Over the last three years, there has been a seismic shift in how many businesses operate. The necessary change has been the introduction of remote working. Previously, some employees would work from home.
However, it was mostly a luxury afforded to officials who were higher up the hierarchy.
Digital remote working is a phenomenon that has been around for a while. However, the internet has changed how many corporations structure their business models.
It has created new businesses entirely from scratch. But in addition, it has made areas of existing companies that have become incredibly successful. One of the key examples of this is the gambling industry.
The casino industry has always joined sizeable profits, and it looked like land-based casinos had a good chunk of the market for a few decades.
However, the rise of a more convenient competitor has flourished into a multi-billion-dollar industry. Instead of spending time getting ready and travelling to a land-based casino, you can now play casino games online, which is more accessible than ever before. With such wide array of virtual games, digital casinos continue to operate online while other businesses have to restructure their business models completely. Although the changes are welcomed by some employees, there are now increasing talks about employees moving back into the office full-time.
Could this rhetoric threaten remote working?
Positives Of Remote Working
Firstly, let’slet’s take a look at some of the positives of remote working. From an employee perspective, many people have noted that the extra time during the day has improved their mental health.
There is less emphasis on staying to work during unsociable hours, and any time and money spent travelling to work are saved.
One of the focal points of this debate revolves around productivity. Ultimately, this will be the main factor determining if remote working is here to stay or becomes a thing of the past.
So long as employees can prove they’re more productive from home than in the office, it is hard to make a case for returning to the physical workplace.
The positive factors aren’t just for employees, though. Many businesses have been able to make huge savings due to the energy costs of running a large and busy office space.
We understand this isn’t positive if you’re an employee. However, maybe you’re happy to cover the costs if it means spending an extra few hours a week with your family or friends.
Negatives Of Remote Working
It isn’t all fun and games for some employees who enjoy spending time with their colleagues in a buzzing office environment.
For those whose only social interaction is the workplace and the office, it can be a struggle adapting to a remote office where they primarily have to work on their own.
Loneliness can be a sad feature for many people who don’t interact with many people who aren’t their colleagues. Although the overall impact has been positive, we mustn’t forget these people who struggle due to the enormous change.
Other issues include internet connectivity problems, often managed better in the office. It is all dependent on the type of business. If you write and teach coding, remote working or office work doesn’tdoesn’t matter.
But if you work in a business banking environment, customers will sometimes want to discuss matters face to face.
With many corporations looking to bring workers back into the office, what is driving this change? For example, over at Amazon, an increased need to measure workers’ productivity and encourage a culture of sharing ideas is bringing many middle managers back into the office.
The vibe of having colleagues you can discuss work issues with face to face is critical to driving a decision where workers now have to work from the office three days per week.
Will This Signal The End Of Remote Working?
Undoubtedly, there will be a shift toward office working as and where appropriate. However, given that so many companies have spent tremendous time and resources setting up remote workers, the idea is unlikely to be scrapped altogether.
Employers cannot ignore the hugely positive changes to employee mental health. However, if there is a complete change to cramped buses and trains in our city centres, this won’t benefit employees.
The likelihood is that more hybrid roles should continue to crop up. These allow employees to choose when they work in the office and meet the needs of both the employer and employee in the middle.
With substantial energy bills rising, some businesses are more than happy not to foot the bill for electricity and gas hikes. This will be something that factored into any decision to welcome thousands of employees back to physical premises.
Now that the positives are apparent and benefit the employee and employer, the future looks like hybrid working will continue for at least the next couple of years. We’re unlikely to see the end of remote working just yet.