Coronavirus completely turned life as we knew it on its head. With the world being plummeted into lockdown after lockdown, companies and employees had to adapt to this new idea of normal. Working from home became standard practice but it came with some notable advantages and disadvantages. According to Flexjobs findings, 65% of pandemic remote workers said they wanted to keep working from home and 58% even said they would look for a new job if they would have to return to the office. We take a look at how working life has changed since the pandemic and what the future of work looks like.
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What are the advantages of working from home?
Better work-life balance
It stands to reason that if you are working from home, you are cutting commuting time out of your daily schedule. What’s more, many jobs that offer to work from home will provide a flexible schedule, meaning that employees can start and finish work when they choose so long as their work is completed. For many employees, having the freedom to be able to pick their kids up from school, do household chores or do anything else they need to do is a huge benefit.
Location is no longer a determining factor
Working from home has opened the door for employees that have been previously limited by their location. Working remotely has enabled employees who don’t want to live in cities to still be able to work city jobs.
Improved levels of inclusivity and culture
Employers hiring people for remote positions from different socioeconomic, geographic, and cultural backgrounds is beneficial to businesses as finding such a wide variety of people in one area can often be challenging. Companies can promote the support of diversity, community, and family by hiring employees to work from places they feel the most comfortable.
Save money and the environment
As we touched on before, working from home cuts out the need for commuting. This saves employees astonishing amounts of money per year on fuel, parking, public transport costs, vehicle maintenance costs and professional wardrobes. Not only will employees save their hard-earned money, but they will be reducing their carbon footprint which is better for the environment. Since the pandemic, there has been a remarkable reduction in pollution, congestion and traffic, which will continue to improve as the future of working from home progresses.
Heightened employee productivity and performance
Working from home comes with the additional benefit of fewer interruptions, lower noise levels and avoiding office politics. Combine this with not having to commute and your employees will save time and have fewer distractions which end up leading to increased productivity. A recent study by FlexJobs showed that 51% of respondents agreed that during the pandemic they were more productive working from home.
Happier employees
Working from home has proven to link to employee happiness. Working from home reduces stress, frees up more time for other activities such as hobbies and allows for improved family life. From a health and mental well-being stance, working from home comes with many benefits including more time for exercise and healthier eating.
What does the future of work look like?
The benefits of working from home are clear, and more companies are offering to work from home as standard practice since the pandemic. But what does that mean for the future of work?
Digital transformation has had a huge part to play when it comes to the redevelopment of the day-to-day lives of working professionals and has enabled employees to stay connected from anywhere in the world. This opened the door for being able to work from home and millions of new jobs have flourished as a result.
Digital transformation has made freelancing and other non-permanent positions possible and as it stands today, 40% of employees are considered to be non-permanent and this figure is expected to rise as more people engage with remote and distributed work.
Flexible working will become the norm
Employee expectations surrounding work have changed, especially now with Millennials and GenZs making up the workforce. Flexibility, such as working from home, flexitime or 4-day working weeks are now expected and we believe that in the future more companies will have to offer this to employees.
Candidate-led workforces
Similarly, expectations are high within the candidate-led workforce pool. Companies are now expected to offer value to their employees with factors such as flexible working, health care and much more, to maintain their brand image. In addition to this, with the rise of freelancers continuing to increase, employees have more of a say in picking and choosing where they wish to work which is why employers must present themselves as desirable.
The future of work for us is very clear. The workplace market will evolve quickly and when fuelled by technology, old fashioned 9-5’s will become a thing of the past. Technology will allow employers to hire anyone from around the world without having to meet them, diversifying the workplace, and improving company culture. One thing is for sure, having a truly flexible and diverse workforce will prepare your company for dramatic changes within the market and keep your company desirable.
At Modo25 we pride ourselves on a fully transparent, flexible, and modern way of working. Our company values are such that we want to ensure our team members are put first. Here are our top tips to work smarter, not harder whilst working from hom.
We work a 4-day week and offer full flexibility of working hours so people can establish a work-life balance that suits them. We spoke to some of our employees to get their thoughts on Modo25 and working from home, and here is what they said:
Our Performance Marketing Manager, Tom Pickard, said, “In terms of workload, the main benefit is that I can attend a pitch and then crack on with some other work straight after. This is far more productive than spending my whole day driving to and from face-to-face meetings. When it comes to home life, I’ve found I have more time to focus on being healthy. Whether it’s running after work or cooking meals, I’ve had a lot more time to invest in myself.”
Our Marketing Manager, Abby Cooper, followed on from Tom and said, “I work from home twice a week and for the other two days I go into the office. For me, I value office time to build relationships with my colleagues but also the time I have at home to get my head down with no distractions. Being able to pick and choose when I come in has been extremely beneficial to my mental and physical well-being and I am notably more productive.”
We are always on the lookout for like-minded, talented professionals, so if you think you would fit well into the Modo25 family we would love to hear from you. Please get in touch with us at info@modo25.com or see our website for our available positions.
