Once the cloud of the Corona epidemic clears, life will return to normal, but there are many things that will change, including the way we work.
Highly skilled workers who work on computers are likely to see the biggest changes, from the workplace to the technology used to the ways productivity is assessed. Read also The answer might surprise you … Does working from home make employees more productive?Working from home has boosted men’s productivity and career prospects and increased pressure on women Corona deepened its isolation.. in Spain, 1800 villages are inhabited by only one person In a new study, “Zoom stress” is more prevalent among women
In the following list of major changes that will occur on the desktop work compiled by the writer Rani Mola in a report published on the “Fox” ( Vox ) US:
1- Continuing to work from home
Although we will not be forced to work remotely after the epidemic is over, many people will continue to work from their homes given that employers and employees have successfully adapted to remote work, and maintained their productivity.
At the height of the epidemic, more than half of American employees were forced to work from home. According to research by Nicholas Bloom, a professor of economics at Stanford University, and co-authors who surveyed the desires of employees as well as the promises of their employers, once the pandemic is over, employees will likely be allowed to work from home two or three days a week.
Working from home allows people to reduce their commute and gives them more flexibility in working hours.
2- Flexibility is a double-edged sword
For years, employees demanded more flexibility in their work to find a balance in their lives, and working from home would give them that. “Many employees said they were getting more sleep, exercising more, eating healthier, and strengthening their relationships with their neighbours,” said Ally Rael, vice president of Slack.
The other dark side is the growing feeling that work is never finished, with long hours and more meetings, and constant preoccupation with it. In this case, it is difficult to find a work-life balance when the lines between them are blurred.
3- Some of them benefit from working from home, and others struggle
Some employees have benefited from working from home, while others have faced significant challenges. First of all, a few jobs only allow employees to work remotely, largely according to income and education level.
According to a study by Bucknell University on remote workers, employees over the age of 40 were more likely to prefer continuing to work remotely, while employees under the age of 40 expressed a desire to return to the office.
More senior employees and managers prefer to work from home. According to Microsoft’s Work Attitude Index, about 60% of senior businessmen report that their business has “thriving”, while a similar proportion of today’s generation workers say they have “adapted to the situation.” “Or just struggle for well-being and mental health.
4- The office is still there, but you use it in a different way
While many companies are downsizing their offices, most will not eliminate desks. The office will still play an important role in the work of people, albeit differently. In other words, more time in the office will be devoted to promoting more challenging collaborative work at home.
Instead of offices that usually contain 80% of personal space and 20% of common space, Lister said that 80% of future space will be collaborative, while only 20% will be devoted to personal use.
5. More AI and freelancers
Due to layoffs during the pandemic, many companies have to work with fewer work forces than before, while remaining employees must rely more on technology and track current trends towards artificial intelligence and contract work.
6- Our communication will be asynchronous
While you are in the office, you can go directly to your boss or co-worker for advice. The creators of workplace software hope to make things a little different online. To empower a remote workforce that may be scattered around the world, they hope to replace the many simultaneous communications (personal chats, live video, phone calls) with conversations that can take place in Leisure time (letters, leaflets, recorded video). The purpose is to allow people to be optimally focused on doing their tasks when working from home.
7- The method of evaluating productivity will change
With the shift towards remote work, the way managers evaluate employee productivity will change. Previously evaluating employees based on their competence, behavior and presence in the office, the focus has now shifted to working from home primarily on their productivity, said Kate Duchin of RGB.
Kurtzman of IDC believes that productivity measures will be more focused on quality rather than quantity, indicating that quantity will not guarantee customer satisfaction with the product nor will it guarantee that he will buy it again.
8- The development of culture will be more difficult
It is very difficult to develop and maintain a company culture when workers are not in the same place, and this capacity has diminished with the spread of the epidemic. Duchenne said that at the beginning of the “Covid-19” pandemic, she was not worried about maintaining the work culture, and continued, “We were all in touch, but everyone was very worried about their social life.”
9- Technology has made us more human at work
Employees are becoming acquainted with each other’s lives by learning about their homes, children and pets in the midst of a global pandemic, and this closeness will make people happier and better at work. The pandemic contributed to the humanization of employees, not only because we saw more of their private lives but because we were able to continue working despite the crisis that we are now going through.
“It was a common experience,” says Kurtzman. “We were able to adapt to it successfully. People were helping each other do it better. In fact, technology has made us more human.”
10. More of your colleagues live elsewhere
And since remote work allows employees to work from anywhere, more people will change their place of residence. There has been a more than 5-fold increase in the number of remote jobs on LinkedIn compared to last year.
About half of employees have admitted they plan to relocate now so they can work remotely, according to both the Microsoft and All Labs survey. This will lead to a reversal of the decades-long displacement towards major cities.
For employers, this opportunity will give them access to a wider range of talent than they can find in their headquarters.