The concept of “remote work” is a concept made up of two words, “Work” and “Remote”.
Regarding the word “Work”, consider it more as “Productivity”. That is, if you are not producing, it is not working.
What is Remote Work?
The word “Remote” implies a place far (remote) from a nearby one, which could be the main offices of any company or organization, and that the work is being done far from that place.
So, “Remote work” is to produce results from a different place than the headquarters of the company for which you work. Ultimately, if you are not achieving results, you are not being productive. So you are only remote, but not a worker.
In other words, Remote work, in a very objective way, means work at a distance. That is, the demands of day-to-day work can be performed from anywhere, facilitated by the use of technology and communication.
The management of companies, who choose this form of work, need to deal with one or more professionals who are not in person at the office. They can be at home, in another city or even in another country.
Remote work is when you do not need to go to the office every day to fulfill your duties.
It is important to emphasize that “remote work” is not necessarily the same as “outsourcing”. Outsourcing involves delegating responsibility to someone who has no direct relationship with your company, but who may need to work in your office.
How is the current perception of Remote Work today?
Because of the advancement of forms of communication, remote work has been increasingly accepted by companies around the world. The stigma towards those who are not present in the office is ceasing to exist.
Remote workers are in many sectors of the economy, and this only tends to increase, with more dynamic work environments. In addition, we see all generations of working-age entering this wave, not just millennials.
However, according to one study, many professionals still feel the need to be better served on the issue of communication. Companies do not always provide the means for people to talk to each other, which is very important for remote work. This can be solved by joining tools like Slack, for example.
Thus, we see that both workers and companies are excited about the possibility of joining the remote working trend. However, some problems need to be solved for everything to work well.
Growth of Remote Work
Employees who work remotely gain more productivity and quality of life. This is because professionals save time and money on travel, they can choose to live in the regions they like best and have everything they need close by. Thus, time is left to focus on the activities that really matter.
Another point to be highlighted is that with the expansion of business, being attached to a specific physical space is no longer interesting for the vast majority of companies. Thus, having employees anywhere in the world is also a way to increase your area of expertise, in addition to bringing more benchmarking opportunities.
The hiring potential is also no longer limited to a small geographical area. In other words, the “anywhere office” opens the company to a significantly larger set of talents. With this in mind, by 2021 even more, organizations will be open to employing remote work in your day to day.
-Use of Artificial Intelligence
It is impossible to talk about the future of work and trends for 2021 without mentioning the growing presence of artificial intelligence (AI). Both in companies and in our daily lives, these technologies will become increasingly common. They come to help improve processes, increase workplace safety, and automate a range of operational tasks.
This does not mean that humans will be replaced by machines. Experts point to a growing demand for technology solutions to support employees and improve workflow through automation. This means that the professions can, yes, go through changes, but in a very positive way and not in style Westworld (at least for a while).
-More Job Satisfaction
Among the trends for 2021 is the increased concern of companies with the satisfaction of their employees. Today, employees expect much more than just a good salary and an ideal work environment. Professionals consider the company’s culture, work policies, growth opportunities, compensation, and much more in their decisions.
Thus, improving the experience of employees is the need of the moment. Several companies already have the help of advanced HR technology solutions to enhance the experience of professionals. There are tools capable of collecting data, analyzing, and suggesting internal changes in order to guarantee employee satisfaction.
In this process, both sides win. Organizations that guarantee greater satisfaction for their employees get better and better results in return. Employees are more engaged, productive, and become brand advocates. Turnover decreases considerably and operational efficiency also increases.
For some employees, remote working has given them the opportunity to work in a way that matches their individual needs for the first time in their careers. Some people thrive in the office environment and enjoy the buzz of being around others, attending meetings in person, and water cooler chats.
But, for other employees, remote working has provided a welcome break from taking part in these activities in person. For example, team members with an adult ADHD diagnosis may find it easier to focus on their work when they are in the home environment and away from the many distractions and interruptions of being in the office.
Likewise, employees that are receiving treatment for a medical condition may find it easier to schedule their appointments around working from home. Being able to work in a way that best suits their needs is a guaranteed route to ensuring that employees have high levels of job satisfaction.
How Coronavirus is forever changing Remote work?
A new normal “from home” has emerged because of Coronavirus. As obligations for social distancing spread across the world in February and then in early April, 3.9 billion people started doing most of their daily activities – study, shopping, exercise, meals, rest, and relaxation – staying in the safety of their homes or apartments. One activity stood out among all these carried out at home: “remote” work.
Following the closure of offices around the world, many employees are doing their work from home for the first time. For others, however, “remote” work is already a widely accepted norm.
