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The Future of Remote Work in 2023

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Post covid, the job market has changed a lot. For example, around the world, 16% of companies are now fully remote. It’s clear that what might have started due to the pandemic, has continued because of the benefits it can bring to both workers and employers. 55% of workers reporting a reduction in stress, to 77% reporting an increase in productivity. 

But, what does the future hold? This article will cover how remote working may change in the future, giving an overview of future trends. 

Employees And Companies Find A Compromise In Hybrid Work

Pre-pandemic, the idea of allowing employees to work from home only occurred to a few employers. Many believed that it would cause them to be lazier and less productive.

However, when the 2020 pandemic came, most businesses had no choice but to operate remotely. All workers had to work from home. Despite expectations, workers and bosses found that working from home is often preferable. In fact, according to PEW research, 60% of employees would instead work from home, a 6% rise from the beginning of 2020.

However, working from home is not universally popular since only 13% of executives support their company adopting an entirely remote-based structure. Hybrid work compromises between working from home and traditional office work.

Both forms of work have their benefits. For example, employees save money and time on travel by working from home. They can also arrange their duties around a schedule that works for them, which could allow more time spent on hobbies or family.

Working from home can also benefit the company by saving money on heating bills, maintenance costs, wi-fi, and safety features.

But office work also has its benefits; younger people can learn from the experience of older workers. When working from home, workers can still share updates and ideas. Nonetheless, general advice, such as how to cope with a large workload, speak to the boss about an issue, or talk to prospective customers, is best done via face-to-face interaction.

Hybrid work, where workers split their week between “working from home” days and “office days,” enables workers to benefit from both methods. 

Freelance Platforms are growing

Previously, the only way to get work was to apply for a position and succeed in the interview. The only alternative was to start your own business, which is undoubtedly difficult. However, the internet has brought a new way of working, freelance.

Instead of having a single employer or your own company, this is where you can work through various platforms to seek out new customers who hire you for your services.

Examples of freelance platforms include UpWork and PeoplePerHour. However, professions such as Uber Driver and MenuLog driver are also freelance. 

If a company wishes to create an app, they can use UpWork to hire android developers, who can do the job from anywhere in the world, on a schedule that suits both the developers and the company. 

Today, millions of people are seeking freelance work for the first time. In 2014, 53 million people worked freelance; in 2021, that number was 59 million. 

Freelancing benefits employers, too, since they can hire people from around the world to find the best talent at the most affordable price. 90% of business leaders say that remote talent platforms are essential. 

Freelance work has several benefits for workers:

  • Freelance workers get freer in who they work for
  • They get total control over their working hours.
  • Depending on the industry, they can work for various customers
  • Geography is not a limitation because freelancers do not need to live where jobs are (which also tend to be where rent is expensive)
  • Freelance workers can find new work much more quickly

The Growth of Outsourcing

Although it seems new, outsourcing has always been part of running a business. For example, a hotel will outsource the running of its elevator to a licensed elevator firm. A local bar might outsource its electrical work to an electrician. A gym may outsource its cafe to a catering company.

However, recently, temporary outsourcing has seen a drastic rise in popularity. When a company has a new project, for example, a mobile phone app, it may outsource app development until it has been created and is on the market.

Outsourcing has many benefits to employers, but the main two are that it saves time and money. When hiring a new employee, a company must advertise the position, read through the CVs, conduct interviews, hire the right person, then train them for the job.

This is already a lot of work, so it doesn’t seem wise to go through all of it to hire someone for a temporary project. Instead, an employer can either use freelancing platforms or search for local businesses that can help with their project.

Although, there is the risk of a cyber security threat. Opening servers and databases to those not contractually bound to your company can be dangerous. Be sure whoever you’re hiring (even if it’s short-term) is trustworthy and honest. 

Better Work-Life Balance

Finally, the future of remote work is likely to see people paying more attention to their work-life balance.

Due to several factors, including an increased awareness of mental health, and the unionization of previously non-unionized sectors, more Americans care about their work-life balance than before.

One study from Aviva shows that 41% of workers were attracted to their current role due to the work-life balance it provided, compared to 36% who said that salary was the main attraction. A proper work-life balance has several benefits for workers and employers.

Firstly, happier workers are also healthier workers. Overworking can cause stress on the mind and the body, affecting heart rate, sleep patterns, and even the immune system. Working three more hours than required can increase the risk of heart-related problems by 60%.

Other benefits of a work-life balance include.

  • 52% higher engagement (Tower Perrin’s global study)
  • Fewer burnouts
  • Increased levels of mindfulness and concentration

A few years ago, the thought of most of the workforce working from home was almost unthinkable. Today, even some of the biggest companies, such as Coinbase and Airbnb, are adopting a remote work routine. 

Whatever happens, the office of 2030 will look very different from that of 2015.