COVID-19 has turned the world upside-down, and in turn, has completely changed the way we work. It’s safe to say that we will likely never go back to the 9-to-5 workday or big, beautiful office spaces. Workers have new expectations and companies need to prepare and adjust. We’ve identified three trends shaping the future of work:
1. Digital Transformation
As more workers go remote, technology is becoming more important than ever. But digital transformation isn’t just about enabling employees to work from anywhere; it’s also about streamlining processes. Creating more efficient and automated workflows, enhancing collaboration (especially when teams are remote), and standardizing processes are key priorities not just for businesses but also for workers.
Technology that automates more tasking and drives efficiency makes organizations more agile, too—they can do more faster with tools like secure document sharing, document tracking, and moving previously paper-based work to digital formats.
2. Sustainability
Future of work trends also show organizations putting greater emphasis on environmental sustainability. While reducing paper usage is certainly part of that (the average office worker prints more than 10,000 pages a year), minimizing the need for physical delivery of documents as well as in-person meetings can also be impactful.
Global Workforce Analytics estimates that if employees worked from home half of the workweek, they could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 54 million tons every year. And did you know sending documents by mail or other delivery services also has an environmental cost? A recent study by Pitney Bowes indicated the average letter generates 20 grams of CO2 emissions.
This doesn’t mean companies need to replace employees with technology, but they should figure out how to make collaboration easier and become less dependent on in-person meetings —whether that’s through tools like Microsoft Teams or an eSignature software.
3. Increase in remote work
Employees are increasingly expressing a preference to have more mobility and flexibility when it comes to work. According to a recent Gartner poll, 30% of employees were already working remotely pre-pandemic. Employers expect that number to rise to more than 40% in our post-pandemic world. Now, the work from home (WFH) or remote model is less the exception and more of an expectation. In our recent report, 67% of workers said a WFH policy is very or extremely important when considering future job opportunities.
Today’s workers are assuming lifestyles that require employers to adapt to cloud-based applications and collaborative tools that provide them with a virtual office — no matter where they are or what time they’re working. Because of this, more organizations are adopting tools that make remote collaboration from anywhere in the world on any device easier.
Interested in seeing where the future of work will take your organization? Contact us to learn more about the Nitro Productivity Platform.
