Future of Work after COVID-19

Coronavirus of COVID-19 has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation. First taking roots in China, it has spread all over the world. Impacting lives of more than 600,000, coronavirus has also led to the issue of a falling economy. The authorities, both national and international, are asking people to subscribe to social-distancing.

Everyone is being asked to stay indoors and not come in contact with another person given the contagious nature of the virus and the idea that anyone could be carrying the virus. In this scenario, there is no traffic on the roads, showrooms are shut down, and offices are empty. To encourage productivity and make sure work is being carried out, work from home is being promoted across firms.

Work from home culture is not new to these times but has been around for a long time. Internet and other technologies have aided it in its progress. But yes, this culture has become more popular and trendy in today’s circumstances. Social distancing is the norm and work from home is the way of practicing it in a productive manner.

There are many companies, worldwide, that promote and advocate remote working. Nowadays, these companies are emerging as the source of inspiration.

Other companies who were strongly rooting against the work from home culture are now realizing that it is the digital world that can save our lives in times of crisis. Gone are the days when the internet was a luxury: it is now a necessity. From students using Google Classes to the ministers at power who are holding conference calls- remote working has now become the way of things.

It is also to be realized that the digital world moves very fast. Technology evolves rapidly and we have to adapt to these changes quickly enough. This is not your old computer with a black background and green numbers on the screen: video conferencing and personal databases can help us work from home quite easily.

Cyberattacks are common and can steal or alter your company’s database. It is very important that you have the proper tools to fight them. Your information needs to be encrypted. It is also vital that you have a wider network bandwidth to stay connected to your supervisors and colleagues during your work hours. Much of the work also requires elaborate hardware which also needs to be available at home. In the case when all this is not ensured, work from home becomes difficult.

Since many companies have shown no interest but only indifference to the concept of remote working, they have never encouraged it among the employees. That is why they are prone to falling behind during this pandemic and the recommended social distancing. This is also the reason that many companies have not been dealing with it that well. Although essential service-workers have been told to come to the office daily, some employees who do not fall under this category have not been able to avoid coming to the office.

There are companies that are solely dedicated to providing Virtual Assistants or remote work employees. These are thriving today because the narrative they have been following since ages has become the necessity of today. Did they get it right a long time ago? It is certain that the ideology of remote working was not popular years ago but has become a hot topic today. Every firm requires a Virtual Assistant: someone who works from home and meets all deadlines on time.

The question remains: what is the future of work?

We cannot ignore the fact that remote working services have observed an upsurge in their business. More and more companies are seeking to hire their employees. This industry is thriving. Will this continue?

Many businesses, after years and years of ignoring the ideology of work from home and calling it less competent than the traditional form of working, have now realized that it is remote working which leads to higher productivity levels among employees. Since they do not waste time and energy during the commute, etc. they can easily get more work done. Staying home also boosts up morale. There are many office meetings that could have been emails- and today, companies are realizing it. Video conferences in pajamas work as effectively as in a conference room.

Remote working is here to stay. Due to this pandemic, many offices have invested in hardware and software required for work from home and have realized their potential. Even after all this is over, they are most likely to make use of this and encourage their employees to do so, too. Not necessarily as full-time jobs but definitely as part-time jobs, work from home will be the new method of working employed by many business firms. work from home is no longer a ‘thing of the future’. The future is here already: remote working is here already.

Mankind has decided to move away from religion and fanaticism towards science and progress. The times when we used to stick to old traditions are no longer here but we have moved on to better technology that aid man in his endeavors. Maybe this is the way of teaching us to move on and progress. Human beings have been given the gift of thinking rationally and being innovative.

It is a matter of pride that in tough times like these, we are able to use our brains and adapt to these circumstances. Remote working or work from home- whatever you might call it- is a new method of working while maintaining the work-life balance. Even after the coronavirus is done with us, we have to remember the lessons it has taught us.

Written by Yashica Kumar for The Growup Group