What if Working From Home Goes On…Forever?

Before the Coronavirus pandemic hit the world in 2020, remote working had already entered organizations, big and small. Freelance professionals like influencers, content creators, video editors, and social media specialists were and still are, on their way to personalizing the workspace by maintaining their own hours, making work from home fun, managing the workload independently, and becoming self-reliant.

Certain companies such as Ernst & Young and KPMG already offer their full-time employees a chance to work from home once or twice a week. Therefore, remote working in the time of Coronavirus may have hit us differently, but it is not an entirely novel concept. This article discusses the future of remote working, how it may impact workplaces post-pandemic, and what are some of the steps that organizations can adopt for an optimal shift. 

Transitioning from Office to ‘Home Office’

The conventional office set-up calls for the presence of all employees and heads of departments for time-saving and quick decision-making. Often, companies overlook the need for independence in a workplace that would provide an employee much-needed space to come up with effective solutions towards achieving common goals.  

Now that the world has been forced into remote work culture, the most important factor that is being considered by organizations is to ensure a smooth and hassle-free transition from office to home. Many employees found it hard to adapt to this new ‘home office’ concept as they, on a very basic level, missed daily interactions with colleagues, attending team meetings, and engaging in brainstorming sessions.

Endless Zoom calls and network lags also added to the stress of this new and unfamiliar environment that is now being modified as per individual business needs. 

Therefore, many companies like Amazon and JP Morgan Chase have started offering employees home office furniture, software, laptops, accessories, internet expenses, and other amenities to ease their experience of working from home.

Steps are being taken every day to make sure that employees don’t lose morale and continue to deliver results as expected by their respective organizations. 

Remote Working in the Future

As per statistics offered by esteemed institutions like MIT, nearly 50% of the entire workforce in America is already employed remotely and this number is only set to increase in years to come. A ‘hybrid’ workspace that offers a mix of both working from home and in-office is something that 90% of employees seek.

This offers them a chance to enjoy a sustainable work-life that leaves ample time to be spent with families or engaging in activities outside of organizational tasks. Therefore, it is crucial that companies start looking towards a new kind of ecosystem wherein both employees and employers are given some time and space to reconsider their work choices. 

Organizations have found that remote working also positively impacts their budget with financial incentives as the number of resources used with remote working is considerably reduced as opposed to when the office is fully-occupied. Variable and fixed costs such as electricity, office supplies, and others are considerations that would help organizations shift effectively to remote work culture. 

Digital Communication Channels to Work from Home

Since the pandemic has affected every part of the world, conscious efforts are being made to accommodate not just local, but international employees as most MNCs outsource a part of their services to other countries. It is important that no one is left behind during these testing times that have seen an increasing number of lay-offs, furloughs, and pay cuts.

Remote working can become a constant in the future of workplaces since it not only allows employees breathing room to work on their own time, but also gives them enough leeway to make decisions independently.

One way to build a strong team when most of your employees are remote workers is by way of an efficient and effective communication channel that works digitally. Certain software and apps that are currently preferred by organizations include Slack, Asana, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams, among others. 

Why Work From Home with Fugu?

Fugu is a communication tool for businesses to integrate remote workers with the rest of the team. The app extends features such as individual or one-on-one communication to group discussions with real-time configuration.

For collaborative efforts towards a well-functioning environment in and outside of a workplace, Fugu allows you and your business to effectively communicate, plan, and realize organizational objectives. 

As the future of the workspace will include half of the workforce employed remotely, it becomes all the more necessary to adopt a platform that works both ways. The software has an in-app feature for monitoring attendance and leaves with facial recognition and geo-fence marking, i.e. a digital representation of a geographical area. It is highly-secured and allows you to access messaging archives to pull up historical data as and when you need it. 

Thus, remote working may be unchartered territory for many, however, if adopted economically and resourcefully, it can drive a change in the way we perceive office work and could also produce a desirable and flexible work environment. 

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