Council Post: Five Reasons Why The Remote Workforce Won’t Return To The Office

The youngest Canadian and Amerian male to visit all 193 UN nations. Founder of Global Degree. 

Over two years ago, a Forbes article predicted 50% of the U.S. workforce would be working remotely by 2027. An outlandish claim at the beginning of this year, and now all of a sudden, that figure is seen as conservative. As Bob Dylan once famously said, “the times they are a-changin.” We may witness entire corporate skyscrapers transform into rent-a-desk co-working spaces. We may witness the rise of a project-based gig economy where we’re as good as our last customer rating. But in the meantime, millions of people in America and around the world are temporarily working from home, and here are five reasons why it may stay that way indefinitely. 

Remote work is performance-based.

It’s hard to schmooze your boss or pretend to act busy shuffling papers while working remotely. Companies simply see input and output. And with cutting-edge platforms helping measure ROI even further, it’s next to impossible to swindle your way into an overpaid job.

The offices may still remain. But this time, it’s more of an open space for breakout rooms and collaborations or departments to come together for a deep-dive brainstorm session. But following that, many will return back to their home offices to continue on the project. 

Companies have better data.

Big tech isn’t done collecting data just yet. Google announced that more than 200,000 of its employees will probably remain working remotely until the summer of 2021. Facebook announced nearly all of its 48,000 employees will stay at home till the end of the year and admitted that, within the decade, more than half would remain working at home indefinitely. Twitter and Shopify let their employees work from home permanently.

Sure, these companies are concerned most about health-related issues, but they also realize just how important this data is in determining the future of workspaces. Getting it right will lead to big profits down the road. 

Office overhead isn’t cheap.

Any small or mid-size business owner will attest to this: Human capital and office overhead is a killer. And now many are asking the difficult question: Is it even worth it? I was always fascinated with why CEOs would fly across the world for face-to-face meetings instead of a skype meeting. Or why companies would invest in swanky high-tech boardrooms when they could just hop on a conference call. And the answer is because when it comes to building trust, or listening to your gut instincts, in-person meetings reign supreme. But is that true moving forward? Or is it changing right before our eyes? 

The online world has become so fluid that I often mistakenly think I’ve met somebody in person when really it was only on the web. Offline and online experiences are blending together to a point of no return. Perhaps those flights or boardrooms are no longer needed. A video call will do just fine. 

Freedom of location improves productivity.

Legendary billionaire Richard Branson discovered this way back in 2014 when he announced all Virgin staff could take as much holiday as they wanted. The logic behind this? They discovered that nearly everyone wants to work remotely, and employers who want the pick of talent need to offer flexible work schedules. But best of all, productivity can increase. Plain and simple.

Sure, people value a positive work environment, team rallies and free bagels with cream cheese in the staff kitchen. But the real reason people work? To provide a roof over their head, a way to get around and to support their family. And this will keep them working until KPIs are hit, whether they’re on a beach in Bali or their loft in New York. We all need to eat. 

Digital isn’t optional but required for survival.

I remember only a few years ago companies didn’t get Facebook or understand the value in social media marketing. Well, they aren’t with us anymore. 

The same goes for digital. What started as a mystery, became a perk and is now a necessity. Companies must develop a streamlined, automated (and perhaps even AI) digital strategy to stay competitive. The ones that do will emerge as new industry leaders. The ones that don’t should leave space in their file cabinets for the bankruptcy papers. 

Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?