Remote Work Becomes the New Normal

By Apac CIO Outlook | Tuesday, July 07, 2020

Companies need to plan for a digitally enabled future and remain on their toes to know any technology updates. The way people do business is constantly changing, and organizations need to accept these changes and adopt the latest trends

Fremont, CA: The outbreak of the coronavirus has transformed businesses as we know it. One significant change brought on by the pandemic is the widespread acceptance of remote work. Before the outbreak of the virus, very few companies were willing to offer remote work to their employees. Fast forward five months, and the employers are now left with no choice. According to a comprehensive survey of hiring managers conducted before the virus outbreak, over half of the managers surveyed agreed that remote work among full-time employees is becoming more common. Managers also indicated that nearly 40 percent of current full-time employees were expected to transition into remote working arrangements within the next ten years. All this was before the lockdown. Since then, these numbers have gone up more than anyone could have imagined, and remote work has also become a reality.

For employers, the rise of constant connectivity and virtual spaces is a significant opportunity to rethink how work occurs in their businesses. Meanwhile, an increase in remote work can also be a challenge for those companies that fail to see the future of work involving minimal traditional offices. Companies need to plan for a digitally enabled future and remain on their toes to know any technology updates. The way people do business is constantly changing, and organizations need to accept these changes and adopt the latest trends.

Let's go back to the time when Web 1.0, the very first version of the internet, was launched. While many wondered what this new technology was capable of, it changed the primary method, pace, and speed of communication. Companies that were solely dependent on the post office to manage their internal communications with employees and external communications with clients were run over by the agile tech-savvy startups that understood the competitive advantage of using the internet.

The same can be said about the e-commerce industry. At first, many wondered the purpose of this medium of retail and whether it would survive. Before they knew it, e-commerce was threatening traditional brick and mortar stores and commercial enterprises and industries. Mobile manufacturing giant Nokia Corporation is an example of this. The emergence of the android industry outflanked the company, which dominated the market in the 1990s and early 2000s. Today, Nokia is almost non-existent in the mobile phone sector.

Remote working is no longer a thing of the future. It is now, and it is here. Companies have been forced to adopt remote work due to the outbreak of the pandemic, but have grown to leverage its benefits since. Whether a company decides to transform its ways or stay stubborn to its old school notions will make or break a company in the coming years.