The onset of Covid-19 has meant that many more people are having to adapt to working from home and the challenges that this can bring. Yet, over time, traditional office jobs seem to have become a thing of the past from many and employers have increasingly taken to promoting remote working. So what exactly has allowed for this transformation of working?
Recent surveys have shown that in the UK up to three quarters of those working now regularly alternate between a main office and working from home. On top of this, two in five home hunters now search for an ideal office space so remote working is clearly an increasingly popular venture. Many of these people are likely to be self-employed entrepreneurs who have often for side-hustling as a lucrative way of earning however employers also increasingly see the benefits of allowing staff to work from home. Global statistics have also shown that regular work-at-home, among the non-self-employed population, has grown by 173%, 11% faster than the rest of the population, indicating that this is a global trend of increased online interconnectedness and not just in the U.K.
Women are able to get back to work quicker with increased confidence due to the ease of remote working
One such reason for this is that it significantly eases the burden of childcare by allowing caregivers to work from home but also care for their children, fitting their work around their other needs through having a less rigid schedule and usually working early in the morning or late at night. This also helps to ease women, especially, into work after pregnancy and help combat issues of gender inequality in the workplace as women are able to get back to work quicker with increased confidence due to the ease of remote working.
On top of this, there are increased health benefits from working at home, both physically and mentally, such as reducing stress and allowing time for more outdoor movement. This will therefore increase productivity as workers are less stressed and have a clear mindset, with more independent time to drive innovation. There are not only health benefits to this but also environmental ones as the world is given time to breath and less pollution is taken up from the investment in office spaces and travel to work.
It’s hard to separate home life from that of work
This being said however, one downside of remote working means that it’s hard to separate home life from that of work, unless there’s a separate office space and self-discipline is employed. This can often mean that although the aim is to enhance family time, work is sacrificed as people become obsessed with completing jobs outside of office hours our vice versa, making this a difficult line to cross.
So once Covid-19 is over, will working from home be our new normal? Only time will tell, but whilst it’s unlikely that 9-5 office jobs will be scrapped altogether due to the importance of working as teams, employers are likely to increasingly embrace home working once they see the health benefits that this can bring.
Lauren McGaun
Featured image courtesy of Anton Peck via Flickr. No changes made to this image. Image license found here.
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