A solid year into living through the Covid-19 pandemic, a lot has changed.  We don’t hug, we don’t shake hands, and many of us now are finding ourselves working remotely from home. 

Although some are no strangers to working remotely, the transition to working from home was a new concept for many. Some people love it, some people hate it—but how does it affect the way we work? 

In-person meetings have been replaced by Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Google Meets, and employees that were under the watchful eye of a supervisor now possess a new sense of independence and privacy, along with the most important aspect of working remotely: trust. 

A FlexJob Survey in 2020 found that many workers discovered themselves to be more productive at home, with 95% of the respondents stating their productivity has been the same if not higher, as there were less interruptions and had a quieter working environment. 

A few of the other benefits found in this survey include: 

  1. Remote work retains talent 

81% of respondents noted they would be more loyal to their employer if they had flexible work options 

  1. Remote work increases job satisfaction

Remote workers were more likely to state they were satisfied with their job, ranking 57% to 50% respectively 

  1. Remote work leads to increased mental health 

Of the surveyed who do not have access to flexible work are twice as likely to have poor mental health 

  1. Remote work saves you money 

Flexjobs has found that on average a remote worker can save up to $4,000 including car mileage, maintenance, working attire, and more. 

The remote workforce is proving to be more productive and cost effective. For most of 2020, businesses have been scrambling to transition their infrastructures into the digital space for remote workers to access their projects. This trend looks to continue with permanent remote workers. As Consentia’s Director of Operations sees it, “Some of these companies had no choice but to move remote, we have clients who have not been able to process some documents because they have been locked  in the office for over a year, the accessibility of accessing your work remotely is as necessary as ever”. 

Some are missing the routine of getting up and getting ready, grabbing their morning coffee from their local café, and the daily small talk with co-workers at the office. 

Little things that we once paid little attention to are now the things some workers miss the most.  Working from home being the new way of life, conversely, may have its challenges. In a survey of 2,000  workers who transitioned to working from home reported that they waste up to an hour each day toggling between communication apps.

In a survey conducted by Indeed, some workers reported that working from home has affected them negatively, with up to 50% claiming they miss their commute, 73% claim they miss socializing in person with their colleagues, and 45% saying they miss in-person meetings with their co-workers. 

Whether you love it or hate it, It is clear that the way we work will be significantly changed when the pandemic is over. Salesforce made the statement early in 2021 that they believe the “9-5 workday is dead” and believe work should be flexible to the employee and their schedule, and not the other way around. Will the way we work change for good? Only time will tell.

For more information to digitize workflows, visit here.