In 2015, an IDC report forecasted that 72 per cent of US workers will be working remotely by 2020, while a 2016 survey by McKinsey found that 45 per cent of respondents felt that social technologies were very or extremely integrated into day-to-day work at their companies.
This year, the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic may have increased those figures, as companies around the world have switched the office-based work model to a working from home (WFH) structure.
RMIT University (Vietnam) School of Business & Management Senior Lecturer Dr Pham Cong Hiep said many businesses are responding to COVID-19 by shifting their services online and creating a WFH arrangement for their employees.
“We’ve already seen Vietnamese e-commerce powerhouse Tiki create remote working policies for thousands of its employees, and ride-hailing firm BE GROUP follow a day later with similar measures,” Dr Hiep said.
“In Australia, a sudden rush to set up WFH offices has caused many stores to run out of stock for office desks, chairs and computer equipment. Though working remotely is not new, such a massive scale of WFH demand is unprecedented.”
According to Dr Hiep, the WFH model provides many benefits to organisations, not just in terms of increasing productivity, reducing business costs, and minimising business disruption, but also making a positive impact on the environment, societal wellbeing and the welfare of the workers.
“There’s more work-life balance and fewer traffic accidents for example, and the structure can reduce traffic congestion and fuel emissions due to less commuting, while lessening the burden on public transport,” Dr Hiep said.