Essay Example on COVID-19: The Impact of Remote Working on Jobs and Businesses

Introduction

The raging global pandemic, COVID-19, has nearly transformed the work environment. Initially, travel bans were implemented, then later jobs were significantly affected as many companies resorted to remote working. Remote working is not entirely a new perspective as several companies employ it as flexible work arrangements for their workers. About one-third of U.S. workers and half of all innovators can work from home.

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Individuals and stakeholders exhibit different perspectives on the subject matter. Though working from home presents a flexible routine, workers argue that a subtle distinction line exists between professional and personal time. Managers and executives have been much reserved in implementing remote working as they fear a reduction in employee productivity, teamwork, and employee focus. Of course, there are merits and demerits of the directive. This essay seeks to express my stand on the issue.

Today, companies are embracing working outside an office set-up. It not only saves on renting space but also provides comfort for employees to work. A whopping 98% of people would like to work from home if granted the opportunity (Farrell, 2020). A correlation exists between the productivity of employees and how comfortable they are in their work environment.

The more a worker is happy in the workplace, be it at home or the confines of an office, the more productive he or she will be. I speculate that future work environments will be more flexible for employees based on improved technology and the advancement of internet accessibility. My thoughts, telecommuting is a viable directive for work as technology continues to advance. Through tech and innovative ways, companies will be able to mitigate some of the struggles presented by working from home.

Cost-Effectiveness

One cannot fail to mention remote working when discussing the new normal. The future workplace is looking simple over the horizon of the pandemic- employee flexibility on another level. Of course, new formulations and policies need to be laid down based on a number of factors like one, the cost-effectiveness of working remotely. Research has found that a typical employer can save about $11,000/year for every person who works remotely half of the time (Bibby, 2019). To the employee, one can stand to save up in commuting costs to and from work. Similarly, online meetings can be cost-effective in some cases.

Telecommuting may, in turn, be cost-ineffective in that worker productivity may be low, thus resulting in degraded work performance. Diminished productivity may be a result of distractions or an inability to fully maintain focus from working at home. Also, remote working requires telecommuters to access the company network remotely, thus posing higher security concerns, and in turn, demands improved network protection software. However, the implementation of effective system protocols will alleviate significant security problems.

Employee Productivity

Generally speaking, many factors derail worker productivity, like commuting, health issues, and family matters, to mention a few. It is estimated that $1.8 trillion is lost in the U.S. each year in productivity (Bibby, 2019). One key role of telecommuting is optimization. Workers can preserve more of their and adjust to mental-mindful meditation and physical activity that improves productivity. More so, recovering from illness is hastened by the understate of knowing you will not have to go to the office. About 65% of full-time employees think remote working will boost their productivity, in accordance with a report by the State of Work Productivity (Bibby, 2019). In relation to cost-effectiveness, I believe worker productivity solely lies on the telecommuter. A company may strive to have the worker as motivated as possible, but best productivity practices like having a work schedule, avoiding distractions, and others can be useful.

Better Work-Home Life

Attending to family becomes easy as telecommuting dramatically reduces travel time to and from the office. A majority of working-class citizens have kids and families who require attention. Creating time for home life- house chores, personal projects, and self-reflection activities promote better working conditions (Bibby, 2019). A work-home life balance aims at creating a distinctive professional and personal approach while dedicating ample time. The goal of work-home life balance is to make the worker happy and prioritize chores promptly. However, one demerit of the work-home life balance is that there is a possibility of creating a binary opposition between the two.

Traditional office spaces provide social contact that, unfortunately, remote working cannot. Remote workers who have high social needs may develop a sense of isolation and unsatisfactory. Teamwork and colleague influence will also be significantly affected. My dispute on this drawback is that, through social media platforms, telecommuters can be able to gain productive interaction. I presume that the future holds better interactive systems that will allow media interaction to be more human-centric.

Conclusion

In my concluding remarks, I think telecommuting provides a better future for work. The world is seeing a new era of work-life propelled by technology. An increase in worker productivity over time will not only provide a work-home life balance but also stimulate highly productive employees. Employers should be more enthusiastic about telecommuting as it is two-way beneficial. To be specific, remote working betters work/home life, increased productivity, and cost-effectiveness in many cases. Thus, stakeholders should embrace this directive more.

References

Bibby, A. (2019, August 28). 17 Stats About Remote Work in 2020. Remote.co https://remote.co/10-stats-about-remote-work/

Farrell, K. (2020). Working from home. People, Care and Work in the Home, 235–250. doi: 10.4324/9780367823351-19