The nationwide quarantines that have locked down workers in their homes have resulted in a dramatic increase in people working remotely. Although the COVID-19 pandemic may have highlighted the need for working away from the office, the reality is that the trend toward remote working has been gaining steam for a while now.
In the past five years, remote work grew 44 percent to include 4.7 million people.[1] The reasons for this rapid growth include the ability for employers to attract talent from a much larger geographic area as well as a growing demand from workers for a more flexible working arrangement.
The number of those working remotely has surged during the pandemic, growing to nearly 16 million people.[2] The number of people working from home during COVID-19 has proven that a remote workforce can be just as productive and effective as an in-office team. That means you shouldn’t be looking forward to a massive return to the office in a post-COVID world. The remote workforce evolution has begun with little chance of reversal. Upwork’s Future Workforce Report predicts that 73% of all businesses will have remote workers by 2028.[3]
The shift to a remote workforce presents significant challenges – most critically securing your IT environment while enabling remote collaboration. Meeting those challenges can be daunting but implementing the right technology solutions can make the task much easier.
DynTek can help. Our IT experts assess your specific needs to enable remote access while protecting you against threats to your IT infrastructure. To learn more about how you can develop an effective remote workforce strategy, sign up to attend our virtual seminar co-hosted by Citrix: How to Build for a Remote-First Workforce to be held on Wednesday, June 17, 2020 from 10:30 AM to 1 PM ET.
[1] Remote Worker Statistics: Shifting Norms and Expectations, by Beth Braccio Hering, Flexjobs article, February 13, 2020.
[2] Report: Remote Work in the Age of COVID-19, Slack blog post, April 21, 2020
[3] Third Annual “Future Workforce Report” Sheds Light on How Younger Generations are Reshaping the Future of Work, Upwork press release, March 5, 2019