COVID Fad Or Here To Stay? Why You Might Consider Remote Working Permanently

remote work from home office permanent shift covid-19

Is the work-from-home (WFH) life here to stay? For many people, it could well be. In research mentioned by Bdaily, 86% of thousands of UK businesses expressed intentions to offer their employees more remote working options in the future. Almost half of those who did so said this change was motivated by COVID-19. 

Meanwhile, a number of major firms, including Google, Microsoft, Twitter, and Schroders, have indicated that they plan to stick with remote working. However, working from home is becoming more palatable not just for employees but also for employers and people “going it alone” as sole traders or self-employed workers. 

You Don’t Need To Worry So Much About Where You Should Live 

Traditionally, your decision of where to live was probably powerfully influenced by what local job opportunities were available. However, the “local” component is not quite so important in the COVID age, when workers no longer have to be quite as tethered to a physical office within commuting distance. 

As pointed out in an Entrepreneur article, “we’re seeing a resurgence in interest in suburbs as city-dwellers leave pandemic hotspots like NYC and LA for more spaced-out, socially distant and budget-friendlier living outside the city.” 

You Can Opt To Use Physical Workplaces Only As And When You Genuinely Need Them 

Despite the increased shift towards remote working, it doesn’t look like many workers are set to relinquish their ties to traditional office environments completely. In an interview with CNBC, former IBM CEO Ginni Rometty commented that she anticipated, for the long term, remote working forming part of a “hybrid” approach that sees some workers continuing to operate in offices. 

You could find that, while many of your work responsibilities remain practically possible to fulfil at your home, other tasks – like meeting up with clients in person – would risk blighting your company’s image were you to do these things in anything other than a dedicated office or meeting room. 

Fortunately, you could have access to either, but without having to pay the cost that renting physical space would incur, if you took up a virtual office in London or anywhere else your clients can ideally get around easily. 

Your Career Path Could Become A Lot More Fluid 

As previously mentioned, location could become much less of an influence on how your work. For that matter, it can also give you freer reign over what companies or people you can work for. Consequently, your career journey can end up looking rather less fixed than before. 

If you currently work for someone else, the increased freedom your remote working situation affords you could even increasingly imbue you with the required confidence to start working for yourself. You would have to make sure you have the right digital tools at your disposal, however. 

With 39% of businesses – according to research – looking to invest in laptops and smart devices, this is one sign of what direction you could take for yourself as you come to learn more and more about what business possibilities are now available for WFH remote working.

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