Don’t look now, but the trend toward working remotely has just found solid footing in the form of a global pandemic. Companies around the world have been forced to conduct business in new ways since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in March 2020. Employees were sent home in droves—many of them expected to work from home.Executive SummaryMore companies are allowing employees to work remotely, but will they succeed? Learn how to manage employees you can’t see from people who are doing so successfully. Among their advice: Set up performance and productivity guidelines as well as parameters for an acceptable at-home workspace; ensure employees feel connected by providing collaboration tools and having daily check-ins.
For a significant portion of America’s workforce, it was just another day at the home office. According to Upwork’s 2018 Future Workforce Report, 63 percent of companies in the U.S. already had remote work arrangements with some or all of their workforce, thanks in part to a tight labor market and a new generation of workers pushing for more flexible work arrangements.
It’s a trend that was already on the rise. The number of workers who work remotely part or all of their workweek has risen 173 percent from 2005-2018, according to Global Workplace Analytics data.