There was some controversy regarding remote work. For many, it seemed like this was a point of dispute. Would we see the concept take off or would a return to "normal" take place? While the thought was that remote work was explode, the calling back of workers by companies such as Apple and JP Morgan seemed to cast doubt on this.
In spite of the efforts, many employees started to fuss about having to commute into work. This caused some companies to backtrack, especially as the Great Resignation was taking place.
As we progress further away from the 2020 lockdown days, we see the concept of remote work setting in. As with most things regarding humans, once a change is made, it is difficult to reverse it.
This is what companies are facing. With some workers home almost 30 months, the likelihood of them ever returning full time to the office is slim.
At least one region is seeing this as the case.
The Federal Reserve Bank of NY took to its region to see how remote work was progressing. The question of whether things were returning back to pre-pandemic days was of great interest.
It should come as no surprise the numbers are still ahead of where they were in 2019.
While the amount of remote work conducted among regional businesses has declined over the past year, it remains well above pre-pandemic levels. In our August service-sector survey, an average of about 30 percent of firms’ employees were working remotely for an average of 3.3 days per week, suggesting that about 20 percent of all work in the region’s service sector is being done remotely—almost three times the pre-pandemic share. By contrast, only about 9 percent of the average manufacturing firm’s employees were working remotely for an average of 2.8 days per week, suggesting that about 7 percent of all work in the region’s manufacturing sector is still being done remotely—more than double the share before the pandemic.
It is evident that, in spite of the recent decline, the numbers are far ahead of where they were 2.5 years ago. As stated, this is becoming a habit for many.
With returns to the office slowing, it is hard to fathom a reversal in this trend occurring as we move forward.
When years start to pass, we see other factors enter the picture. In this instance, we see demographics and technology come into play. Remote work is going to likely ride the wave of both. Ultimately, this is going to really alter how the workforce looks.
To start, remote work is in alignment with technology. Some of the tools that are making this possible were available over the last decade. It took, however, the actions of 2020 for people to embrace them. Now, we are seeing applications such as video conferencing the norm.
There is little doubt that many workers, especially knowledge bases, earned their keep by viewing a screen that was tied to the cloud. This is something people can do from anywhere as long as an Internet connection is available.
With more people working under the remote work structure, software companies are starting to cater to this. We are seeing more applications tied to databases than before. Since the tools are increasing, there is going to be added incentive to follow this path.
Then we have the demographics issue. There is little doubt that, for the most part, the office advocates are from the Boomer generation. Millennials thinks differently about most things and this is no different.
They are of the technology age. Utilizing the newer tools that are showing up is no problem for them. Here is where the time factor enters. With each passing year, more Boomers head off into retirement. These roles are replaced by Millennials and Gen Z. Again, the view is much different than the previous generation.
Over the last couple years, the companies that made headlines with their insistence of workers returning to the office were, for the most part, run by Boomers. Guys like Tim Cook and Jamie Dimon simply have it ingrained in them. Unfortunately, in this regard, the world is changing before their eyes.
That said, we will still see the tug-o-war for the next few years. It is likely to be mid-decade before we see people fully conditioned to this new model.
Once they embrace it, however, it will not be reversed. People simply aren't wired that way.
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