Introduction
The future of remote work is bright. In fact, there's a good chance that you've already experienced some form of it in your own career. As technology continues to advance and more companies feel comfortable giving employees the option to work from home (or anywhere else), remote work will become even more commonplace in the next few years. But what does this mean for businesses? How can you make sure your company benefits from remote work? And what about employees who enjoy their freedom at home? Here's some thoughts on how remote work works today—and where it might be headed tomorrow:
The research on remote work is good (mostly!)
If you're curious about the benefits of remote work, there's a lot of research that backs up its effectiveness. A study from Stanford found that employees who were allowed to work from home were 13% more productive than those who had to come into the office each day. This also means that companies can save money on office space and other amenities if their employees work remotely most of the time.
In addition to helping employees focus on their work and enjoy a healthier lifestyle, it allows more time and flexibility for exercise to be incorporated into the day as well as offering a better work/life balance.
Remote work can also help protect our environment by reducing driving and air travel emissions as well as energy consumption. Traffic in Bangkok has been a relative delight for the past two years, with the roads noticeably quieter! Although a shift in the past few months, I still don’t think it is close to pre-pandemic levels and may never return, which is a definite positive.
Conversely, there has been research to suggest that remote working could have a negative impact on energy consumption. Think of all those individual aircon or radiator units on all day which would otherwise be turned off with people working from the office.
The same research also suggests while people are commuting less for work, their non-work-related travel increased with the average person making 26% more trips.
And while productivity is up, research also suggests innovation is down. A lot can be said about a collaborative environment which gets the ideas flowing – there is a danger this is diluted with a 100% remote approach.
Remote work has tangible benefits but it’s not for everyone
Remote work works well for a lot of people, especially those with long commutes. But it’s not for everyone, and it’s important we don’t forget that.
Some people will be less productive at home. They will get distracted easily, they won’t have the discipline to focus on their work or they simply need the buzz of a collaborative environment to get the best out of them.
Not everyone is blessed with a home that has a suitable working environment. Having your laptop on the breakfast table in a room where you partner is looking after the kids is not conducive to a productive working environment.
Don’t always be fooled by “influencers” pushing a utopian view of a 100%, work from anywhere lifestyle with pictures of a beautiful beach and a coconut in hand. Sure, it can work for some and for certain job types, but it’s not a viable option for a lot of people.
I believe offices will still play a key role for the foreseeable future.
For most, the future of remote work will be a hybrid model.
In the future, we'll see a hybrid model become the norm. For most companies they won't be entirely remote or all in-office. Rather, there will be a mix of virtual workers and employees who work from home some days and others who come into the office every day.
We're already seeing this trend today, with many companies adopting a hybrid model with the option of fully remote for some particularly niche skills.
In five to 10 years from now, even more companies will adopt this model—and not just because it's cheaper for them or because they want to appeal to millennials; it's because this way of working makes sense for everyone. It provides employees with autonomy while also allowing managers access to their full skillset by having them onsite when needed.
Remote work is here to stay, but there are pros and cons.
It’s clear that remote work in some form or another is here to stay. More companies are adopting it as part of their overall strategy, and more employees are working remotely than ever before. That’s great news for everyone involved: employers get more flexibility and creativity from their workforce, while employees have more flexibility in choosing where they want to live and work.
But it’s also important to mitigate the potential negative effects on collaboration, innovation and building of company culture.
We are seeing an evolution of the norms, with most organisations adapting to the new normal. But it is important for companies and employees alike to be flexible.
You will be seriously limiting your talent pool if you expect everyone in the office each day. Likewise, you will also be limiting your pool of career opportunities should you demand 100% remote or are inflexible towards your employer.
It’s a two-way thing and with flexibility from both sides, there is huge scope for vast improvements for working culture.
References:
2 https://hbr.org/2022/03/is-remote-work-actually-better-for-the-environment
3 https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonwingard/2022/03/17/remote-work-productivity-up-innovation-down/?sh=7c8a3701b7a1