The whirlwind of changes that the last year brought turned even the best-laid plans across every industry upside down. Organizations had to radically rethink everything from worker well-being, business models to ways of communication.
Companies had to change the way they navigate everyday work life, and their employees had to balance the newfound way of leading it.
A few years ago, remote work was rare and only possible in special circumstances.
But with the pandemic, the world witnessed a complete shift in the job market, and it became a necessity with its many perks.
Luckily, the productivity metric proves that remote work is, in fact, working.
One study shows the following:
- Remote employees are more productive during working hours than in-office employees.
- Remote employees, on average, take longer breaks than office employees, but they work an additional 10 minutes per day.
- Remote employees are less distracted by coffee breaks, small talks, and similar during work hours.
- Remote employees work an additional 1.4 days more per month than in-office employees, which is an additional 17 workdays a year.
Leaders who embrace change
With everything changing, the role of HR Managers and leaders has never been more important. They are constantly finding new ways to connect and collaborate with their teammates. Many employees have trouble navigating family and social life with their daily jobs (remotely), and as a result, there is more focus on their mental health, wellness, and wellbeing.
Many companies have adopted a new way of sorting out the priorities:
- Life comes first and work second – with the rise of remote work, people will prioritize what is important to them.
- Focus on what is important – an 8-hour day will be replaced by clear tasks and responsibilities, and the main focus is going to be on the outcomes
- Prioritizing health and wellbeing – remote works gives employees the opportunity to take more care of their mental and physical health
- Inclusion and diversity will thrive – diverse teams will emerge rapidly because companies will aim to attract the best talent globally
Also, companies are relying more and more on artificial intelligence and machine learning tools. It helps them to have a better understanding of how people work and think.
Workplace of the future
The future of work lies in a hybrid model which allows some employees to work remotely, while others will work in an office. Also, some departments or teams will be able to split between working remotely and working in-house.
The role of the office has changed since they are becoming hubs of social interaction and innovation and not a place where employees are going five days a week.
Fresh outlook on hiring process
Remote work is also bringing a new trend – blind hiring. The concept in which the employee does not see the name or the university that the candidate attended is helping in eliminating bias and lets companies review the purity of a person’s work. It opens a wide range of talent that is yet to be tapped, and it gives opportunity to those who have the skills but do not have university degrees.
Although this uncharted territory brings lots of opportunities and uncertainties, one thing is for sure: remote work is here to stay and change the course of the work as we know it.