It’s evident that the novel coronavirus has changed how we work. Largely, many of us continue business operations by working from home. While remote working has increased because of state-mandated stay-at-home orders, will these changes continue after the crisis ends? If not, what will the future of work look like? In this article, we have compiled what habits and expectations are likely to continue.
How COVID-19 Is Accelerating Changes In How We Work
With an increasingly multi-generational workforce, remote work was already predicted to be the norm by 2028. The coronavirus pandemic only accelerated the adoption of remote work and digital communication. Companies like Webex, Zoom, Microsoft, and Google have responded to the increased digital demand for their video conferencing and other digital communication applications, as well as project management tools.
But Is The Influx Sustainable?
The increase itself is not sustainable, but the way we work will not go back to how things were a few months ago. Instead, as Corporate Vice President for Microsoft 365 Jared Spataro says, we will be entering a “new normal” once the crisis ends. We will take our recent adaptions to the work-from-home lifestyle and update corporate policies to be more flexible.
With the exploding opportunity to work from home, more employees are likely to expect the option in the “new normal” and with future employers.
Enterprises that don’t continue flexible, remote options after the crisis will likely lose employees, especially millennials and Gen-Zers, which can harm a business’s diversity and inclusion efforts.
The Future Of Streamlined Operations And Expenses
Companies are also realizing how cost-effective and efficient distributed teams are. By removing much of the in-office chatter and distractions, personnel may be able to dedicate more focused time to their work, if their lifestyle allows for it and they are not worried about the pandemic.
According to this Forbes article, “Layers of management will disappear along with very expensive physical plants, while investments in office perks can be reallocated to salaries or (more likely) the bottom line.”
Even more, the implementation of a full-time remote team could mean that enterprises could hire highly skilled workers from across the globe. This could further benefit companies that have diversity and inclusion initiatives, as well as companies that struggle to find unique talent in their area (or who are willing to relocate to their area).
Remote work could also save employees time and money by removing their daily commute, which averages 26.1 minutes one way. Remote work would remove over 4 hours per week and 200 hours per year in a vehicle, lowering the total cost employees spend on gas and car maintenance for work-related travel.
The Future Of Collaboration
As enterprises implement and expand their work-from-home initiatives, they will also need to utilize cloud-based services, including cloud-based collaborative efforts. While we have taken this time of state-mandated work-from-home situations to just get through, we need to be looking at the long-term effects of what this pandemic has started.
As stated above, many companies will be adjusting their current policies to be more flexible. With this becoming part of the expectation and new norm, companies must also look at what tools and resources will these employees need to not “just get through” in their remote locations but what will they need to succeed and excel!
Collaboration tools and virtual meetings, as we’ve seen in the news and our most recent post, need a higher level of understanding for security on a company and a personal level. This understanding comes from knowing the programs functionalities and capabilities.
So How Do You Gain This Knowledge?
We at Meet Me In The Cloud offer a variety of solutions that support the usage of workplace technology tools in a remote work setting from customized training plans utilizing out 6 step methodology to our partnering with CyberFort to maintain a high standard of security.
Meet Me In The Cloud is here to help you establish your new normal within your company. Reach out to us to discuss the solutions that are best for you and your team as we move past COVID-19 and into the future of work.
