4 Things Microsoft Predicted About Home Working

It likely won’t have escaped your attention in recent days about Microsoft’s report that has been generated from millions of users worldwide in relation to Home Working, Job hunting and efficiency at home.

After reading the information surrounding the report, ARx has highlighted some key areas that you would likely need to know about, whether you are job hunting, or looking to bring on someone new.

1). Microsoft’s Data isn’t just from Office Programs

The data Microsoft drew from isn’t as simple as it appears. Following Microsoft ‘s takeover of LinkedIn not too long ago, they now also gain information and data from the worlds leading social platform dedicated to professionals and careers etc. This means their data is likely from a much larger pool than initially suspected.

Other sources from their data include:

·        Microsoft Office Suite Data

·        Job Boards and Public Data

·        Microsoft 365 (other cloud programs)

·        ALL Microsoft products that offer online / remote backup and data storage

2). The Effects of Home Working Aren’t ALL Positive

According to Microsoft’s report (which should definitely be taken with a pinch of salt, but do reflect with a small amount of accuracy the general feeling of their users) whilst company executives and CEOs are doing very well, and adapting extraordinarily well to home working, their reports and junior members of the team are struggling more than ever.

BBC WorldBusinessReport suggested that this may be due to the disparity in living arrangements between directors and their employees, namely living space and conditions. Whatever the reason, the data suggests more junior employees are feeling less supported, and most are registering as less successful in comparison to people with more senior roles. 

This is also reflected between new starters and experienced hires.

3). Zoom Call Bananza

On average, during the lockdown period from Mar 2020 – Mar 2021, meetings have extended in length by around 20 minutes, compared to in-office meetings that companies traditionally ran in the years before. 

This increases staff workload as the time spent in meetings both generates work and prevents people from achieving day-to-day tasks, whilst attending the conferences.

Multiple articles suggest the extended meetings might be a result of technical difficulties, delays, and the time spent waiting for colleagues to join the call remotely (we’ve all been there!)

4). The Percentages

This report also presents some very useful information on percentages. For example:

·        40% of ALL Staff are considering / open to a new opportunity at any given time

·        There has been a 60% increase in document creation since COVID began

·        75% of businesses have reported a rise in productivity since home working began

So what does this all mean?

The experts at Microsoft have concluded their report, saying that they feel it shows home working is likely here to stay, and most businesses will have to have a home working in some way or another to attract serious talent to their business.

This likely also means a change in approach to how companies are going to represent your business to the market for you. 

As a professional staffing company, ARx encompasses the roles of reputation management, talent acquisition and chief negotiators to ensure that you bring in the right people when you need them, and in helping you to make sure they stay.

For more information on us, and how we do what we do, get in touch by emailing [email protected] or give us a call on +44 (0) 1580 211 221