Jobs Moving Online – The Great Workplace Shift

The past few years have seen widespread disruption in how people work. Driven by the lockdowns and safety protocols put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, employers began to shift more employees to remote work.

The upheaval that started with the pandemic accelerated trends already in place before 2020. Companies can attract and retain a wider pool of employees by offering remote work and hybrid jobs that combine time at the office and at home. The workplace shift also gives professionals more options and flexibility in how they accomplish their work.

At the same time, the emergence of high-quality online college degree programs allows workers an opportunity to further their education while working full-time jobs.

Employees Value Remote Working

Most workplace experts predict that the change to remote working will continue going forward. One reason is the popularity of remote work and hybrid jobs among employees. LinkedIn references a Statistica survey that shows 80 percent of workers prefer companies to continue allowing remote work.

Remote work is a policy that offers clear advantages and some disadvantages.

Advantages of Remote Work

For employees, remote work eliminates or reduces the time spent on long commutes and gives them more flexible work hours. They can spend more time with family, save on the cost of meals away from home, business clothes, and fuel, and more easily work extra hours when needed.

For employers, offering remote work saves money on maintaining large office buildings. They also can attract and retain talented workers who want flexibility as part of their job.

Disadvantages of Remote Work

Some remote workers may feel disconnected from colleagues and the overall work process. According to LinkedIn, some workers report feelings of loneliness. In these cases, workers might experience a drop-off in productivity and motivation.

Also, not every employer is convinced of the advantages of remote work. The same Statista survey found that 72 percent of managers who oversee remote employees prefer that their workers come back to the office. As an example of this, Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently told every company employee that they must spend at least 40 hours in the office or lose their jobs.

Remote Work a Workplace Trend For 2022 and Beyond

The issue of offering remote work or hybrid jobs is part of an overall trend of addressing fairness in the workplace, according to the Harvard Business Review. They wrote that issues with fairness at their core have “become flashpoints in society.” This includes those who have flexibility in their job.

HBR writes that people have come to expect flexibility in their job as much as they expect having a 401(k). “Employers that don’t offer flexibility will see increased turnover as employees move to roles that offer a value proposition that better aligns with their desires,” they wrote.

Other trends projected by HBR and LinkedIn include:

• Remote tools will provide more ways for managers to measure the productivity of remote employees
• A renewed focus on improving the quality and efficiency of video conferencing
• A reduction in hybrid working models if companies feel working remotely is causing a loss of organizational culture or a higher turnover of employees
• Organizations may add mental, physical, and financial health as metrics to better understand employees, along with existing factors such as employee engagement and satisfaction

TUW Online Programs

Touro University Worldwide offers online degree programs that prepare students for both office-based jobs and remote work. They also allow adult students the opportunity to earn a college degree while working a full-time job. TUW designed these programs for working professionals who want the better career outcomes that earning an online degree can create.

TUW offers 100% online programs across many different careers in business and management, psychology, health and human services, and general studies. These programs prepare students for the expanded opportunities in a connected world that includes remote work and hybrid jobs.