None of us ever expected the amount of influence and change the Covid-19 crisis would have on our personal & Work-life and the revival it caused for terms such as Work-Life balance & remote work in everybody’s dictionary. One of the most affected aspects of modern life is the work and employment scene.
As a result of the shift to a remote framework of employment and moving from a traditional office setup to your bedroom or whatever office you have set up at home or recently fabricated, we no longer perceive a workplace in a traditional form and employers have started to change their opinion about remote work and whether its good for them or not.
As a result of all the above and with the Covid-19 pandemic still on the rise in some countries, while others are recovering, we decided to have a look at the Post Covid-19 work trends that are here to stay.
So before we get into what work trends are here to stay it might be a good idea to reflect on how the current work or employment market is looking, and what better way is there than to look at at some statistics and what these numbers reflect.
- According to the 2019 remote work Statistics report by Flex Jobs, from the year 2016 to 2017, there was a 7.9% increase in remote work, with a 44% growth over the last 5 years & a 91% growth over the last 10 years.
- A study of 1001 remote workers showed that found that 57% of them were more satisfied with their jobs, while 80% describe their stress level during work as moderate or completely non-existent.
- As per a study by Owl Labs, 91% of remote workers choose to work remotely due to better work-life balance, 79% due to increased focus, less stress & better productivity & 78% due to less commute time.
So it appears that remote work is here to stay on the long term as one of the aftermaths of the new post-COVID era we are about to embark on and it is beneficial for employees on many levels. This dose, however, beg the question of what other trends are here to stay.
1) A shift to remote work
As clarified from the numbers mentioned above and the steps taken and announced by several CEO’s of Leading companies such as googles Sundar Pichai about extending work from home till the end of the year and other companies such as Facebook followed the same approach.
This shows that there is a clear shift to opting for a work from home status, That is why it’s integral and is extremely important, now more than ever that the office arrangement, technological support & everything else you need is set up to maintain productivity
2) Increased data collection
Many companies have used tools to assess and make sure those working within them Are maintaining the same work output and productivity as they were in the office. The analysis concluded by Gartner shows that 16% of employers are using technology more frequently to monitor employees.
Some might track or monitor your emails coming in and out others might simply just monitor your productivity, engagement & well being.
It is essential however that this it is done with care, consideration and only to the degree needed for work reasons and finally after the reason behind it has been explained to your employees.
3) Designing for resilience instead of efficiency
Back in 2019, it was discovered via a study by Gartner, that above 50% of the organizational redesigns that were done at the time focused on increasing efficiency.
This led them to streamline solutions, roles and supply chains however they lacked flexibility giving the upper hand to Resilient companies or business models.
This lead to a shift in mentality and a movement towards creating resilient business models & companies, in the end resulting in more flexibility, increased agility, and the creation of a formal yet flexible process.
4) Humanization & Dehumanization of employees
The title might be confusing however it is true. Some companies or firms during and after the epidemic have understood the importance of there employees health, safety and well being, prioritizing it over all else
while others have actually dehumanized the process even more. Don’t get us wrong we are not by any means saying that a dehumanized relationship between employers & employees is the way to go, it’s actually the complete opposite
As a company, it should connect with its employees on an individual level, understand what his or hers goals are and how it can assist them to reach those goals and achieve his full potential, in turn achieving the companies own potential.
5) The rise of top tier employers
Due to the several layoffs & the rising demand by employees for companies to be more transparent with them and the public, instead of Employers being the only ones sizing up employees or candidates, candidates are now assessing them back.
Employers are now testing and examining the behaviour of a prospective employer during the Covid-19 crisis and taking it as a real-time example of how they might deal with or behave in a situation involving them.
6) Expanding the Employers role
Employees are more aware nowadays of the value they bring to their employer and how essential their grind through daily tasks and staying up to finish that last task are integral to their companies success.
As a result of this, the role of today’s modern employer has expanded to cover more grounds of responsibilities towards the people that are working for them. Some of these matters are relevant to adjusting working hours or providing more flexible work environments or even providing child care in the workplace and many more.
7) digitalization of the workplace
This change kind of bleeds into the first point about remote work, as to be able to provide for a fully functioning and practical remote work environment the workplace has to be digital friendly and allow for remote work in case of crisis.
Even companies who were not necessarily going for a remote work setup or had any intent to were trying to transfer there services to be provided and requested via online digital platforms, aka websites, forums, ordering a phone online as it decreases running cost and the need for employees.
Another comment movement of digitization you might have noticed on a global scale is the movement away from cash money and movement towards digital payment. A clear example of this would be the different Banks around the world opening fully electronic branches.
So those were some of the new post-Covid-19 work trends that we feel are here to stay, and will shape our idea of work and possibly give us some insights about what future of work might look like.
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