Looking at the future of remote work

The future of remote work has been greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

With governments worldwide imposing restrictions on non-essential mobility and limiting physical interactions, many were forced to reevaluate and reinvent the way many things are done.

Health services and educational institutions were forced to cope with the “new normal” that COVID-19 imposed on everyone.

The business world hasn’t been spared from the seemingly systemic overhaul as well.

The concept of remote work, while not new, hasn’t been as fully and widely embraced by the corporate world before the pandemic hit.

However, businesses were left with little to no choice but to shift to remote work setups as the pandemic continues unabated.

The future of remote work seems to brighten as time passes, as increasingly more businesses worldwide change into remote or hybrid setups.

Episode #407 of the Outsource Accelerator Podcast showcased a concrete example of how the remote work revolution has opened economic opportunities for Latin American countries. OA Founder and podcast host Derek Gallimore discussed this topic with Mauricio Cipres, the business development lead of Remote Team Solutions.

Remote work = Competent global workers

Remote work benefits employers and employees alike.

Remote work benefits to employers

For employers, it presents cost-cutting opportunities, employee enrichment benefits, and access to a global workforce.

Cost reduction opportunities

With remote workers, employers will no longer have to provide office space for their employees.

The cost reduction benefits get exponentially larger the more employees a business has.

Aside from overhead expenses reduction, employers can also save on salary costs by turning to offshore service providers.

Employee enrichment

Remote work setups give employees more autonomy and flexibility in how they execute their tasks.

This degree of freedom fosters employee positivity and affinity to their jobs, which in turn improves their productivity.

Access to a global workforce

Employers open to remote work setups can easily hire talents from across the globe.

Not being shackled by geographical limitations significantly helps businesses in onboarding qualified employees.

This is particularly helpful for businesses operating in areas with a shortage of the skilled professionals they need.

Remote work benefits to employees

Employers aren’t the only ones benefiting from remote work setups.

Remote workers also gain plenty of advantages, such as better employment opportunities, greater work flexibility, and increased personal time and work-life balance.

Better employment opportunities

Remote work lets employers tap into the global labor market. Inversely, it allows employees to seek out global employment opportunities.

These opportunities are oftentimes better than their local employment options.

Greater work flexibility

Employees working remotely enjoy a greater degree of freedom in doing their jobs.

For example, these remote workers may choose to work at a schedule more convenient for them (e.g. 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM instead of 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM), as long as they still meet the same number of hours.

They can also choose to work where they feel most productive and comfortable, be it at their homes, in cafes, coworking spaces, etc.

Increased personal time and work-life balance

Remote work eliminates the need for workers to commute to and from their offices.

This gives back several hours of personal time for many employees who live far from their workplaces and contend with traffic every day.

Working from the comforts of their homes or places other than their offices also makes fast-paced work environments less stressful.

The future of remote work and the global market

The rapid globalization of markets and the advancement of industry technologies make remote work preferable to onsite setups.

The numerous benefits of remote work did not go unnoticed by companies, either.

From a business trend, remote work has become a staple business strategy for many companies, in much the same way as outsourcing.

Tapping into the global labor market gave companies a larger and more diverse pool of skilled talents, at a much lower cost.

This made businesses more efficient and productive and gave them a competitive advantage in the market.

The future of remote work: Looking ahead

Remote work has become ever more popular and preferred by employees during the last two years.

Employees have regained control of their time and significantly improved their work-life balance.

On the other hand, employers have gained a way of simultaneously improving their employee retention rate and level of productivity.

With results that favor both employers and employees, the future of remote work as a default work setup alongside onsite employment may well be a foregone conclusion.