Remote working: An Option in the Crisis or An Upcoming Change ?

Due to novel pandemic, millions of working people around the world are now doing work from home. The pandemic has caused organizations to deploy work from home policy for employees. A stoppage on business course leads to financial loss and to avoid that companies are looking forward to modify and adopt remote work policy. This can count as huge modification in service policy as compare to today’s we are practicing. However till now work from home count as a temporary solution but considering present’s situation and for long term perspective it could be a permanent thing for some industrial sector. Currently, there are only few working sectors such as health, IT, customer service, education/training, sales and, accounting and finance are offering and promising career fields for remote-friendly jobs. But this situation will change as work from home has been becoming only option to continue business practices for most companies and its employees.
The thriving culture of remote jobs means that people have more flexibility in choosing where they live, how they travel and which career to pursue. Working from home allows in attaining that deceptive work-life balance, as there is no need to spend as much time going to work or getting dressed for meetings. There is a report which states even before the pandemic 5 million employees are working from home for at least half the time. This is 3.6% of the entire U.S. workforce and shows growing popularity of the remote jobs. The number employers offering a work from home option has surged by 40% in the last 5 years. One study estimates that 73% of all departments will have remote workers by 2028.
What numbers say?
In a survey 99% of people have admitted that they would like to work remotely besides these prevailing conditions. A survey conducted by Buffer shows that most of the people respondent positively to work remotely for at least some of the time or even the rest of their career.

• During the Coronavirus pandemic period workplaces are operating with 39% fewer people
• Total 88% companies have required for their employees to work from home
• 56% companies of all around the world allow remote work

These numbers are huge and exceeding frequently. Business leaders are now realizing that work flexibility is necessary to enhance employees’ performance and to promote better employee engagement and retention.
The workplace culture has been shifting in the last several decades. Traditional workplace shifts where 9 to 6 jobs are ideal is not effective as it before. Now people love to work in the environment where they feel most effective and comfortable. In remote working employee feels to having better work environment in compare to office and it also helps in improving work-life balance. Major companies like Google Amazon, Microsoft and Facebook have already supported and implemented remote work policies for many of their employees.
Below are the some benefits of work from home:

• There is no commuting problems and time issues
• According to Stanford study, it helps to increase productivity
• It saves office space expenses
• One can hire and work from anywhere without any geographical restriction
• One can become more independent and productive

But the grass is always greener on the other side. There are some disadvantages of remote working such as:

• Lack of willpower
• Difficulty in maintaining routine
• Delay in communication due to network error
• Difficulty with getting self-motivated all the time
• No second monitor and guidance

It is important to consider what environment on can stay focused in the longest, and how long it takes to get back on track. If one is self-motivated, adhere to a routine well, and focused, then working from home is the right choice. But one thrives on social interactions, and feels inspired by seeing others working, and requires others to motivate him/her, then working from the office is the way to go.
After this pandemic has passed, there will be several changes that working sectors will going to face and work from home is one of them. The changes that are happening today in the work environment will make employers rethink their approach to the workspace and how they can integrate more remote workers without losing their productivity.