How remote working has changed the workplace forever

Remote working used to be a bit of a novelty - something many workers longed for in their job role and a concept that was particularly popular across the millennial generation and Gen Zs. However, after facing a worldwide pandemic, many businesses had no choice but to allow their employees to work remotely, and for the most part, this was a decision that was made overnight. In fact, an ONS study reported that in the UK alone, nearly 47% of the working population did some work at home in April 2020.

Working remotely is no longer just a trendy business concept; it’s changed the way we work forever. Remote working is the future.

A recent report found that 98% of those surveyed said they would like to work remotely for the rest of their career. The flexible style of working has particularly been favoured by parents, with the same report showing that 86% of parents would now like to work flexibly; pre-COVID, this stat was only 46%.

With more of the working population working remotely during 2020, there has been a wide realisation of the importance of a work-life balance. Remote working has enabled people to spend more time with family, create more time for a hobby or just get a few extra Zzz’s in the morning - we’re not joking with that last one, check the results of one of Twitter polls below.

We’ve seen the effectiveness of video conferencing and online collaboration. Whilst face-to-face meetings are still great, video calls can also be very productive and can save some extra time.

It’s not just employees that have seen the benefits either. Many employers have noticed the increased productivity in their staff and the reduced costs a remote workforce can bring.

Is your organisation prepared for a remote working future?

Whilst you may have had to dive straight into the deep end and embrace remote working overnight due to the COVID-19 pandemic, are you prepared for a long-term strategy? In a recent survey, 52% of employees said their employer needs to invest in better technology for remote working to work for them. We’ve shared a few of our tips for how to overcome some of the common problems of remote working in our blog post here.

Sign In App has tools to support your remote working strategy. Setting up a remote site will allow your staff members to sign in and out wherever they’re working using our mobile companion app, be it at home or out and about in a cafe. Remote sites also allow you to record hours worked; you can export timesheets from your online portal or staff members can track their hours on companion app.

Read more about remote sites and mobile sign in here. Alternatively, if you’d like to find out more about how Sign In App can help you embrace a remote working strategy in your workplace, get in touch with the team! You can reach us by phone, email or live chat and all of our details are listed here.