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In recent years, the rapid advances in cloud technology have enabled workers to complete day-to-day tasks from the comfort of their own homes. According to Global Workplace Analytics, remote working has grown exponentially, having increased by 140% since 2005.
In this article, we are going to explore several questions relating to the current state of remote work, including:
- What is the state of remote work in 2020?
- Are there challenges facing remote work in 2020?
- Will the popularity of remote work rise in 2020?
Let’s dive straight into answering these three essential questions about the ever-changing landscape of remote work.
What is the state of remote work in 2020?
Every year, Buffer produces a dazzling report on the state of remote work. The outlook for 2020 is overwhelmingly optimistic, with three years of data indicating a gradual, upward trend in the number of individuals working remotely.
To collect their data for this year, Buffer surveyed more than 3,500 remote workers from around the world. The eclectic mix of questions answered by these remote workers helped us to see remote work in its current state from a range of perspectives.
The pool of participants was asked whether they would like to continue working remotely, at least some of the time, for the rest of their careers. 98% of respondents were in favor of this. We see this as a huge stamp of approval on remote working.
Workers have fallen in love with the concept. It gives many of them more flexibility than ever before, breaking the zombie-like rhythm that exists within the 9-to-5 cycle.
Companies and organizations have all had their own methods of introducing remote working into their operational structures. When you look at how much time people spend working remotely, it currently varies quite considerably.
Only 57% of employees operating from home are doing so for their entire working week.
Are there challenges facing remote work in 2020?
Being able to trust a team to work remotely has proved to be a barrier for some companies who have considered the remote working approach. Employers can feel a sense of unease about not being able to physically see their employees work.
Many employers have invested a lot of time and effort into fostering a strong office culture and they do not want to see this being dismantled by the introduction of remote working. In the long-term, face-to-face environments may prove to be unsustainable as remote working trends continue.
Cloud computing has become a staple of the modern workplace. Whether it’s Slack or Google Drive, companies and organizations are using cloud-based tools for daily tasks and operations. When an employee is unable to be present in the physical office, they can still continue with many of their daily tasks via these applications.
At Karma, we are constantly making improvements to our Slack-based tool, helping remote teams to build stronger, happier teams whilst fostering a high-performance workplace culture. We want to turn your remote workers into a team filled with rockstars.
Will the popularity of remote work rise in 2020?
As the genuine appetite for remote working continues to grow, we believe it is likely that more companies and organizations will start to explore the adoption of remote working.
It’s all about finding what works best for your operation.
For this reason, we expect to see exponential growth in remote working opportunities as companies fight to keep their top talent and stay competitive in the industry marketplace.
The recent fears around Coronavirus (COVID-19) have led to the temporary closure of many workplaces, giving their employees no option but to work from home. As the number of reported cases continues to rise, there will be an increasing need for individuals to self-isolate.
As remote working opportunities grow, 2020 is likely to be a continuation of the trend that we have seen over the past few years. It will only take a few industry-leading companies to adopt remote working before small businesses start to seriously consider it to remain competitive when hiring.
Ready to start building a high-performing, remote workforce? Begin today by using Karma.
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