Remote Work: The New Commonplace?
The CDC confirmed the first coronavirus case in the United States on January 21, 2020. Although it was the first of many, no one foresaw the perilous snowstorm to come. Rapidly, more deadly cases popped up around the country and the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11, 2020 (AJMC 2021). It was then that fear began to spread, and businesses worldwide began to close their in-person operations due to health concerns. Thus began months of work from home. Due to health concerns, opportunities for businesses to cut costs, and increases in employee productivity from working remotely, remote work will likely become a more common and frequent occurrence after the pandemic ends.
The business practice of working from home used to be rare. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, only around 8% of all employees worked from home at least one day a week before the spread of COVID-19. The percentage from 2017-2018 was even slimmer with only 2.5% working from home full-time (Altig 2020). However, due to COVID-19, businesses had no choice but to force employees to work remotely. Currently, around 42% of the U.S. labor force work from home full-time, 33% are not working, and 26% are working in-person as essential service workers (Wong 2020). With more people than ever working remotely, it has become clear that businesses’ operations can not only suffice from home but also thrive through the use of technological services such as Zoom and Webex. Therefore, it begs the question of whether in-person work is going to become obsolete once COVID-19 is no longer an issue. The short answer is no. Despite boosts in efficiency from working from home, many industries require in-person work such as retail, construction, fast-food, and more. Furthermore, with most consumer discretionary spending being withheld due to mandatory social distancing and stay at home orders, in-store shopping will likely boom once it is safe to do so. According to mobile banking platform N26, Americans are saving about $220 per month on average as they have shifted their lifestyles and financial priorities due to quarantining and begun to pay more attention to their budgeting and spending (Pastore 2020). After the pandemic ends, people will likely return to their past spending habits which had previously been withheld and utilize the money that they had saved. As a result, there will be a boost in consumer demand for products of various industries such as retail as well as renewed demand for in-person work. However, the long term implications are much more complicated. Businesses have begun to realize that employees can successfully adjust to using online services now that they have been forced to learn how to do so.
Throughout the past few years, the rise in technological advancements has become much more prevalent across all industries. However, what was previously gradual incorporation has dramatically accelerated due to the unprecedented circumstances created by COVID-19. Employees have become accustomed to speaking with coworkers and clients through phone calls and Zoom meetings. Without workplace distractions and unnecessary meetings, employees have been able to work more efficiently while taking breaks as needed. 51% of remote employees report feeling more productive working from home during COVID-19 (Pelta 2020). However, despite the benefits of working from home from a strictly efficiency-focused standpoint, working remotely can exacerbate feelings of depression, anxiety, and loneliness. Although employees are able to solely focus on their work at home, they no longer have the ability to communicate with their coworkers freely. Furthermore, stay at home orders and mandatory social distancing have rendered employees unable to maintain a social life as they once did. Instead, employees are forced to remain at home. As a result, employees may struggle to separate their work and free time. Since their homes have become their new offices, some employees are expected to be available outside of regular work hours. Many have difficulty working a strict 9-5 workday as they feel pressure to work with nothing better to do as there are few leisurely activities available. In terms of taking days off, employees may feel less able and less inclined to do so because they are hesitant to take vacations due to health concerns. Along with difficulty differentiating work and free time, families are also facing additional home responsibilities such as taking care of their children during school hours. With so many different tasks on their plate, employees are facing more difficult circumstances than it appears at first glance. Overall, although work from home has become a lot more common and employees have adjusted relatively well, there are still multiple areas that would need improvement if working remotely were to become commonplace after the pandemic ends.
