According to labor economics experts, the practice of full-time work from home, "dusted off" and accelerated by the pandemic, will become a permanent feature of the labor market, representing an advantage for businesses and workers.
Basically, the "old practice" of going to the office five days a week is dead, beyond the geographical contingencies, and the changes that proceed patchily in the world.
Remote work is here to stay
According to research conducted by Nicholas Bloom, a Stanford University economist who has been studying remote work for more than two decades, Covid was just a spark. Very strong, but a spark.
In 2019, only the 5% of full-time work was done from home. In April and May 2020, during the first days of the pandemic, the percentage rose to over 60%. Equals almost 40 years of growth, practically overnight.
Once the emergency is over, the share of remote work has decreased steadily (it is currently around 27%), but will probably stabilize around 25%. It's still a fivefold increase from 2019. A huge amount. Very few things in the economy grow by 500% in such a short time. It is a sign of a strong need, latent but alive until yesterday. And not by chance.
Full time in presence: disadvantages for everyone
There are those who still don't understand, especially in Italy. He will come to terms with an ever growing disaffection and detachment: in the balance between work and private life the weights have changed, and by a lot. Stricter return-to-office policies won't pay off.
Are many the employees who greatly appreciate the possibility of working from home, in particular for the reduction of downtime and travel, and the flexibility of schedules. On the other side of the fence, however, the employers can greatly benefit by allowing their employees to work remotely. As? Gaining more engagement, hiring candidates from wider pools, reducing expenses in physical locations and more. Even using remote work as an economic lever (let's be realistic).
A survey conducted by ZipRecruiter revealed that many job seekers would be willing to cut their salary up to 14% to work remotely, a percentage that goes up to 20% for parents with young children.
More and more road to a solution: that of hybrid work
More and more companies they will opt for a "hybrid" business model, which provides a working week divided into two days at home and three at the office. A solution that seems to have produced a slight increase in the average productivity of workers: the average daily saving is around 70 minutes a day per worker. No moving. Of these minutes, someone is employed to work the most.
I have adopted this model in the company and have found the same benefits. For me it is even better than the model with 4 working days a week. The concept of "full time work" must absolutely be diluted with a share of autonomy for the employees.
For those who object that not all jobs can be done remotely
Friends, discover hot water. A study of 2020 from the University of Chicago revealed that only about 37% of jobs in the USA it can be done entirely at home. Let's make sure that the percentage is even lower in the old continent: retail, transport, hospitality and catering certainly not. There, most of the full-time work is face-to-face, and that's fine.
But many technological, financial and professional sectors can also work remotely: why not take advantage? It is right and proper to allow it.
The corporate culture of full-time face-to-face work is obsolete
It's time to embrace the freedom of home working and hybrid working, to adapt to the needs of employees and the modern world. Work can no longer be a punishment: it's time to create a better world for everyone.
The future of work is flexible.
