Will working from home become permanent?

‘Allowing employees to work from home reduces the need for costly office space and will be beneficial to workers who want the flexibility that working from home allows’

MARK uckerberg is moving Facebook toward a substantially remote workforce over the next decade, making changes permanent that began in the past few months.

Within 10 years, uckerberg told The Wall Street Journal he expects as much as half of Facebook’s employees - who currently number more than 45,000 - to work from home.

There are also many other examples of working from home becoming the norm: Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey recently told employees they could work from home permanently. Other smaller tech companies have announced similar proposals. ill other ma or corporate players e entually shift away from ofcesary London London

Moeder Ad isors O At least not over the long term. Until a vaccine is applied, certainly liberal work-at-home options will be all the rage. Post vaccine, I expect that much of the work force will return to their office, albeit in different ways. I think we will see a great prevalence of flex hours, shared or ‘hoteling’ space and other innovations in our work space and time. This will translate into somewhat lower levels of demand for office space. But I do not expect that most companies will abandon the office, where ideas and networks are hatched and enhanced, for the isolation of the home, oom or no oom.

Phil lair Manpower E It has been quite an eye opener to most employers how quickly and successfully their entire staffs have transitioned to working remotely. And now that the technology is in place it is very easy to reinvent what their workforce should look like. But there is a broad range of working remote options. From jobs where eye contact with the client is essential to workers, to staff being based anywhere in the world, and everything in-between. What combination is right for what businesses will be finessed over the next several years. Alan in ni ersity of an Dieo E Many companies are finding out that they can be successful even with their employees working at home. Allowing employees to work from home reduces the need for costly office space and will be beneficial to workers who want the flexibility that working from home allows.

There are negative ramifications for the economy in terms of businesses that cater to people who work in offices, such as restaurants and clothing stores. There is also some worry about the impact of social isolation. e inald ones aco s enter for ei h orhood Inno ation E The shift to employees working away from offices ushered by COVID-19 has accelerated an already emerging trend. Measuring outcomes, companies are likely to cite operating savings, reduced employee commuting (helping the environment, too), and more time on tasks that yield increased productivity. Companies probably will not have a 100 away from office policy, but some periodic teaming in the workplace. Employers must be conscious to maintain innovative thinking with increased use of virtual platforms. Lynn easer Point Loma a arene ni ersity E The pandemic has demonstrated that remote and decentralized workforces can operate effectively, although more for some than others. Employees may be able to stay in parts of the country closer to family members with lower housing prices, while firms can save on the high wage costs of large cities.

Firms may allow employees to work some days in the office and other days from home. Giving workers more options should raise job satisfaction and their productivity. Austin eudec er ea e

rowth E Remote work has long been a trend and the pandemic only accelerated its adoption. I have worked remotely (including with co-founders) for the past eight years. There is a limit, as only certain types of work can be done remotely, and even then, important aspects of team rapport, happenstance, crossteam conversations, etc can be lost. It will be interesting to see the impacts as more companies get comfortable with the distance. Reliance on tech to communicate and monitor seems obvious, but how will this impact urbanization o auch .A. auch Associates E Working from home is popular with today’s employees as it provides for a better work life balance. Technology companies will default to this remote option more than others but office interactions are critical to productivity. Naturally, this will be a blow to office space if it happens too quickly but this virus has jump-started lots of changes. Many of the changes will occur due to financial considerations as we enter a fairly deep recession. orm Miller ni ersity of an

Die o A Yes and No. Some firms can easily transition to working at home like call centers for airlines or computer support, or when most workers are in sales, out and about. Many back-office functions such as book keeping and admin support can be done remotely. But, where innovation, collaboration, team work, mentoring, and escaping from kids at home matter, not to mention the serendipitous meeting, then these functions will be better served in the in-person office, at least for now. ames Hamilton an Die o E There are big set-up costs in figuring out how to do things online. But once you’ve worked out the details, it’s an option that can be used even when we return to normal. There will be pressure to hold down expenses for some time, and cutting back on business travel is one way to do that. For the time being, I’m not sure we have any alternative but to try to minimize face-to-face interaction. Da id Ely an Die o tate niersity E Multiple factors will drive the transition of work away from traditional offices for some businesses. These include demand to work remotely by employees who prefer to live in less expensive locations and want to avoid long commutes. Businesses can recruit employees from anywhere and save by renting less office space. Organizational ability to use tools to work remotely will increase rapidly during 2020 and will improve even more once 5G technology becomes the norm.

ay Ma or A DA E Although not all jobs can be done remotely, the biggest lesson learned from the pandemic is that technology has enabled many people to be productive without being in an office. Companies big and small will likely start to reconsider office space costs and the approach to hiring new talent. The definition of the “best” fit candidate will no longer be determined by geography.