Many workers were compelled to work from home as a result of the recent COVID-19 outbreak. However, it made it possible for businesses to understand the advantages of flexible work regulations. Employees are also benefiting from work-from-home trends and advantages that increase productivity. You ought to think about doing a remote job full-time.
In the US, around 26.7 million workers began working remotely in 2019. About 23.7% of all American workers fell into that category. As many as 44% of them now work from home as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, which is having the greatest negative impact on the nation. With well-known companies like Airbnb, Twitter, Apple, and Google leading the way, this is particularly true in the technology sector.
Rising demand for work-from-home options
The ability to work from home provides several advantages for employees. But these may all be summed up in one word: savings. For employees, not commuting can result in time savings, petrol or Uber savings, clothing and laundry savings from not dressing up, and financial savings from not dining out, among other benefits. Basically, telecommuting workers can get to work at their desks (or in bed) as soon as they roll out of bed. This is more practical and, hence, less stressful for many people.
According to a LinkedIn survey, 82% of workers want the option to work from home at least occasionally. In addition, 57% desire to do so at least three days a week. The computer industry is where this desire for remote work arrangements is particularly pronounced. We now question whether this will be the new standard even after the epidemic, given that many businesses have mandated that at least some of their staff work from home. If the current pattern continues, we anticipate that more employees will request work-from-home options in the future. Many believe that this is the turning point for how work will be done in the future.
Work from Home: A Boost for Startups
Working from home is a startup-producing activity. In two senses, we mean this: First off, these agreements can assist companies in saving money on overhead expenses and professional labor. Second, many independent contractors eventually founded their own businesses as their clients’ demands grew or as they attracted new customers.
Domination of Content Creators
Consumer markets today are largely online. Therefore, businesses strive to increase online brand visibility. This applies to their advertisements, logos, publications, and—most significantly—content. Content is king, as many digital marketers are aware. It has been and most likely will continue to be for an extremely, extremely long time. People consume content, such as news and videos. And it’s all done online. As a result, content producers can work from anywhere. And brands require talented individuals.
We use the term “content creators” in the broadest sense imaginable. These people work as writers, graphic designers, app developers, video editors, and even content strategists. Thus, marketing experts such as SEO experts, programmers, and user experience designers are also included. More and more workers with these skills will be required by brands. Additionally, we anticipate that there will be an increase in the number of content creators in the future because the majority of the work necessary for these positions can be completed remotely (and at home).
The New Retirement: Remote Work
Working from home gives retirees the flexibility that an office job might not be able to offer. They are currently less motivated to advance their careers. But they want to stay active without having to worry about driving or getting ready for work. As a result, many people in this age range have part-time remote jobs.
In addition, Baby Boomers are already familiar with the fundamentals of using most technologies, including laptops, social media, and productivity tools. They only require a brief training session or online course to increase their technological knowledge.
Additionally, this enables businesses to diversify their personnel, particularly where expertise is required. To establish a mutually beneficial mentoring relationship, Baby Boomers and Gen Z employees can be partnered.
Holograms and Virtual Reality for Improved Online Meetings
The entertainment and gaming industries are currently being completely overtaken by virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). The VR market is anticipated to generate $4.3 million in the US alone in 2020. In addition, experts anticipate rapid growth over the following five years, with up to $9.3 million in revenue by 2025. The hologram industry is moving in the same direction.
Immersive technologies like AR, VR, and XR could be used for distant work, particularly in applications for collaboration and communication. Instead of using videoconferencing, you might be able to walk into your immersive display and meet with your coworkers over the next several years. Additionally, this technology can enhance your entire workflow. With brand-new immersive displays that allow for novel and fascinating data collection, creation, manipulation, and analysis, they can take on the role of monitors.
Increasing Mental Health Issues Among Remote Workers
The prevalence of remote work is also drawing attention to a range of mental health problems that remote workers deal with. Approximately 49% of the tens of thousands of telecommuters surveyed by Buffer in 2019 identified wellbeing as one of their major challenges.
The lifestyle of a remote worker differs greatly from that of an office worker. Even if it feels liberating to leave the limitations of the cubicle and relax on the couch, doing so over the long term can be harmful to one’s mental health. Dr. Amy Cirbus, Ph.D., of Talkspace noted that remote employees are more likely than office-based employees to experience anxiety and sadness.
Is working from home the future of work?
Many people already believed that working from home would become more common after the outbreak of the new coronavirus. However, as businesses are compelled to adopt flexible policies, more workers and company owners have had first hand exposure to the advantages of working remotely. Even the CEO of LinkedIn, Jeff Weiner, stated that he would continue working from home even once everything returned to normal.
But once again, not everyone will enjoy it. It is not appropriate for all jobs. Many people who work from home report feeling quite lonely. Particularly when they live alone, this occurs. However, we can expect that there will always be locations where people can meet some of their social demands, thanks to technology and the growth of coworking spaces.