New way of working: 100% remote as the new standard?

Most of us (probably) know this situation: your alarm goes off at 6 am, you hit the snooze button, but your kids are waiting for breakfast before school. You get up, manage your kids, prepare for work and wait at the train station or in traffic with hundreds of other commuters.

This was, at least before the pandemic, the normality for most of us for most of the week. Then, we suddenly all had to work from home - and to the surprise of many employers and employees alike, it worked.?

Productivity did not decline, and, in fact, many colleagues we spoke with stated that they could focus much better. No distractions, no “short” conversations - “Have a minute? Tim told me who left their dishes in the kitchen sink .. !”

While this is definitely charming, adds some routine to your day, makes your workplace colorful and increases team spirit, spending some of your work-days at home can have positive effects - less time spent commuting, more sleep, better focus and more flexibility.

With the new way of working, things have changed dramatically. We can plan meetings according to a doctor’s appointment or around our children's day-care times. According to Statista, 65% of the workforce would like to work hybrid, 13.6% exclusively in the office, and 21.4% exclusively remotely.

On the other side of the aisle, employers were and are hesitant to let go of the supposed control they exert when employees are physically available in the office. This “old-school” type of micro-management might just be an extreme example, but the question remains: how does having someone in the room next to you speak to their productivity?

Because we simply do not work efficiently for 8 hours straight, regardless of our location. Interestingly, allowing for little breaks or allowing us to plan creatively has shown, psychologically, to increase our motivation.

The reason? We have made a conscious decision and thus commitment to ourselves. Of course, this is not always possible - a project deadline is a project deadline, after all - but in general and on a small scale it works well.

Naturally, employers also have financial incentives to keep employees physically present, especially the big cost of maintaining office infrastructure. And, as stated before, meeting people in the office can create a type of team spirit, provide instant support and motivation that 100% remote work simply cannot.?

The reality is: the future has arrived! Remote work is here to stay, and it is for the better. The solution for employers is to understand this and start engaging with their future workforce to remain competitive on the job market.

We hope this article did shed some insights into what many of us have probably already figured out naturally during the past years. Opinions welcome!