Covid really shook up the world - in more ways than one! From the beginning, many of us suddenly had to start working from home. What was a temporary solution became a permanent fixture for a lot of people. It’s now nearly 2022 and office buildings worldwide are still quiet - for part of the week, at least.
But is remote working really the future?
To think about the future, we need to look into the past. Before Covid, it was the norm to commute an average of 59 minutes (or 1 hour and 19 minutes if you’re in London) 5 days a week, planning ahead for your lunches (or buying them) and making mindless chatter around the watercooler.
During the first year of the pandemic lockdown, studies showed that 60% of the UK’s adult population were working from home, with 26% of those planning to continue WFH permanently after lockdown.
But WFH isn’t all it’s chalked up to be. Sure, you save money and increase productivity, but one in five remote workers have said they struggle with loneliness. This could explain the 44% decrease in cats and dogs needing to be put down due to lack of adoption!
Do you like working from home?
We’ve mentioned saving money and increased productivity as some benefits of remote working, but are there more benefits?
Of course, there are. Here are some more pros of WFH:
- Better work-life balance
- Less time commuting
- Greater flexibility
- Positive impacts on the environment
But it’s not all sunshine and happiness. Apart from loneliness, remote workers also say that the lack of collaboration, lack of office equipment and increased distractions are some disadvantages.
It all comes to personal preference. The UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that 24% of companies are intending to use increased home working in the future, with the Information and Communication industry seeing the highest proportion of that at 49% (go marketing!).
So what does this mean?
That was a lot of numbers and stats to throw at you, but this means that the world is moving towards a future that prioritises hybrid working more than ever. Hybrid working allows people to work some days at home and some in the office. The ONS study showed that 85% of the UK adult population preferred this method of working (and we have to agree).
Whether you’re 3 days in the office or fully remote, make sure you have the right equipment that works with you. The MOFT laptop stand sticks to the bottom of your laptop and conveniently travels with you, which removes the dreaded realisation that you left your stand in the office on the Friday before a week of remote working.