With a second coronavirus spike now sliding into view, the idea of “going back to the office” is fading into the background. Remote working is rapidly becoming the “new normal” and the idea of cramming ourselves onto public transport in order to spend time in an expensive office space seems a little bizarre right now.
It wasn’t always this way though, and although many companies were setup for remote working, there was a lack of trust between management and workers. After all, without a global pandemic, it would’ve been a very rare to see a CEO send their entire workforce home to work from their spare rooms and kitchens. How could productivity be monitored? Would meetings be the same? Could services and goods be provided in the same way?
In reality, the enforced “work from home” has been something that has surprised many companies. Output from workers has been the same, or it’s increased, and thanks to a wide range of online collaborative tools, your teams can continue to work – no matter where they are.
Business software to help with your accounts means that you can do all your company finances online or on your phone. Meanwhile, Microsoft software has been widely used – Teams, Skype, Outlook and the entire Office suite is now available over the internet and online video meetings are the norm. Other video calls, like Zoom, have not only helped with online meetings but have also ensured that friends and family can keep in touch after work too.
Fast internet connections and the ability to switch from your laptop to your phone in order to keep on working – this is key. If your internet feed is stable and quick, you can do everything that you’d normally do in the office. Plus, with 5G on the rise, the traditional landline requirement is no longer the only option. A web connection from a mobile provider can now be faster and more available than a wired connection.
All of this – faster connections with more coverage, more capable smartphones and online collaborative business software – means that the world of work has changed forever. Getting back to the traditional way of working – sitting on a train, grabbing a sandwich, rushing into the office – may never happen.