The internet and technology have silently but progressively continued to reshape how we work and take on tasks, and with the massive success that AI has experienced, this change continues to shift us into better and smarter ways to work.
I once listened to the Demystified podcast by Apostle Femi Lazarus, where he interviewed a billionaire. He asked her a question comparing people's attitude to work: "Someone who comes late to work but helps you solve your problems." The woman said, "Don't come at all — just stay at home and solve my problem, and I'll pay you for it." What does that tell you?
The world has shifted drastically from a physical one to an online one, where people from different parts of the world can take on a project and everyone can see the work happening in real time.
Remote work these days gives companies lower running costs. Imagine a startup whose workflow is fully online — they save money on office space, electricity, and other running costs, and employees don't have to transport themselves to work every day.
Imagine having to sit in traffic for just an hour before getting to work — your productivity might suffer because you need time to settle down and regain yourself before starting. A remote worker, on the other hand, only needs good internet access and they're good to go.
Remote work gives a lot of leverage on time and makes it possible for people in different time zones to actually work together. Imagine someone in Africa taking a job in Europe and delivering excellently well without ever having to be physically present there — that's one of the possibilities remote work has made possible.
That said, there are still a lot of jobs people do physically, but you still need the internet to market and sell some of those products and services — agricultural products and plumbing services, just to mention a few.
The reality is that some remote jobs are just as demanding as a nine-to-five. In this part of the world, there could be a power outage for days, and if someone who works remotely doesn't have backup power, tasks go uncompleted — which can lead to termination of their appointment.
The future of remote work would mean people may not know their colleagues physically, as they only meet on Zoom and other online platforms from time to time.
There are people who cannot be very productive in environments that aren't work-based. Such people might need to go the extra mile to set up office spaces and workstations in their homes.
One of the things that struck me most about working from home or remotely is: how do you handle a family situation that requires urgent attention during working hours? Will companies have a policy that covers that and gives exceptions to people with urgent situations — especially when the employer may not even be in your country and may refuse to understand the situation? Please let me know in the comments.
Thank you for stopping by.
Image was generated using AI.