Remote work — What you should know about the evolving industry.
It’s no doubt that the 2020 pandemic has put several companies to the test, from brick and mortar locations to restaurants and corporations.
The history behind the workforce.
The definition of a standard contributing member of society in the 1900s was seen as someone who worked on an assembly line that helped in manufacturing and distributing industrial goods. If we take Henry Ford for example (who doubled the average hourly wage to a whopping $5 per hour during his time) and created the 5-day work week as opposed to the traditional 6-day work week.
The actions that Henry Ford took was an evolutionary shift in the workforce, reducing long hours and pay to a standard 40 hour work week Monday through Friday.
The standard workforce.
Times from the 1900s have definitely changed — the standard working American was expected to obtain a degree and jump into the workforce. Working a 9 am to 5 pm work schedule, spending roughly 2 to 3 hours of commute time. working in something called a “cube-farm” full of cubicles was the ideal work environment for the standard working citizen.
Where the workforce shifts.
The 2020 pandemic has definitely taken a toll on the workforce. It’s tested the limitations and challenges of several employers. A listen to the daily podcast on the New York Times has posed that most Americans had time to reflect on what they really wanted in life due to unemployment compensations.
The labor shortage in several industries is surreal. Most of these shortages are the result of brick-and-mortar locations — a good example of this is the restaurant industry, where restaurants have a hard time retaining employees due to poor compensation and pay.
The year of resignation.
It’s no surprise that 2021 has been the year of resignation where employees have left toxic employers in pursuit of accomplishing something meaningful in life. Whether it’d be a career change or a shift towards a rewarding industry. The industry-leading this resignation seems to be related to technology.
The sector of Technology boasts a large number of opportunities for employees seeking a work-life balance, with remote work in place. Some candidates have pursued coding boot camps and self-paced courses to transition into software, while others found breakthroughs through customer support roles regarding technology.
Where this dictates the workforce and its shift.
As a result, we’ve noticed that remote work is here to stay. years ago before the pandemic, the dream job to work remotely and cut commute times is a dream of the past. Companies such as Salesforce, Spotify, and Shopify have made the switch to becoming remote-first companies. So what does this mean for the foreseeable future? The notable trends are listed below:
- Remote-anywhere companies: At the moment, the remote work boom is still a new trend. However, most remote opportunities require you to reside in your current country. For example, a company in the US will require that you reside in the United States, while some companies have adopted a Remote-anywhere option where employees can work globally around the world regardless of location.
- Salary Compensation regardless of location: Some companies have made salary compensations based on demographic locations while other companies have offered salary compensations based on skillset and experience regardless of the demographic location. This puts the companies at a competitive edge compared to those that offer compensation strictly based on location.
- Flexible work schedules: Some companies have adopted a 4-day work week instead of the traditional 5 day work week, while others have introduced a 9/80 schedule in which employees work 9 hour days but get 1 day off every other week. As the remote work trend continues, we’ll start to see flexible adjustments made to satisfy top-performing employees, cutting out meetings that could be summarized in an email.
- The boom of coworking spaces: With the increase of remote opportunities the trend of coworking spaces such as WeWork has been on the uprise, and we’ll start to see a lot more co-working spaces as an option to work remotely as an alternative.
In conclusion, remote-work options have skyrocketed since the pandemic. Companies that refuse to adapt will face some employment challenges. Remote work has allowed several employees the freedom to create a flexible schedule that fits their needs — As a result, this also cuts out the hours of time needed to commute to a physical building which could be replaced with something a little more meaningful than sitting in traffic or driving long hours to a destination.
