The Future of Remote Working in the Post-Pandemic World

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November 12, 2021 Career

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the largest disruptions to the work environment. Companies have been forced to employ new work strategies for their employees.

The pandemic’s nature has made working from home the best option. This has brought about major challenges to businesses and institutions.

Chief among these challenges has been security. Since the onset of the pandemic, we have seen a rise in hacker attacks. The majority of these attacks have been attributed to employee negligence.

Companies are now being forced to involve new technologies such as computer monitoring software for employees, additional security tools, and virtual clocking in and out to ensure their security, but also to ensure that their employees aren’t slacking at work.

It’s no wonder why many were skeptical of employing remote work at their companies. However, other factors make it a great option for both employers and employees – it all depends on your preferences and company policy. This is likely to guarantee its continuity post-pandemic.

Here are some of these factors:

Expanded Data Collection

Today, data is gold for most organizations. Gartner’s analysis shows that 16% of employers welcome technologies to monitor their employees.

Now, they can track work computer usage, clock in and out times, emails, internal communications, and chats. Most companies have confessed to tracking productivity, employee engagement, and well-being to understand and work on improving employee experience.

Companies had started to implement more employee monitoring before the pandemic. This HR trend will be accelerated if companies benefit more.

However, employers have to guarantee ethical collection of employee data. This can be accomplished by employing best practices to guarantee responsible use of employee information and analytics.

People Don’t Want To Go Back To Their Offices

Slack, according to a BBC report, says only 12% of the workforce want to return to full-time office work. 72% want a hybrid remote-office model moving forward.

The pandemic has provided employers and employees a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reimagine the work environment. More employees are against the orthodoxy about 9-to-5. They would rather retain the best parts of office culture but free themselves from unnecessary bureaucracy.

Remote working has given them the opportunity to reimagine their working conditions and life balance. For example, those with long commute times appreciate the flexibility. From home, they can generate ideas, solve complex challenges and build relationships without tiresome driving and traffic jams.

Employees have also proven that they can accomplish most tasks remotely. Most have been able to do it without a drop in their productivity or quality.

Those with families appreciate the opportunity to spend more of their time with loved ones. Some employees have capitalized on the added time to participate in activities that improve mental health, family and couple relationships.

The flexibility and bonus time provided to employees working remotely has allowed them to take on other projects. For instance, the world witnessed the highest number of newly registered companies in recent history.

Because of such advantages, returning to the office seems counterproductive. Most would rather adopt and maintain working remotely.

Companies Are Going “Virtual-First”

It’s not only employees that are benefiting from remote working. Most businesses have also capitalized on the opportunities it provides. Those that adopted quickly have achieved huge competitive advantages.

Some have reduced costs by doing away with office spaces and other HR-related expenses. Others have been able to extend their workday without diffusing work-life boundaries or impacting employees’ mental wellbeing.

Such benefits are making organizations rethink their working arrangements. Most have re-calibrated and prefer a “virtual-first” work environment.

In this model, employees can choose to work face-to-face or remotely. Companies can distribute their workplaces across homes and satellite offices. Managers can also coach, manage, evaluate performance and motivate their team remotely.

They are able to do this because today data is saved on the cloud. Employee monitoring and advanced security protocols allow restricted access and security for different working models.

Tech researchers at CellTrackingApps.com note that there is a massive increase in the popularity of productivity applications that allow seamless virtual collaborations. This has allowed organizations to easily transit to “virtual-first” enterprises.

Conclusion

At the onset of the pandemic, organizations which had no experience with a remote workforce were innately suspicious of working remotely. The same was true of employees.

However, as the pandemic recedes, most seem eager to maintain the status quo. Both business and employees have benefited a lot from remote working.

As such both parties seem eager to maintain and develop remote working. Remote working is therefore likely to remain popular and prevalent in the post-pandemic world.