The future of remote work for companies

Questions about whether remote working is going to be a permanent state, have been raised, following expectations of the Covid-19 pandemic to frail due to the now available vaccine. Mckinsey Global Institute reports that the Imposed quarantine guidelines, isolation, and lockdowns have forced tens of millions globally to adopt remote working. The remote workplace was initially struggling to gain acceptance before Covid-19, but now the pandemic has accelerated its integration in many companies.

Boston Consulting Group (BCG), in their survey to determine the future of work, mention significant positive results of the predominance of remote working after the pandemic. The pandemic has presented a live platform to experiment viability of remote working and provide a clearer understanding of its benefits and limitations.

Factors that Justify the Future Existence Power of Remote Work

A remote working system in the current pandemic situation is perceived as a safety measure of protecting employees and controlling the spread. Being as it may, we cannot ignore the challenges and the enormous benefits presented by remote working to companies.

Evaluation of Enormous Remote Working Benefits

The results of the BCG survey indicate that remote working, overall, provides great benefits to the company, its employees, and society. The significant reduction of office overhead costs has saved companies large amounts of money that could be reinvested in other development projects.

Productivity is estimated to rise significantly, according to the majority of company managers involved in the survey. The managers stated that their teams are more productive while working remotely because of increased flexibility, focus, better work time, and reduced absenteeism.

Employees are also enjoying and embracing having to work from home. The survey highlights that more than 70% of employees can manage their work-life, noting the improved flexibility and better control over their jobs processes. They commend remote working mostly because they get to save a lot of commuting expenses, and better manage their lives by relocating to areas with affordable living standards.

Remote Companies are bound to generate immense value for their stakeholders, says 70% of the managers, involved in the survey. Remote working is a reliable tool and work system that assists companies to access skilled talent pool worldwide, promote diversification and achieve sustainability targets. This puts companies in a better position to enhance their performance and yield wider profits.

Challenges that could Limit Future Existence of Remote Work

Despite over 70% of managers thinking that remote working could extensively improve productivity, 30% worry that the company is likely to suffer when working with a remote team. Promoting collaboration and driving individual performance remotely can be very challenging.

Most employees mentioned that handling workload is stressful when working from home, especially when the company fails to provide all the necessary tools. Lack of adequate online working tools and human isolation affects the team’s spirit and motivation to work.

Mckinsey reports that not all occupations can work remotely, which determines the existence power of remote working. The potential of implementing remote work is influenced by a mix of functions involved in each occupation and the level of physical, interpersonal, and spatial context.

Most manual jobs like health care, operating machinery, etc., cannot be done remotely because they require physical presence and location-specific equipment. But Work involving information gathering, processing, teaching, communication, and counseling can be done remotely. This presents options of both remote and office workspace coexisting in the future.

Strategies that Aim to Reduce the Challenges

Remote working creped out many unexpected challenges, but due to the persistence of the pandemic, most companies are forced to source immediate solutions to reduce the challenges. Isolation feelings that drain the performance and collaboration of remote employees have been met with recommendations of adopting team retreats.

Companies like Zapier, Troll, and Buffer have suggested that team retreats are the ultimate way of unifying and promoting social attachment. There are many online technologies like zoom, that have enabled team communication along with other software that facilitates workflow. BCG notes that remote working methods, technologies, and practices will keep evolving, likely to make the existence of remote work more permanent.

Conclusion

Remote working has unraveled great benefits to companies, employees, and society. The question of its permanence is assessed based on the benefits it presents, challenges, and likely solutions available to counter the challenges. Advancements in technologies, practices, and methods will only elevate remote working, which indicates likely permanent existence. Team retreats are the ultimate solution for eliminating isolation, encouraging team unity, and learning, which overall enhances remote working for companies. The survival of remote working is unquestionable being that all undermining challenges have been complemented with overly efficient solutions, with corporate retreats taking the lead.