The coronavirus pandemic has affected our way of life and work. With this, many organisations who in the past deemed remote working a taboo subject have had to embrace this change. 

We humans always exhibit that propensity to adapt to change and remote working on a gargantuan scale has recorded many successes. Whether we like to admit this, remote working is now being deemed as the future of work. How organisations adapt to this change in the long term would determine if they’re able to attract the best talents and also keep their existing workforce.

The benefits of remote working and the ease with which the world has adapted, with many organisations being able to carry on with business as usual, should be lauded. The burning question is, could remote working be a recipe for artificial unemployment? There have been many stories of people with two, three or sometimes innumerable full-time jobs at the same time. While some individuals hold multiple jobs, others have none. Is there a morality issue here too? With the coronavirus pandemic, many have lost their means of livelihood, homes, jobs, and even experienced unimaginable personal losses too. Is this a case of different strokes for different folks?

What about the legal risks, competition risks, data privacy risks, trade secrets and other inherent risks? In some scenarios, people are working in the same industry. 

Has the coronavirus pandemic exposed the inherent greed in humans and our insatiable wants on a never seen before scale? For people who hold multiple full-time jobs, how are they able to maintain their productivity levels and deliver maximum value for their employers? Some of the red flags to look out for could include a substantial drop in productivity levels, resignations after new recruitment exercises, working during unsociable hours, as a few examples amongst many.

The questions from these kinds of conversations are unending. The rot in the system, fake referencing schemes, etc.

There is an elephant in the room which would require innovative ways to address. 

However, despite the teething problems and loopholes that remote working has presented. I believe that the benefits far outweigh the challenges and remote working is indeed the future of work.

Photo by Domenico Loia on Unsplash