The COVID-19 pandemic is a game-changer in the job industry. This has led to the transformation of our workspaces and limited face-to-face interactions. Many companies had to shift towards telecommuting to safeguard their staff and sustain the business. This sudden switch to remote work has made an indelible mark on employees, and these changes will continue influencing how people engage in their jobs.
Before COVID-19, remote work was relatively niche. Some companies had used remote work as bait for top talents or to save on office space but on average, majority of the employees worked from an office setup. With the COVID-19 pandemic, however, teleworking became the new normal, and many firms that were previously against it had to change their operations quickly
One of the most notable differences is the increase in number of home-based workers among employees. A recent survey shows that almost 70% of all workers are fully based at home while an additional 15% operate from home partly (Berg & Galinsky, 2002). This trend has greatly affected our workplaces and more importantly; it meant our future way of doing things.
Moreover, if we talk about communication and cooperation within teams, the remote setup has changed a lot. In terms of operations from home, we had to find new means for staying together as well as working jointly. This has increased the use of technology which included the strong use of video conferences and collaboration tools.
Employee productivity has also noticed a major impact due to remote working arrangements. Since there is no commuting involved and one can conveniently work from anywhere, some employees reported an increase in output within a lesser timeframe (Allen et al., 2013). However, others found out that they could not easily disengage themselves from their jobs when working remotely thus resulting in stressfulness and burnout.
The effects have been clear on how employers must embrace remote working trends by changing our workforce habits completely . It’s changed what we do when we’re “at” “work.” Moving forward, it’s evident that remote working will be here to stay as the world continues grappling with the effects of the pandemic. The companies that can adapt to this new normal are the ones that stand a chance to be competitive in the future.
In conclusion, while working from home was already done by several organisations before COVID-19, the pandemic expedited its adoption. A lot has changed in our workplaces due to the sudden shift to remote work especially because these changes could persist in future business practices. Therefore, businesses that are ready for this new era and embrace this alternative model of work will thrive in the next decades.