Blog
What is the Future of Remote Work?
Wednesday 5th January 2022
What is the Future of Remote Work After COVID-19?
Remote work is here to stay, whether mandated by employers or due to employees' personal choices. Work will probably never be the same as it was before. Even though we know work will change, it’s not possible to determine all the different ways. Luckily, remote work trends tell us the general direction of hiring, virtual event planning, and more.
COVID-19 forced small, medium, and large enterprises to adapt quickly. However, remote work after COVID is still uncertain. While this migration has proven successful for many organisations, challenges still exist, and business managers will need to be mindful of those challenges.
Remote work during the pandemic
While some companies quickly adopted remote work during the pandemic, others embraced it slowly and reluctantly. Going forward businesses will likely have remote working as a key tool to maintain business continuity. To propel this forward, they may offer strong company support for working remotely and a structured work from home policy.
Securing remote work infrastructure has been a critical challenge. Before, companies managed everything centrally. Now mass remote working often dictates a need for structural security changes and adjustments. Employees see data and network security as a priority — and it’s no wonder. In 2020, experts have seen a 667% increase in phishing scams.
On the other hand, while employees create a virtual workspace at home, they are also balancing their personal and professional lives. Their professional and personal life boundaries have been blurred, posing a threat to team and individual productivity. To help their remote teams navigate this, employers have actively invested in their employee's well-being.
Why remote work is the future
Employers may find that long term remote work is an option for their employees and business even after the pandemic. This is because of its positive impact on employee productivity, reduced real estate costs and a positive impact on the environment.
Many businesses may not continue their remote work policy after the pandemic ends, while quite a few may continue having flexible work options for their employees. Flexible work policies will give rise to a growing need for co-working or shared workspaces and hot desking office models.
The largest-ever global work from home experiment has helped remote teams learn new ways to communicate, set up varied productivity routines, and quickly adopt remote collaboration tools and technologies at work. Implementing remote work is not a one-time endeavor. Building up a functional remote work infrastructure across your company is a more significant undertaking than most companies realise. An understanding and robust corporate culture, coupled with a structured work from home approach, is essential.
