Technology has revolutionized everything today, including the way we work. Some years ago, could you have imagined working for a client based in the US from the comfort of your home in India? Technology is moving at such a lightning pace that it has broadened our horizons so much that all you need is a good internet connection today and you can work from anywhere. But does that mean the whole concept of brick-and-mortar offices is soon to become extinct?
The Evolution of Work from Home
The Industrial Revolution introduced the concept of a 9 to 5 workday. After some years, came the advent of information technology and with it, the internet. This era brought with itself the freedom to work anytime and anywhere and collaborate with people all over the globe by shrinking the geographical boundaries. However, working from home was still a part-time career option then, to earn some extra bucks. “Ten years ago, remote employment basically meant a telemarketing or customer service position at below minimum wage,” said Samantha Lambert, director of human resources at Blue Fountain Media. “It rarely was connected with a full-time career.”
Today, freelancing is a full-time career choice for many as they have access to digital marketplaces like Upwork which connects some 3.6 million clients with more than 9 million freelancers from 180 countries.
Why Work from Home Is Beneficial To All
- Health Benefits: People who work from home are able to maintain a work-life balance and lead lesser stressful lives. It is also easier for them to eat healthy meals at regular intervals. Also, the need to commute for long hours is drastically reduced and so there is less fatigue when compared to people who have to travel a lot on daily basis to work. A study from Staples found that employees who worked from home experienced 25% less stress. Another survey found that home workers took fewer sick leaves than office workers.
- Employee Retention: Employees are not the only ones benefiting from working from home. Even employers save a lot of money on office space, infrastructure, technology, and supplies. Working from home also provides greater flexibility to the employees and makes them less likely to quit. This saves the valuable time and energy of companies in trying to advertise, recruit, interview, and hire new employees in every few weeks or months.
- Increased Productivity and Innovation: Studies have shown that people working from home are more productive and innovative as they are away from the noisy background of the offices, office politics and extended company meetings. According to an infographic by Hubspot, in the US, $37 billion is wasted annually in meetings. Some argue that meetings often do not encourage innovation and curb creativity where only one or two voices stand out and the rest are often muted.
Why Work from Home May Not Entirely Replace Offices
Recently Stanford researchers studied China’s largest travel agency that had 20,000 employees and a market capitalization of about $20 billion. The employees were given the option to work from home four days a week. Results showed that these workers were more satisfied and productive. But at the end of the study, half of the home workers wished to get back in office to work because they felt lonely as there were no interactions with the coworkers face-to-face.
Another similar study was conducted by Timehop when it closed its New York office for two weeks to see how its employees fared when given the option to work from home. Some of the workers felt distracted and were not keen to work from home as they had a tough time striking a work-life balance.
The Future of Work from Home
34% of the business leaders at a survey at the Global Leadership Summit in London said that by 2020 more than half their full-time workforce would be working from home. Sure, the number of people opting to work from home or looking for jobs that provide this facility is on the rise, but that necessarily does not mean that the conventional brick-and-mortar offices will cease to exist. At least, not anytime soon. Sara Sutten Fell, CEO of FlexJobs, a platform for job seekers, says, “that the mistake is thinking that working remotely, and working in an office, are either/or propositions. “Most people think of remote work as 100%, all or nothing,” she says. “But the reality we see is that’s it’s not all or nothing.”
Another concern that needs to be addressed when we speak of shifting of real offices to digital realm is that not every type of industry or sector can afford to do that. So while some may believe that freelancing or remote working is the new future, it remains to be seen how soon it can become a reality.
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