Work from Home Jobs: Is This the New Normal?

Chris Freitas • Nov 06, 2020
work from home jobs

The new normal is a regular topic of conversation. However, this isn’t necessarily a water cooler conversation at the office. Wearing masks, concerns of contracting COVID, being home a lot more often, educating our kids from home, and work from home jobs are all part of our current “normal.”

When it comes to remote work, business leaders were required to quickly shift gears and step up to the plate to ensure business continuity when stay-in-place-orders became the standard earlier this year. 


According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2017–18, only 29% of workers could work from home, 25% occasionally worked from home, and 15% had days on which they only worked from home. Fast forward to 2020 in the times of COVID, and the majority of businesses transitioned from in-office to a fully remote workforce in a matter of days.


The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) shared that the law firm Seyfarth conducted a flash survey in mid-March of this year, and 550 U.S. employers responded that:


  • Sixty-seven percent of employers took steps to allow employees who would normally work in the office to work from home. 
  • In some or all parts of the country, 36% actively encouraged all employees to work from home.
  • Forty-two percent encouraged employees to work remotely on a case-by-case basis.
  • In hot spots, 6% encouraged employees to work from home.


Eventually, all companies in areas where stay-in-place orders were enacted had 100% of employees working from home in most instances. And now, being in the fourth quarter of the year with COVID on the rise, many businesses still have a fully or partially remote workforce.


The question is: is this new normal of remote work here to stay? For many businesses, it appears that way for the foreseeable future.

COMPANIES GOING ALL OR PARTIALLY REMOTE


In a Gartner CFO Survey with 317 respondents, 74% of companies plan to shift at least 5% of their workforce to remote work from home jobs permanently post-COVID 19. Nearly 25% plan to move at least 20% of on-site employees to permanent remote positions.


The shift to permanent remote work is partly due to employers seeing the cost benefits of a remote workforce; companies realize possible cost-cutting measures, including a reduction in real estate expenses and on-premise technology spend. Other overhead expenses, such as office supplies and equipment, are also reduced with a remote workforce. 


Global Workplace Analytics recently reported that converting a part-time employee from in-office to virtual equates to an average savings of $11,000 per employee.


A diverse multitude of companies is fully embracing remote work from home jobs. Microsoft, Google, and Apple were some of the first to indicate long-term work from home plans for their employees. Per CNN Business, Facebook revealed that up to 50% of its employees could be working remotely in the next five to 10 years. Twitter plans to allow part of its workforce to work from home persistently. Shopify has become a “digital by default” company, per its CEO, Tobi Lutke. Most of Shopify’s employees will have work from home jobs moving forward. Slack is allowing employees to work from home without an end in sight. 


Remote work has also proven to increase employee productivity. According to Global Workplace Analytics’ President, Katie Lister, studies show fewer interruptions than when in the office, and employees give back 50% of the time they would have spent commuting. And now that many managers have done it (worked from home) and see that it can work, they’re more open to the idea that their employees can do it and be productive, as well.


EMERGING EMPLOYMENT TRENDS


COVID-19 has indeed shifted the corporate workforce regarding work from home offices and procedures. Where work has always been considered a place where people go, it’s now shifting to a focus on what people do; it’s not about where the work is done but how it is done. In a remote work environment, hard work and performance are not readily visible to managers as they are when working in an office environment. 


Managers can no longer see who is coming into work early and staying late or working at their desk vs. away from their desk. Although, they can see the dates and times on deliverables such as emails and documents. Therefore, remote work makes it more about productivity in deliverables and whether someone is getting their tasks done well and on time.


Accessibility to technology is a necessity when working remotely. Employers have made adjustments to ensure all employees have access to laptops and the software and hardware required to function from home. 


Communication is also essential in remote teams, so employers have made adjustments to ensure everyone has training on video conferencing software; employees utilize apps such as Slack that allow for real-time interaction and communication with virtual teams. Regular meetings and apps like Slack also support employee engagement, which can be challenging when working remotely.

Onboarding and hiring in a remote world require adjustments, as well as compared to onboarding in an office. Organizations have to navigate how to have a successful onboarding to welcome new hires virtually. 


Some companies also see the opportunity to expand their hiring practices to include employees in other locations, increasing their candidate pool due to remote work from home jobs. 

REMOTE WORK IMPACT ON EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS & POLICIES


With the new emerging employment trends to support a remote workforce, employers need to consider how remote work affects their employment benefits and policies. Now is a good time for employers to review benefits and policies such as how to adjust health benefits, work from home policies, flexible schedules, and worker's compensation as a starting point.


HEALTH BENEFITS


Companies that go partially or fully remote and open up their candidate pool to include those in other areas throughout the U.S. will need to consider what it means to offer healthcare benefits to employees in different locations. For example, the laws in each state can vary on what type and level of employee benefits are required.


WORKER’S COMPENSATION AND WORK FROM HOME LIABILITY


What kind of worker’s compensation plans are needed in the remote work environment? How much liability does the business have? Does the employee need to have their own policy to fall back on? These plans need to be reviewed and discussed to see what options are available to cover work from home liabilities.


WORK FROM HOME POLICIES


Organizations need to implement clear work from home policies to cover items such as expectations, schedules, liability clauses (when appropriate), privacy, proper conduct, and so on. Such policies will help to give structure for remote employees and teams.


TRAINING PROGRAMS


Offering training programs to support remote teams is an area to which employers are now giving attention. Ensuring that all employees know how to use the tools necessary for optimal productivity while remotely working is critical, and well as training how to effectively communicate and engage with remote teams.


KBI CAN HELP NAVIGATE ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES


As businesses navigate the new normal, many will likely have a blend of policies for work from home part-time and in-office part-time. Many companies believe in some form of face-to-face interaction. In the end, it will come down to what is best for each organization on a case-by-case basis. 


As you navigate the new normal and employee benefit and policy considerations, KBI's team of benefits experts is here to help. We will work with and for you to determine the best plan of action for your organization moving forward.


Contact us today by submitting our online contact form or calling us at 408.366.8880. We look forward to working with you!

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