How Remote work is reshaping the future of Work

What is remote work? According to remoteyear.com, Remote work is a working style that allows professionals to work outside of a traditional office environment. Remote work, they said, is based on the concept that work does not need to be in a specific place.

“Think of it this way: instead of commuting to an office each day to work from a designated desk, remote employees can execute their projects and surpass their goals wherever they please. People have the flexibility to design their days so that their professional and personal lives can be experienced to their fullest potential and coexist peacefully.”

Remote work arrangements are not new. On the contrary, more than 20 years ago, the benefits of this form of performing work triggered the adoption of international standards such as the ILO’s Home Work Convention, 1996 (No. 177) and the Home Work Recommendation, 1996 (No. 184). Both standards aimed at improving the situation of homeworkers. At the E.U. level, European social partners –including the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and the Union of Industrial and Employers Confederations of Europe (UNICE)– signed a Framework Agreement on Telework in 2002. This agreement was created to define a reference frame for telework that meets employees’ and companies’ needs for flexibility and security.

Despite these developments, working from home was not that common among employed workers before the COVID-19 outbreak. According to Eurostat, In the E.U. countries, only 5.4% of those employed regularly worked from home during the last ten (10) years before the pandemic. In addition, the use of telework varied significantly across sectors (being more prevalent among I.T. and communication workers) and countries (with northern Europe taking the lead).

How & When did the World Transition to Remote Work?

A cultural paradigm shift in what society deems to be an appropriate workplace – and remote work has capitalized on that newfound freedom. In March 2020, companies across the globe abruptly shuttered their offices and instructed employees to work from home indefinitely due to the pandemic. At first, many thought the shutdowns would last a couple of months. But one year later, millions of workers are still working remotely.

The pandemic has also forced a large segment of the global workforce to go through a remote-work experiment on a scale never seen before. A lot has changed in the last 12 months. The boundary between work and personal lives has become blurred. Working at the kitchen table has become common and, for parents, juggling virtual school while trying to hit work deadlines has become a daily challenge.

Major companies hire people not in the same region, state, country, or even continent. People with skills get to work from their location without the stress of relocation.

Data shows that remote work has become the norm as some companies plan to remain 100% remote post-pandemic. In contrast, others  — will take a hybrid approach, giving workers more flexibility about work.

“If it weren’t for Covid, I would be in Seattle,” said Andrew Sager, a recent graduate who was hired as a software developer for Microsoft. Instead of moving to Washington state last August, the 23-year-old went to Miami to work remotely and live with friends with similar arrangements.

Outcomes of Remote Working

Let’s first start with the internet king of meetings, Zoom!

Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: Z.M.) on June 1, 2021, announced financial results for the first fiscal quarter ended April 30, 2021.

“We kicked off the fiscal year with a robust first quarter, posting 191% total year-over-year revenue growth combined with strong profitability and cash flow. Our steadfast commitment to empowering customers to work and learn from anywhere with our expansive, innovative, and frictionless video communications platform continued to drive our results. With this solid start, we are pleased to raise our full guidance range from $3.975 billion to $3.990 billion for the full fiscal year,” said Zoom founder and CEO Eric S. Yuan.

“We have also opened our technology portfolio to developers through our powerful video SDK and businesses to expand their reach through Zoom Events. Work is no longer a place.

It’s a space where Zoom serves to empower your teams to connect and bring their best ideas to life. We are energized to help lead the evolution to hybrid work that allows greater flexibility, productivity, and happiness to both in-person and virtual connections.”

Yonderdesk

Yonderdesk is a custom digital workspace. One of the main issues with a hybrid office is that it lacks the ‘sense of togetherness’ created by physically being in the same space. This implies that employees miss out on socializing and are less likely to ask their colleagues’ quick queries.

Yonderdesk is a digital floor plan that can mimic the organization’s actual office space. Employees are given an avatar and a desk so that it’s easy to see where their colleagues are at (e.g., in meetings, available, or working on a task). Digital floor plans, more like Virtual Real Estate, have been a critical element of online games. Such as Habbo, for years because they are fun, engaging and make people feel like they have a shared experience, so it will be fascinating to see ideas like Yonderdesk becoming popular.

Discord

Discord is the easiest way to talk over voice, video, and text. Talk, chat, hang out, and stay close with your friends and communities. Discord is also seen as a virtual office and Instant messaging app, Discord, had a strong 2020, resulting in the recent headline-grabbing news of an exciting partnership with Sony.

