Is Remote Work Here to Stay?

As each week passes, we learn more about how the pandemic is affecting work, our relationships, and how we live our lives. This week I was reading a study from Hays that suggested that 49% of Canadians are considering leaving their jobs. With salary freezes, increased workloads, a limited summer holiday, and decreased team sizes, it’s no wonder people are feeling burned out like never before. Does this mean that remote work is here for good? And if so, what needs to change so people are happier at work again?

To start, it is important to note that optimism for the future is still high. While many people are considering leaving their positions, we’re generally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. What that means is that many are thinking that when we have a vaccine, travel will increase, our team sizes and resources will increase, and we can go back to what was a more normal workload. With a safe workplace then, many people will be called back.

But not all. And this is important.

Just last week, for example, Deloitte announced it is permanently closing four of its offices. Recognizing that many of the jobs can be done just as well from home or out of the office, they thought it would be a good move to close for good. And they aren’t alone. Many of the large tech companies have moved to permanent or extended work from home policies and employees are working to determine if that set-up is right for them.

In all the work I’ve done, I’ve realized that there are two things people hate: change, and the way things are. With the substantive change we’ve seen of late, it’s no wonder we’re feeling the angst we are.

So where does this leave us then? What do we do about it? What do I really think is going to happen?

What I don’t think we’re talking about enough yet is a reconfiguration of the workplace. I think it is coming and I think it will see a movement of people like we’ve never seen before. What happens when the manager that moved across the country and has been remote working for a year gets called back after thinking she was remote forever? What happens to the person that just can’t do remote work anymore but doesn’t have an office to go back to? I think we’ll see that a large portion of these 49% of people considering changing their jobs to do it: to change jobs so that they can do what they do well, how and where they want to do it.

I’m very optimistic about the future of work and where people will be working from. If there is a silver lining in the pandemic, it is that people across the country will soon be able to do the work they want to do, where they want to do it. It might be a rocky road getting through the reconfiguration phase, but in the not-so-distant future, I believe we’ll be in a great place, together or apart.

Questions to ponder: