Our New Normal: Remote Work will Change How We Work Together

Almost overnight, COVID-19 took remote work from a growing trend, with the number of remote workers having grown by 173% since 2005 in the U.S., to the new normal for many businesses and their employees. The shift has been dramatic and workdays have been upended. 

For those fortunate enough to work from home, we’ve seen an increased interest in learning to adjust to this new normal. We’ve seen hashtags related to working remotely (#workfromhome, #stayhome, #yomequedoencasa) skyrocket on LinkedIn’s platform as members post encouraging messages, advice, and stories about working from home.

But the challenges are real, even without the additional demands many are facing with shelter in place orders. Mark Roberts, a senior manager and efficiency expert, shared some great advice that resonated with thousands of members, including me. His suggestion? Do a faux commute in the morning before you start working for the day. He takes a 20-minute walk while listening to podcasts each morning to clear his head and prepare for the workday. Such a smart idea and an excellent example of the suggestions and encouragement we’re seeing shared, as we all work to make life adjustments.

I also miss seeing and just talking with my team. That’s where video conferencing tools like Microsoft Teams and other platforms come in to make meetings more engaging. We’re seeing coworkers and colleagues use other tools to replicate the office water cooler. For example, we’ve seen a 30% increase in conversations among coworkers on LinkedIn. 

Whether or not we like it, ‘virtual everything’ is being tested right now, and it is changing the business world. Companies that were not online before have now figured it out. Businesses that would have not considered a shift to remote working are making it work. This weekend, we even saw the NFL successfully host their draft picks virtually.

And it’s not just office work that’s going virtual. Businesses are hosting customer events over LinkedIn Live at a much faster pace (growing 158% since February), training sessions have gone virtual, and more people are learning online than ever before (4 million hours were spent learning on LinkedIn last month alone). 

We’re also building products to help our members and customers navigate this new landscape. For example, we’re adding new features into our virtual events product to help our members more closely connect with other people “at” the event. We’re also working on new tools to better facilitate an online interview process as well as new ways for employees to interact with candidates. 

The demand for, and desire for remote work has also quickly increased. On LinkedIn, we’re seeing a massive 43% spike in the number of people who want to get jobs working remotely. We’ve also seen a 28% increase in the number of remote jobs listed on the platform. San Francisco, New York City, and Seattle, three of the metropolitan areas hit the hardest by COVID-19, have collectively seen searches for remote jobs jump 58%, compared to 38% in the rest of the country. 

Would love to hear your thoughts. If you’re working remotely do you have the tools you need? Are there new resources you wish you could have? Any ideas on what you’d like to see from LinkedIn?