According to data presented by Safe Betting Sites, Discord recorded an estimated $130M in revenue for 2020 – a 189% YoY increase from 2019. As of April 2021, Discord was ranked as the 22nd most valuable Unicorn company in the U.S. after doubling its market value from 2020 to $7B in 2021. In 2021, Discord’s total funding is estimated to be at $480M, increasing $100M from 2020.

 The Future of Remote Work 

Chimezie Anerobi, an instructional designer and a Team Lead for a company in Ireland, says that working for a country without going through relocation stress is the most convenient way to go, as he called it the Future of work. For starters, one gets to earn in Forex, he said and with the state of Nigeria’s economy and exchange rate, getting paid in Forex is a great advantage. “When you work for an organization that isn’t in Nigeria, you get to experience what it feels like to work in a more productive environment. Imagine a situation where you are allowed to set your monthly goals. This is to allow every member on the team to work according to their strength and push their limits by themselves.”

The Future of work, according to HighFive.com, means

Increased Productivity

• 45% of homeworkers report they can work smarter (get more done in less time)
• 44% say they are less distracted and accomplish more than in the office
• 90% of managers report employees are more productive when given the flexibility to choose when and how they work

Reduced Turnover

• 82% of employees say they would be more loyal to employers that offer flexible work options
• 95% of employers say remote work had had a significant impact on their employee retention
• 39% of employees have not taken a new job or have quit a job due to inflexible work options

Increased Savings

• Businesses would save over $500 billion annually in real estate, electricity, absenteeism, and turnover, or approximately $11,000 per employee
• National productivity would increase by five million person-hours, or about $270 billion
• Remote employees would save two billion gallons of gas by commuting more minor, which equals 37% of U.S. Persian Gulf imports

Increased Wellness

• 75% of remote workers say they could continue to work in the event of flu, terrorism, roadway problems, and weather-related disasters, compared to 28% of non-teleworkers
• Unscheduled absences cost U.S. companies over $300 billion a year, or $1,800 per employee
• Companies with remote work options report 63% fewer unscheduled absences

Easier Access to Top Talent

• 70% of employees say the ability to work remotely will be important in choosing their next job
• Notoriously hard-to-recruit (and retain) Millennials rate flexible work arrangements as an  eight (8) on a scale of 10 for impact on job satisfaction
• 36% of employees would choose remote work options over a raise

Sources:

Smyth, P (2021, May 5)  Discord’s revenue increased by 189% to $130m https://londonlovesbusiness.com/discords-revenue-increased-by-189-to-130m/

Boyall, M (2021, February 8) Can technology make the hybrid office a success? https://www.mcgregor-boyall.com/our-thinking-library/2021/02/can-technology-make-the-hybrid-office-a-success/241

Fernández-Viagas, BG (2021) The rise of remote work in the COVID era and beyond https://www.enhesa.com/resources/article/the-rise-of-remote-work-in-the-covid-era-and-beyond/

Remote Year (2021) What is Remote Work? https://www.remoteyear.com/blog/what-is-remote-work#:~:text=Remote%20work%20is%20a%20working,of%20a%20traditional%20office%20environment.&text=Think%20of%20it%20this%20way,their%20goals%20wherever%20they%20please.

Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (2021, June 01) Zoom Reports Financial Results for the First Quarter of the Fiscal Year 2022 https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/06/01/2239905/0/en/Zoom-Reports-Financial-Results-for-the-First-Quarter-of-Fiscal-Year-2022.html

Dickler, J (2021, March 11) For better or worse, working from home is here to stay https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/11/one-year-into-covid-working-from-home-is-here-to-stay.html

Vasel, K (2021, March 11) The pandemic forced a massive remote-work experiment. Now comes the hard part https://edition.cnn.com/2021/03/09/success/remote-work-covid-pandemic-one-year-later/index.html

Highfive (2021) 5 Big Benefits of a Remote Workforce https://highfive.com/blog/remote-workforce-benefits

Images:

Getty image https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2020/04/30/understanding-connectivity-options-for-long-term-remote-work/?sh=2d9fe7d86eb2

McKinsey Global Institute(2020, November 23 ) What’s next for remote work: An analysis of 2,000 tasks, 800 jobs, and nine countries https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/future-of-work/whats-next-for-remote-work-an-analysis-of-2000-tasks-800-jobs-and-nine-countries

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