Microsoft and research from TechRepublic Premium has provided insight into how the pandemic will alter our work style, business operations and acceleration of technology adoption.

The study titled “Transitioning Asia-Pacific to a New Normal of Work” reviewed how business leaders across various industries are adapting to the new needs of the workplace. 

“As different parts of the world were hit by COVID-19, life and work were changed overnight for everyone,” said Kady Dundas, Head of Marketing at Microsoft Teams. “All of a sudden we’ve gone from working in conference rooms to working in living rooms, and when you do that you have a high dependence on video. We know that we have about 200 million meeting participants each day, which equates to 4.1 billion minutes of meetings.”

As part of the new way of working, companies need to be equipped with the right tools and resources to address potential challenges that come with a more flexible workforce.

One of the largest obstacles that employees face when working from home is not establishing boundaries between work and home-life, meaning they often work overtime and increase their risk of burning out. Leaders should encourage workers to take time off and create distinct work hours to avoid this.