In any case, this trend to remote work has started to show that many companies can succeed even if employees don’t go to the office every day. It is not easy to predict the future, but the time, energy, and money saved on commuting employees and physical structures could convince companies to reconsider the ways and places of carrying out the activities.
Trends of Remote Work
Let’s look at the latest trends in remote work and try to analyze exactly how they arose and what consequences they may have.
1- 50% of the work will be remote … by 2022!
In a situation when the business sphere is becoming more global, people working with information are getting more freedom – without having to stay in a permanent workplace. Both they and their employers benefit from this newfound flexibility. If you look at workers in the field of information and knowledge – managers, specialists – I would say that these people today are 100% mobile.” Perhaps, many people will argue with this opinion, but other industry experts also think so.
How is this trend achieved? Some explain this “rethinking” to a large extent by the massive introduction of online services that allow users to constantly synchronize with their workflow. In a sense, the Internet space erases the line between the workplace and the personal environment – and this can lead, among other things, to negative consequences, for example, too much faster burnout of employees.
This is one of the warnings of remote work – to find the right balance between the desire to be the best professional and not miss the important thing in life outside of it. It is good that we accidentally developed an article detailing this problem!
2- 29% of remotely operating companies, the creators and/or senior management are women
Many women face a difficult task: choose between motherhood or career success. Feeling the pressure associated with both of these options, they often look for a way to optimize their approach to work to become more productive. In this case, remote work solves many problems.
How is this trend achieved? Remote work provides the best balance between professional and personal responsibilities, helping women reduce stress levels. In addition, the ability to work in a remote environment is more comfortable, as specialists are not required to comply with office standards of behavior or to comply with a dress code.
3- Since 2005, the number of employees remotely increased by 140%
How is this trend achieved? Technological advances, such as faster devices and Internet bandwidth, play an important role in this trend: Compared to 2005, Internet access is ubiquitous and laptop batteries can carry the user all day. This creates an excellent environment for remote work; and when technical difficulties disappear, the employer’s skepticism about remote work becomes the main problem – but we have a number of statistics to counter this.
4- The number of 100% remotely functioning companies is growing
For a number of companies, remote work is not just a whim or an elegant tool for organizing a work process; it is their basic philosophy and part of their identity – and the number of such companies is growing. Interestingly, a full-fledged remote mode is not the prerogative of a limited group of specialists (for example, web developers): industries such as healthcare, education, and travel also offer remote work options.
How is this trend achieved? Having noticed changes in productivity, companies begin to realize how useful remote work can be and agree to changes in their structure in order to achieve qualitative changes.
5- Employees working remotely are 13% more efficient than working in the office
This should not come as a surprise (considering all the advantages of remote work productivity), but the figure is still surprising: The productivity of remote workers exceeds the productivity of office workers by 13%; In addition, remote workers spend less time on sick leave. Sometimes, however, they approach the performance issue even too responsibly. 23% of remote workers are willing to work overtime just to complete their tasks.
6- Connectivity
Zoom, a video conferencing app, has gained stardom thanks to its ability to help people keep in touch and keep companies operating with the spread of Coronavirus. The use took off in March, with the implementation of lockdowns, tuning 200 million participants in daily meetings. For comparison, the maximum daily number of participants in December 2019 was only 10 million.
Following the spread of Coronavirus, making face-to-face calls on platforms with the intention of managing large groups – colleagues, family, or friends – has never been so welcome, both for personal and professional reasons.
What are the trends for remote work in the coming years?
Over the years, the corporate world has been impacted by technological developments and social changes. Globalization, an aging population, and even climate change are causing some professions that did not exist to start appearing, while others will disappear.
Today, we see different models of remote work, not always just conditioned by the first image that comes to mind (a single person working in the living room). In addition, companies choose different formats for the practice, from working with flexible hours to the total absence of a physical office.
However, the trends for the coming years are not just about new careers.
Remote work is already a reality in some companies. For some functions, traditional offices are becoming extinct and giving way to virtual spaces, mainly in activities that require professionals to be more creative.
Flexible schedules and environments already attract the attention of the best talents available in the market, in addition to being much cheaper for companies that do not need to bear the costs related to the structure to maintain these teams.
A very interesting element of this type of set up a company is that the formation of remote teams allows professionals who are physically distant to join together in virtual offices.
What sets the tone for the future of companies is this freedom to choose how, where, and at what times to work. The trend is that these environments adapt to people’s needs with the help of technology.
The number of remote workers in the United States is expected to reach three quarters by 2021.
