The COVID-19 pandemic marked the beginning of a new “normal,” which included a shift to remote work, online learning and virtual gatherings.
Businesses, organizations, employees, schools and students all needed to quickly transition and adjust to new working and learning environments. This ultimately changed the way we live and work, and things likely won’t be returning to their pre-pandemic ways any time soon. Remote work is here to stay.
With increased demand for employees to continue working from home, even post-pandemic, what will the future of remote work in the tech industry – a thriving technology-oriented field – look like?
Onboarding and training
Onboarding is a complicated process, so onboarding virtually is a practice that organizations will need to thoroughly strategize and plan out. With remote work, organizations will need to ensure that the onboarding process properly introduces new recruits to the company procedures, culture, training, knowledge and skills employees are expected to know.
The future of onboarding remotely is still a work in progress for many organizations that are still adjusting to this “new normal.” However, organizations that will be able to nail down their onboarding processes will set their employees up for success from the very start.
Corporate culture
While remote work holds many benefits, one aspect that may be difficult to continue virtually is corporate culture.
With remote work, organizations need to think outside the box to introduce ideas, activities, events and gatherings that foster a positive corporate culture and keep employees happy.
Doing this becomes even more difficult for global tech companies that have employees who live all around the world, preventing the possibility of in-person meetups at all. However, for local tech companies, creating an exciting company culture may be easier as employee meetups and gatherings are much more feasible.
Work-life balance
The tech industry is notorious for its long work hours. Being able to work from home has both pros and cons for an “ideal” work-life balance. While there is some flexibility in working from home, this flexibility also means that work life can often bleed into home life, making maintaining that balance difficult.
Employee fatigue and burnout can happen in any industry, but those in tech will have to set defined boundaries if they want to have a suitable work-life balance while working remotely.
Tech companies that want to hire, and keep, top-performing employees will need to adjust and perfect their remote work plans and strategies today and, in the future, if they want to stay ahead of their competitors.
Published on Sept. 10, 2021.
