How Does Remote Work Fare in a Post-Pandemic World?

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, business owners considered remote work a forbidden fruit. If employees got a taste, they would only want more of it. Nowadays, remote work is a bit more commonplace, no doubt as a result of the pandemic forcing most knowledge workers into some sort of remote work arrangement. How have companies adjusted to this new reality? Let’s look at the numbers.

From the Employee’s Perspective

There are two sides to this issue: the employee and the business. Let’s look at how remote workers feel about the situation, even if they are only out of the office a part of the time.

• 98 percent of remote workers would work remotely for the rest of their careers.
• 98 percent of remote workers would recommend remote working to others.
• 90 percent of remote workers think they are more productive than they were in an office.
• 66 percent of remote workers think remote work should be an employee’s legal right.
• 29 percent of remote workers believe they should receive a raise if they were asked to return to a traditional work model.

Overwhelmingly, and perhaps predictably, people like working remotely. This should not come as a surprise, especially as people have reaped the benefits of it for years at this point. Some people even think of it as essential, which is wild considering the former status quo.

From the Business’ Perspective

It should come as no surprise that businesses have had a complicated relationship with working remotely. Some managers are not the biggest fans of these policies, either because it wasn’t their idea or because they were forced to comply. Others believe it’s not a fit for the type of work performed by the department. While remote work has the seal of approval from employees, businesses are still trying to find ways to bring employees back to the office, if only part of the time, while also offering the freedom and flexibility they so crave.

Here are some numbers to consider for the business side of things:

• 47 percent of businesses still have remote teams working today.
• 78 percent of CEOs see remote collaboration as central to their long-term success.
• 30 percent of business owners see maintaining corporate culture as the biggest concern in using remote teams.
• 71 percent of businesses have taken steps to track employee productivity remotely.
• 61 percent of businesses have increased the amount of online meetings with remote employees.

It’s clear that business owners understand why remote work, whether fully or partially remote, is now considered an essential policy for workers. Increasingly, businesses are considering the hybrid model as the new standard.

The Biggest Challenges Facing Remote Work

While remote work certainly has its benefits, there are challenges that impact how effective employees can be with policies like this in place. Let’s look at some of the common challenges that remote work presents.

• Maintaining collaboration and communication - There is a natural gap in communication whenever people work in different physical locations. Technology can bridge this gap and keep projects moving forward with ease. Collaboration tools are often found in all-in-one platforms nowadays, and they can include: instant messaging, group chats, one-touch communication, file sharing, and application integration.
• Maintaining productivity - How do you know if employees are productive with their time if they are not in the office? There are ways to track your team’s productivity and efficiency to minimize distractions and full-blown laziness. You should be encouraging results rather than time, anyway, as the two are not necessarily one and the same for salaried employees.
• Work/life balance - Employees might struggle with the idea of working from home if they cannot effectively separate their two lives. Remote work promises freedom, but takes away a bit of that freedom when the office is now the living room, or somewhere else in the home. Remote work does offer the ability to work from anywhere, thus giving your team more freedom to pick and choose how and where they will work to get more work done—in-home or otherwise.

Washington Works can help your business implement the right tools to make remote work easier than ever. Learn more by calling us today at 301-571-5040.