Remote work can reduce gender inequality in companies, as mothers can take care of their children while maintaining a job. 56% of women in the technology industry had to leave their posts to look after their children. Thus, companies that accept remote work have four times more female CEOs than those that do not.
The manufacturer Dell adopted remote work and announced savings of $ 12 million as a result of the decision.
Several companies may think that open offices, or open offices, where there are no walls, facilitate collaboration. However, most professionals prefer to work from home.
There are five spots available for each software developer. Putting the home office as a benefit can attract more talent to your company. Learn more about how to retain and find talent.
Among the trends in remote work, combined travel to work is not yet included. 43% of respondents to this survey said they traveled while working between 1% and 10% of the year.
83% of professionals believe that they do not need a work environment to feel productive.
Remote Working trends for the coming years
It is human nature to want to know what awaits you in the future. The transformations are happening all the time and, with that, we try to predict what will happen in our lives.
In the professional context, this phenomenon also occurs and the future of work is a recurring concern for those who wish to chart a positive and growing route over the years.
So, now know the main trends for the future of remote work in the coming years.
- Talent Attraction
As the home office is more accepted in companies, workers start to look for more opportunities that contemplate this benefit. Many may even consider it a condition to work for your company.
- More Concern With Results
Over time, companies are increasingly concerned with tracking and monitoring the results of metrics or KPIs. As a result of remote work, this concern tends to grow, with professionals looking to prove their performance through deliveries. This is positive as more data-driven companies tend to be more successful.
- Business Strategy
It is very likely that remote work will become a strategy on several fronts of the business. Companies can, for example, reaffirm their branding through the way their employees work.
Furthermore, from a cost perspective, remote work is quite satisfactory. The need to maintain physical spaces generates many expenses, which can be avoided with workers adhering to the remote model.
- Growth of Freelancers
With the culture of remote work gaining ground, it is possible for workers to choose to become full-time freelancers. That is, they prefer to work for several companies on a temporary basis.
Many can still combine part-time work and freelance work for the rest of the time.
- The requirement of Specific Skills
Not all professionals can join remote work. In addition to the limitations of each position, many are unable to adapt to the sport, which is natural. But it is important to note that companies that intend to adhere to this model need to require certain skills from professionals, including:
- Digital communication, both written and spoken;
- Time management and the ability to focus;
- Proactive communication (needs to be comfortable to place orders and answer questions);
- Growth mindset (capable of embracing changes and learning from them);
- Familiarity with technological devices and software
How to prepare for the remote work trends?
With the popularization of automation mechanisms, coupled with the speed of changes in our society and trends for the future of work, current jobs will disappear to make room for functions that were not even invented.
Preparing for this is essential, and the first step is to be aware that the demands are changing to the point where you collect different careers throughout your life. Therefore, it is necessary to keep up to date and interested in the search for a constant qualification.
In addition, it is necessary to develop some socio-emotional skills. Meet some of them.
- Emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence is the ability to put yourself in the other’s place, acting empathetically, and also mastering your own feelings. There are some attitudes that can help the individual to develop this skill:
- Avoid negative thoughts;
- Observe the situations that arouse aggressiveness, nervousness, and other bad feelings in order to be able to get around them;
- Think before you respond and don’t react impulsively;
- Try to understand others before judging them.
- Critical thinking
People with refined critical thinking use rationality to solve a problem. To develop this capacity, some attitudes are quite valid:
- always question and research various subjects;
- solves exercises that stimulate logic, such as sudoku and crosswords;
- before understanding the problem, try to understand the scenario.
- Analytical thinking
Linked to critical thinking, it will be necessary for the future of work that people understand how data-based reasoning works, in addition to having mastery of tools that provide these analyzes.
- Virtual collaboration
Every day more, it will be necessary to work in a productive and engaging manner, regardless of the platform. Therefore, it is important to become familiar with technological tools at an early age.
- Negotiation
Negotiation skills are essential for all professionals, regardless of the job market scenario.
Is Remote Work for everyone?
As you have seen, there are many peculiarities for remote work, even though this practice is increasingly in vogue. It is necessary to understand that it is not something for everyone, but it is an often positive option that is worth considering.
Advantages of remote work for companies?
A company that decides to give its collaborators the opportunity to work remotely sees:
- Increase their productivity
- Reduce management costs
- The opportunity to find talented professionals in the global market with whom to collaborate
- The possibility of creating collaborations outside one’s own area of competence, perhaps even beyond national borders
The future is remote work. Get ready for it!
See Also
The Guide to Job Interview Questions and Answers
Guide to Long-Distance Job Search
