Discover the four biggest current trends in remote working and how they might affect you.
Over the last two decades, the world of work has evolved in directions that were once unfathomable. Technology has advanced at breakneck speed, meaning today’s workforce functions in a way so different from the late nineties that it’s practically unrecognisable.
One of the biggest new trends is remote working. A survey by Hire Intelligence shows some 30 per cent of those asked would opt for flexibility over a pay rise. A day away from the office has transformed from a rare occurrence to standard procedure. More and more people are going freelance and business owners are employing higher numbers of remote staff than ever before.
So what are the biggest trends in remote work for 2019?
1. New modes of communication keep teams connected
With the advent of a more widely dispersed team comes new tech to keep workers in touch and on the same page. Where once an entire workforce would share the same office, now members of a business’s staff can even work in different continents. To keep track of where the team is at, it’s ever more common for managers to use apps and programs where staff can communicate in a group or delegate tasks, all with a few taps of their smartphone. ChatWork allows employers to set tasks and deadlines, discuss changes to projects and suggest edits. Asana is an organisation tool where the whole team can access to-do lists in the palm of their hand.
2. The rise of the co-working space
Once upon a time the joy of working from home was the silence, the solitude, the freedom to collate vital statistics in your pyjamas. As more individuals emigrate from the office to make remote work their permanent set up, the benefits of a proper workspace and productive environment have become more obvious. Enter the co-work space, where people can enjoy the community of the office without the pressure of the boss leaning over their shoulder. Co-work spaces allow remote workers to adhere to regular work schedules, benefit from the collective productive mindset and sidestep the potential loneliness of working from home.
3. New cyber security standards
Now that so much work is done remotely, there’s far more potential for data breaches, misuse of information and hacking of private files. This means cyber security is seeing a serious boost (especially after Facebook reported colossal breaches of privacy last year). Huge corporations have cyber security measures in place and the best experts to keep their information safe, but when it comes to smaller businesses the risk is much greater. It’s believed that 72 per cent of security issues take place within companies employing fewer than 100 staff.
4. Want to work remotely? You’ll have to compete
If millennials were the pioneers of remote work then Gen Z are the poster children for this new trend. That means there’s serious competition in the world of online and distance working. Jobs sites such as People Per Hour, Fiverr and Upwork are crammed with profiles for workers – many the best in their field – offering services at competitive prices. To stand out in this increasingly saturated corner of the working world, individuals must offer specialist knowledge and prove themselves adept in digital skills. Web design and social media management now top the list of highly-prized expertise and a particular area of specialisation is invaluable in helping workers stand out from the growing crowd.
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