work culture is inclusivity. Remote work has created numerous opportunities for employers to build more diverse and welcoming work environments for marginalized and minority groups. Single parents can find remote work that offers a flexible work schedule to accommodate their hectic routine.
Additionally, remote work allows increased accessibility to candidates with disabilities that hinder them from commuting to work. By working remotely, they can comfortably work from a home-office setting that they’re familiar with. This also means that applicants are no longer restricted from applying because of the location since most work is remote.
Remote Work is Imposing Flexible Work Timings
When discussing the future of work, there is an emphasis on achieving work-life balance or at least working towards it. Remote work has given workers the opportunity to carve their own work timings, especially for those individuals that have families to look after.
While some traditional offices do follow work-from-home policies and location flexibility, the pandemic led firms to embrace this strategy fully. Many SME’s did temporarily suspend business until further notice, but they’re still keeping up their online presence to retain customers. For instance, most carpet cleaning businesses shut down as lockdown restrictions intensified; however, they are actively reaching out to customers on social media to stay relevant.
This mode of working is actually more preferred by millennials as they look for flexible work schedules, so they’ve got more time for other activities. Moreover, it’s become clear to companies that this shift has unexpectedly made employees more productive and boosted job satisfaction levels. In fact, employers have started trusting their employees more and placing their faith in them to complete their assigned tasks on time, which has resulted in higher workforce productivity.
As more organizations adopt a hybrid business model, we’ll be seeing more flexibility, and workers will be given a choice to decide their preferred mode of work.
Remote Work is Changing How We Connect with Coworkers
As countries continue to impose lockdowns to curb the spread of the virus, all offices, educational institutions, and businesses have suspended operation until further notice. Many companies shifted their strategy to remote working and have asked employees to work from the comfort of their homes. The internet being a powerful tool has helped millions of people to connect with each other, even when they are separated by a distance of a number of miles.
Various organizations are investing in applications and software that can help their employees stay connected and onboard while working from home. And this isn’t just the case for businesses, but educational institutes as well. As schools and universities were among the first establishments to close, classes had shifted online. Teachers and instructors leveraged the help of video-conferencing tools like Zoom, MS Teams, and Skype to conduct classes and keep up with the syllabus. The usage of Zoom had shot up exponentially in March to a whopping 200 million daily meeting recipients.
Essentially, the presence of such tools has helped people stay connected and for work to flow as smoothly as possible. Business owners can hold important meetings from anywhere in the world, discuss progress, suggest notes for improvement, and much more. They’re also just a great way for teams to feel like they’re still in the office empathizing with coworkers, so they know they’re not alone during these trying times.
It’s safe to assume that whether or not offices resume work in full capacity, these connectivity tools will become even more prevalent in our daily lives moving forward.
Remote Work is Making Employees more Accountable & Productive
Every employer wonders how they can maximize their workforce’s potential and boost productivity. The answer lies in fostering the right workplace culture and ensuring that employees are satisfied with their jobs. Many executives worry about how they’ll be able to retain productivity with reduced physical proximity and new work-from-home laws.
Surprisingly, the change in business operations has actually made workers more productive and committed to their jobs than ever before. Currently, employees have a level of flexibility they weren’t privy to before; this has boosted their engagement. Especially for employees that are completely new to this mode of work, they’re determined to prove to their employers that they can give their best performance.
Secondly, since employees have to give a progress report at the end of each day, they are more likely to finish their work. In an office setting, looking busy doing nothing is the modus operandi of many employees; they come to the office, chat with their coworkers, do a little work, and then go home. Although they spend 8 hours in the office every day, their productivity remains low because they are doing very little work.
On the other hand, in remote work, employees have to give their daily work reports at the end of each day. Some employers have even put in place time tracking software such as Time Doctor that monitors every keyboard stroke. In such a scenario, it is hard to slack and therefore, productivity soars.
The pandemic has facilitated a rapid move to remote work so companies can run operations and save resources. As we adjust to this new corporate world, these remote work trends will remain even after the pandemic’s grip has loosened. Our teams will adopt new and improved ways to boost work efficiency and celebrate technology’s contributions to help us excel in challenging environments.
Nouman provides ghostwriting and copywriting services. His educational background in the technical field and business studies helps him in tackling topics ranging from career and business productivity to web development and digital marketing. He occasionally writes articles for carpet cleaning.