Discovering New Trends in Remote Work

Remote work has become really important in how we work nowadays. Being able to work from anywhere has changed things a lot. When the pandemic started, companies had to quickly adjust to help their employees keep working. As things got better, people saw how useful it is to work from anywhere. This made a lot of companies want to offer more flexible work options. Some are still trying to figure out what works best for them, but many are enjoying the benefits of having workers from all over the world.

This article aims to understand where companies are currently in their remote work journey and confirm the findings from the "Discovering New Trends in Remote Work" report.

More and more companies are allowing employees to work from home

Recent surveys show that many companies have started remote work policies in the last couple of years. About half of the companies surveyed (48 percent) already have a policy, and around a quarter (27 percent) are thinking of making one. Some companies (11 percent) let employees work remotely but don't have a formal policy. Only a small number (7 percent) have no plans for remote work.

The data also shows that almost 90 percent of the companies surveyed have offered flexible work arrangements in the past three years. It's becoming more common for companies to have rules and policies for managing remote workers effectively.

Remote work depends on attracting talented individuals

A big reason companies let people work remotely is because their employees want flexibility, which is about 73 percent of the reason. Even though reasons related to COVID-19 are becoming less important, other reasons related to talent are getting more attention. This includes things like making the company more attractive to work for (53 percent), finding the right people for the job (38 percent), and getting access to specific skills (27 percent). Only a few companies mentioned saving money (14 percent) or reducing pollution (3 percent) as reasons for remote work.

This shows that remote work is mainly about getting and keeping talented workers. It's becoming a really important part of how companies attract and keep the best people, especially in industries where it's hard to find good workers. Companies that want to attract top talent make sure to talk about flexibility in their job ads and when they're looking for new employees.

Managing remote work programs across different countries has changed

Recent research shows that compared to our study in 2022, HR and Global Mobility departments are taking on more responsibility for managing international remote work programs. This change might be because clear rules and guidelines for international remote work have been introduced, which means there's less need for individual tax checks. But making these rules work well needs support from different parts of the company to make sure everyone follows the rules and meets the needs of the employees.

When remote work involves different countries, short-term agreements are usually the most common type approved

While many companies allow remote work within their own country, when it comes to working across borders, short-term arrangements are the norm. More than half of the companies (52 percent) consider or allow temporary arrangements of up to 90 days per year. Some companies (about 20 percent) are thinking about hiring people from other countries or setting up virtual assignments. Longer-term international remote work, lasting more than 90 days, is less common.

By focusing on short-term arrangements for cross-border remote work, companies can give employees more flexibility in where they work while also reducing the risks and paperwork. Usually, companies have rules that let employees work remotely for a short time (usually between 10 and 40 days) while on vacation or visiting family, with some conditions. Meanwhile, long-term or permanent remote work arrangements are decided case by case because they involve more paperwork and rules to follow.

Compliance is the biggest worry for companies.

A recent study found that most companies (about 82 percent) are most worried about following tax and legal rules when they let employees work remotely. About 65 percent of companies also worry about the risks of setting up a permanent office in another place. Some companies (26 percent) have trouble with immigration rules too.

Aside from following the rules, companies also have trouble setting up and running remote work programs. This includes making sure everything works smoothly (about 43 percent), keeping track of how many days employees spend working in other places (about 30 percent), and making sure everyone understands the rules.

The study shows that companies still have a lot to figure out when it comes to following the rules for remote work across borders. Even though some progress has been made in making the rules clearer, there's still work to do to make sure everyone understands the rules both locally and internationally. For now, companies need to keep working on ways to follow the rules, stay updated on changes, and talk with officials to make sure everyone is on the same page.

Many companies depend on individual assessments to lower compliance risks

Many companies look at cases one by one to lower the risks of not following the rules. But because following the rules can still be hard, it's important to have ways to manage these risks better. A recent survey found that 59 percent of the companies look at cases one by one, while 46 percent have rules in place to help reduce how often they need to do this. Some companies use special tools to keep track of requests to work remotely (about 16 percent), or they use automated checks to see if there are any risks (about 6 percent).

The survey also found that most companies don't use fancy technology to manage remote work programs. Only a few have high-tech ways to handle things. This makes sense because every company is different, and they have to think about how many cases they get, how much they can standardize their program, and how complicated their rules are before they decide to use technology.

Also, how much technology a company already uses and how their systems are set up are important when thinking about using new tech for remote work. Some companies use what they already have or simple tech to help with parts of the process, like filling out forms. But more and more companies are thinking about getting new tech made just for remote work because it's getting more complicated to track where people go and how they work, especially across borders. For example, they might need a way to get approvals from different people and make sure employees follow the rules after they travel, all in one place.

Most companies are working on setting up rules and procedures for their remote work programs across borders

Many companies are working on setting up rules and ways of doing things for their international remote work programs. When asked what they're focusing on in the coming months, most companies said they're going to work on setting up rules and ways of doing things for international remote work. About 33 percent of them also plan to make formal rules.

More than 60 percent of companies want to update and make their programs bigger. This could mean adding new types of remote work (about 31 percent) or looking at the rules they already have and making them better (also about 31 percent). About 20 percent of companies are thinking about using technology to make things run smoother or to do some jobs automatically.

These results show that companies are at different stages of setting up their remote work programs. Some are just starting, while others are making their rules better or adding new ones. It also shows that remote work programs are always changing and getting better. Since this is new for many companies and there's no one right way to do it, they're trying out different rules and ways of doing things. As they learn, they change their rules to make sure they work for everyone and for the business. And as the program gets bigger, they use technology to help make sure everything runs smoothly and follows the rules.

To make sure the program keeps getting better, companies need to set up ways for people to give feedback and to keep an eye on how things are going. This could mean talking to people who are involved or looking at how well things are working by checking some numbers.

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