Future of Remote Working: A Close Glimpse into the Future of Work

Take a Sneak Peek into the Future of Remote Working-

• Data from GlobalWorkplaceAnalytics.com shows that remote working among the non-self-employed population has grown by 173% since 2005
• Remote working in the US has seen a 115% increase in the past decade
• 57% of the workforce believes that remote working is the most preferable employment perk
• 74% of the workforce would prefer to quit a job for one that offers a remote position.

The above data speaks volumes about the growing popularity and increasing extent of remote working around the world. With more and more people opting to work from a remote position either full time or at least some days of the week the future of remote working is certainly radiant and is the next big fad to look out for.

What is Remote Working?

A decade ago, most of us knew it as telecommuting that was a reserved domain for a handful of sales and customer service executives or other low paid jobs. Thanks to the evolving technology and the millennial workforce’s growing desire to balance work and life…today remote working is emerging as the norm.

Remote working traverses traditional boundaries of a workplace proving that good work can flow from any place. And while some companies may be experimenting with this concept with only a handful of employees, there are some that have taken this novel concept to an all-new level with 100% employees working remotely. To name a few-Zapier, Modern Tribe Inc., and Articulate Inc. are companies that are promoting the new cult and proving that quality work can be executed remotely from any corner of the world. High-end technological developments and increasing use and awareness about them have made virtual presence easy, connecting people and bridging communication gaps.

While ‘work from home’ restricts you to work from your nest, remote work gives you the flexibility to work from anywhere under the sun. This means whether you are working from a co-working space, while traveling, vacationing, or checking out mails in a flight…you are part of the growing trend of remote working.

Evolving Trends in Remote Working

For companies that thought employees deliver their best sitting in closed cubicles or high-end board rooms, are being proved wrong like never before. With shrinking physical footprints in offices and more organized workflow from remote working locations, the new work paradigm is witnessing higher productivity, more work hours, and greater employee satisfaction. Remote working is not just evolving rather revolutionizing the corporate industry with a seminal advantage and is taking varied shapes.

• Co-working spaces: Earlier working out of an office usually meant working remotely from home or nearby cafes. But the trend is fast changing with newly organized coworking office space sprucing up in big and small towns. Serving as the first choice for the next millennial workforce, they offer flexibility, comfort, ease of work, proximity to work, and a professional work environment away from your traditional office. In a nutshell, it has all the amenities and comforts of a workplace, sans the protocol and sophistication of a corporate office. It offers complete independence and flexibility to work, augmenting your creativity and ability to deliver your best.
• Gigging/Freelancing: A trend picking pace among young creative professionals who want to earn, learn, and satisfy their creative instincts all in a day. This is a growing concept especially among creative workers like graphic designers, writers, computer programmers who want to use their skills in multiple projects to earn those extra bucks and hone their skills simultaneously. Following a flexible remote working schedule, they manage time to take up gigging projects to earn higher and learn while scaling up their career ladder.
• Travel Working: If you are the kind who loves work and loves life…then this is the perfect form of remote working option for you. Living the life of a ‘digital nomad’ you work on wheels-traveling around the globe while staying connected to work, thankfully through advanced technology and the blessing of high-speed internet. It allows workers to quench their thirst for travel and exploring the world while being anchored with the security of a job.
• Shorter Workweeks: Another trend in remote working where people prefer working four days a week to their optimum capacity rather than the traditional full week concept. The idea is to do as much work in a shorter duration, which would otherwise be stretched to the entire week. Not to say, the saved weekdays are then reserved for quality time with family, friends, and recreation.

No matter whatever form remote working may take, it is surely changing mindsets of both the employers and employees, with both parties showing a greater degree of flexibility and adaptability and a readiness to tap the potential of this new work concept that has something to offer everyone.

So, what is the future of remote working? Can it sustain the challenges of work pressure, technological soundness, and the promise to deliver without compromising on quality? Read on to find out…

Future of Remote Working

As the world learns to decode new ways of working, companies like Facebook and Twitter are making big plans to leap into the future following the remote working secrets. In the coming years, both companies aim to offer employees the flexibility to work from anywhere where they feel more creative and productive rather than anchoring them to office cubicles. Following similar future plans, several companies across the globe aim to go remote by 2030 at least partially if not completely.

This is just a glimpse of the growing trend in the corporate world as more and more employers gear up to adapt to the remote work culture. With its high popularity and rising trends, the future of remote working indeed looks like the next big thing that is ruling the industry. Backed strongly by a technology-driven mindset and the realization that employees work best when given greater independence and flexibility the world sits on the brink of a dynamic change.

As remote working matures from its experiment stage, there is much to learn and do in this new form of change. Experiential learning and learning from challenges is what remote working is teaching millions of workforce around the world especially in the recent COVID-19 scenario. Companies and employers are also evolving in this new form of work, coming up with the ideas of 24X7 work schedules with different shifts to suit both the diurnal and nocturnal workforce and extracting the best from them as they enjoy greater flexibility and independence.

Technology which has so far leveraged this new form of work will intensively decide the future of remote working. How far can Zoom calls and Microsoft or Google pull off remote working is a challenge that most critics pose as a threat to the future of remote work. Having offered substantial support so far, it stands rock solid in promoting this new concept and is determined to find solutions to operational problems as and when they arise in this novel journey.

As more and more companies experiment with remote working-either wholeheartedly or in its nascent stage, one thing that dominates the trend is-changing perspectives and a new outlook towards work. In this new world of change, challenge and connectivity remote work is the future of tomorrow as it redefines today and thrives to change every day at work.