Sponsored by PEOPLE WEB VERSION: Click Here Remote work is here to stay
Remote work was on the rise in Britain before the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 2010, the number of workers usually working from home increased by almost two-thirds.
Employees that switch to remote work do not become less productive in general; in fact, they are frequently more productive after the switch. Studies from the UK, US, and China find remote work can improve worker performance, even before savings on office costs are factored in.
Surveys of employers and hiring managers taken during the lockdown find that over half thought remote work was going better than expected and over 60 per cent planned to increase their use of remote work in the future.
In the long run, a permanent shift to remote work will be attractive to employers.. It will create the opportunity for both cost savings and productivity gains, as they can choose from a larger pool of talent and attract workers from regions where the cost of living is lower.
This will shift the economic centre of gravity away from London and the South East and support the levelling up agenda of the government. Graduates will no longer be forced to move to London away from friends and family in search of good jobs.
Cities have become increasingly economically important in the UK’s information economy due to the power of agglomeration. But the benefits of clustering together to help workers exchange ideas and enjoy “knowledge spillovers” have shrunk due to technological shifts.
While market forces are already pushing the economy towards a greater use of remote work, policymakers should seek to accelerate the trend in order to reduce regional inequalities, cut carbon emissions, and raise productivity.
W
ill working from home become the new normal?
Yes, according to The Case for Remote Work, a new report from think tank The Entrepreneurs Network by innovation economist Dr Matt Clancy. Reviewing a wide range of research from across economics and social science, it argues that the business case for remote work has improved significantly over the past decade.
Remote work offers two key advantages for employers. First, businesses hiring remote workers are able to access a significantly larger pool of talent. Instead of being limited by geography, they are able to hire workers from across the UK and beyond, increasing the likelihood that
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they will find a good match. Second, remote workers may not require office space in expensive cities, may reside in regions with lower living costs, and may also value the freedom to live anywhere. As a result, remote work can create significant cost-saving opportunities. In some cases, businesses may pass on the savings to remote workers in the form of higher wages, so as to attract better talent.
At the same time, the costs of remote work in terms of reduced productivity are overblown. A range of studies from the US, UK, and China lend support to the idea that workers may be more productive when they are spared the distractions of the office. Employees that switch to remote work do not become
less productive in general; in fact, they are frequently more productive after the switch.
The study highlights three key trends that have made a shift to remote work more common. More workers are using the internet to find jobs. At the same time, algorithms have made it easier to identify and assess remote workers allowing for better matches between employers and employees. Most workers, however, find their jobs through personal connections. For such workers, social media has been a boon helping younger workers to have larger personal networks than past generations.
A major justification for returning to the office is that workers being exposed to new
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