The Washington Post offers some analysis of remote work – after acknowledging the data of finding the balance that roughly one-third of work is being done remotely in 2021 and 2022, experts expect this to remain constant. Quoting the piece:
In particular, the remote-work wave has roiled the so-called knowledge industries such as finance and information, a category that includes everything from journalists to search-engine developers.
Within each industry, certain classes of jobs are more likely to be done remotely. For example, managers in most industries work from home more often than the people who report to them.
And further, this passage.
The data hints that the real remote revolution is taking place not at tech giants but at firms like the Inside Out Co., an Illinois construction, roofing, and painting outfit that has found it provides a competitive advantage.
Inside Out had never considered a hybrid or remote model for the 40-plus back-office employees in its Batavia headquarters. But when the pandemic hit, the company adapted, jettisoning cumbersome workflows that required staff to pass files around the office and adopting a streamlined cloud provider. Management learned to work with employee schedules and child-care needs and didn’t lose a single worker to the Great Resignation.
Now, said Christie Allen Mortimer, the firm’s chief financial officer, they’ve seized on that newfound flexibility to take on projects from Florida to Tennessee. A business that just two years ago was hyper-focused on the Chicago area now would see no problem hiring back-office personnel who could work remotely from anywhere in the country.
For those wanting to go deeper, the data within the article breaks down the geographic distribution of remote workers.
I’m going to pair this with two other articles.
First, a piece in the New York Times dives into the rise of the Worker Productivity Score. Not a new concept, the idea of monitoring workers is implemented in eight of the ten largest private US employers – and now it’s moving into white-collar jobs. Quote:
Architects, academic administrators, doctors, nursing home workers, and lawyers described growing electronic surveillance over every minute of their workday. They echoed complaints that employees in many lower-paid positions have voiced for years: that their jobs are relentless, that they don’t have control — and in some cases, that they don’t even have enough time to use the bathroom.
And, TechAisle’s data from their recent survey.
- 93% of SMBs have prioritized remote and hybrid workplace technology solution adoption
- 58% of employees in the SMB segment are likely to work remotely
- 79% of SMBs are prioritizing cloud-based communication and collaboration solutions which shows evolving recognition of the value of cloud calling and collaboration
And amidst all that – remember Apple’s push to bring everyone back in the office on a schedule? Employees are pushing back – publically, with a petition online noting the “exceptional work” being done from home.
Why do we care?
The data goes last because that tells you what you need to know – those companies fighting it make good stories, but it’s a losing battle.
Those that embrace the flexibility and the benefits it offers are the companies we will see surge ahead. I highlighted the Worker Productivity Score because I believe those companies will be struggling more and more. Anyone can already see that in the struggles of those who hire and retain blue-collar workers – Great Resignation? – and those adopting these monitoring ideas will bring that suffering to their offices.
I’m not shaking my fists at the clouds here – instead, observing the space for those who embrace the challenge of that more complex work. I’m not saying it’s easy – it would be a commodity otherwise… and that’s a feature, not a bug.