FEATURE
PANDEMIC PROTECTION
Companies must ramp up their cyber security defences as coronavirus forces employees to work from home, says Lieven Bertier, Segment Director of Workplace at Barco Clickshare.
Over the past decade, innovations in technology and employee demands for more flexible working conditions have stimulated a restructuring of the traditional business model. Companies have been moving to a more fluid structure where staff work and collaborate from numerous locations, whether at a central head office, or a smaller satellite office, or from their homes. Now, with the global coronavirus pandemic locking down entire nations, this trend has been brought into sharp focus as millions of people are forced to work remotely for long periods of time.
The introduction of en masse remote working to stop the spread of the virus requires an increased dependence on software and cloud-based solutions, which, in turn, leads to concerns over cyber security. Having secure systems and protocols in place is not only vital at this time of crisis but should remain a priority in the long-term. Learning from this period, many businesses will choose to continue to implement flexible working and come to see it as a fundamental part of modern life.
However, as the reality of lockdown sinks in, people are beginning to crave the physical interaction that an office environment provides. It is unlikely once things go ‘back to normal’ that people are going to want to work remotely all the time; businesses will likely choose to adopt a hybrid approach, with greater fluidity for employees between office and home working. This approach delivers the physical
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contact that nourishes human relationships and well-being with the convenience and flexibility of remote working.
There are many advantages to adopting a structure that encourages elements of remote working. It is particularly suited to those companies operating across multiple locations as it enables virtual teams to work together with ease while commercial relationships can be developed remotely across a global network of customers.
Remote working has also helped organisations to attract and retain a new generation of digitally savvy employees who have grown up in the Internet age. They embrace the flexible approach where hot-desking and working remotely has become the new norm. It’s not just the younger generation embracing the digitalised workspace; many mature employees and those with physically limiting conditions who may have been forced to cut short their careers can now feel empowered to continue working remotely from home. Indeed, if there is a positive lesson from this current crisis, it is that employees of all ages can embrace new ways of working – something truly motivating in these troubling times.
Modern businesses are also becoming more reliant on freelancers and contractors, giving them the flexibility to increase or reduce staff numbers as and when the market dictates. This temporary workforce structure lends itself to remote working while delivering reduced office costs and a nimbler business model. Technology
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