Work From Home Trend Will Accelerate from Covid-19

Covid-19 brings an interesting long-term effect to the job market. Employers will accelerate the movement to shift more workers out of the traditional large office building to work from home. Yes, this occurred as a reaction to a health crisis, but it presents new challenges. Are you prepared to work from home?

Effective and productive work from a home office requires new skills and disciplines. Distractions galore lurk at every turn when working from home. Schools closed for the same reasons as office buildings. Kids demand attention and use a lot of internet bandwidth for all of their entertainment devices. College aged kids show up suddenly on your doorstep as their campuses shut down.

Two spouses work from the same home at the same time. Both office buildings closed. More competition abounds for limited internet bandwidth. The same holds true for quiet work space. Many homes contain only one “office” area. How will you decide which one uses the office area at home?

Videoconferencing will increase to continue meeting with colleagues and clients. Schools will conduct classes using videoconferencing. Did I mention the likely challenges with internet bandwidth yet?

The Covid-19 situation will eventually run its course. The long-term effects on the workplace, however, will be an acceleration by employers in using work from home. Employers will gain comfort and acceptance of it and take note of the positive financial implications.

Get ready to work from home long term.