Another aspect that plays a vital role in the decision between in-person and remote work is the vaccine. Since COVID-19 first began to gain international attention, labs across the country started to run experiments and test certain chemicals in a race to create the first effective vaccine. With several gaining FDA approval in the past few months, companies have been rapidly distributing vaccines to health care workers and now to everyone 65 years or older. Although it is unclear as to when the entire country will be able to get the vaccine, the future is optimistic regarding people being able to return to normalcy. However, businesses do not anticipate sending their employees back into work for years, even after the vaccine has been broadly distributed. According to a Gartner survey, 80% of company leaders plan to allow employees to work remotely part-time after the pandemic and 47% will allow employees to work from home full-time (Courtney 2020). This is likely due to a combination of health concerns, business cost savings opportunities, and the efficiency benefits of working from home. Enabling in-person work would require numerous precautions and requirements that would likely be costly and time-consuming for businesses to implement. Businesses also have the opportunity to cut costs by allowing employees to continue to work from home as they would no longer have to pay for rent and amenities for their office spaces. Businesses would save an average of $11,000 annually per each half-time commuter (Marinova 2021). This course of action would be extremely beneficial, especially for firms located in states with expensive real estate such as New York. Furthermore, employees’ salaries are generally based on a cost of living factor. As employees move out of these pricey locations, since they no longer have to live near their offices, companies would be able to reduce salaries and therefore further cut costs. Overall, there are several risks in allowing employees to return in-person. Given that employee productivity from home has flourished and businesses may be able to cut costs, there seems to be strong incentives for businesses to continue to allow employees to work remotely following the pandemic.
Nevertheless, arguably one of the most imperative aspects that plays a role in determining the future workplace dynamic is the desire of employees. Even after the vaccine is broadly distributed, there is still a small chance that the virus may spread or that it may mutate, thus rendering the vaccine ineffective. As a result, there is a significant amount of hesitancy from employees to return to the workplace even if businesses take all necessary precautions. Furthermore, employees have been fairly receptive to the idea of continuing to work from home in the future. Remote employees are able to enjoy greater schedule flexibility and stay more productive. According to FlexJobs, 65% of the 4,000 remote employees surveyed want to work remotely full-time after the pandemic ends and 31% want a hybrid work schedule (Pelta 2020). Given this inclination, many businesses will likely continue to allow them to do so after the pandemic ends. However, although employees feel as though they are more productive, many likely miss the feeling of being in the office and interacting with their coworkers. As a result, it will be interesting to see how businesses determine future work policies. Companies would prefer the increased efficiency of working from home but employees might prefer to be back in the office. Given these contrasting desires, it will be difficult to strike a balance that satisfies both parties. As of now, 74% of companies plan to shift some of their employees to remote work permanently (Marinova 2021). Despite these claims, it is difficult to tell to what extent businesses will implement such measures. However, the workplace dynamic will never be the same.
COVID-19 created unexpected and unprecedented times with effects that had never been tackled before. It began tumultuous times filled with health concerns, political conflict, and uncertainty. However, one thing is clear: we will never be able to return to the normalcy that we once had and took for granted before COVID-19. The success of work from home has opened the eyes of business leaders across the world and it seems that working remotely will likely be a more frequent and everyday occurrence after the pandemic ends. Technological advancements have now been permanently intertwined with business activities, with only more room for growth and expansion within the next decade. Whether you like it or not, work from home is here to stay.
Works Cited:
AJMC. (2021, January 1). A Timeline of COVID-19 Developments in 2020. https://www.ajmc.com/view/a-timeline-of-covid19-developments-in-2020.
Altig, D., Barrero, J. M., Bloom, N., Davis, S. J., Meyer, B., Mihaylov, E., & Parker, N. (2020, May 28). Firms Expect Working from Home to Triple. https://www.frbatlanta.org/blogs/macroblog/2020/05/28/firms-expect-working-from-home-to-triple.
Courtney, E. (2020, December 21). Remote Work Statistics: Navigating the New Normal. https://www.flexjobs.com/blog/post/remote-work-statistics/#:~:text=According%20to%20Upwork%2C%2041.8%25%20of,be%20working%20remotely%20by%202025.
Marinova, I. (2021, February 4). 28 Need-To-Know Remote Work Statistics of 2021. https://review42.com/remote-work-statistics/.
Pastore, A. (2020, April 24). Americans Are Saving an Average of $219.17 Each Month Due to Coronavirus Quarantine. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/americans-saving-average-219-17-184734982.html.
Pelta, R. (2020, September 21). FlexJobs Survey: Productivity, Work-Life Balance Improves During Pandemic. https://www.flexjobs.com/blog/post/survey-productivity-balance-improve-during-pandemic-remote-work/.
Wong, M. (2020, June 29). A snapshot of a new working-from-home economy. https://news.stanford.edu/2020/06/29/snapshot-new-working-home-economy/.
