This year marked the beginning of remote working’s influence on the workplace industry, but 2021 will be the start of even more flexible opportunities.
Now, more professionals want to have access to this arrangement in some manner in the long run.
“I don’t think it will necessarily be as flashy as 2020 has been, with this huge overnight change, but I think 2021 has the makings of being an important year in terms of the foundation of the next level of remote work,” said Brie Reynolds, senior career specialist at FlexJobs. “More employers have a stake in it now, so I think we’ll see the foundation for what remote work will look like for the next five or ten years being laid in 2021.”
In 2021, remote workers will represent a much larger portion of the working population. This will force policymakers to rearrange strategies to better accommodate these professionals, such as stipends for home office supplies.
Along with this, companies will need to invest into more remote working tools and resources to keep workers engaged. This should include rewards programs to recognize good work, upskilling programs and technology that make a seamless remote working experience.
The sudden shift to remote working was the most challenging part of this transition, and now that employees and employers have gotten the hang of this arrangement, it should feel much more natural.
”People have established new habits now, which is the hardest work, psychologically,” said David Johnson, principal analyst for employee experience at Forrester Research.
“With that comes an increased comfort level, both for remote workers and executives.”
