March 12, 2020 The Real Future of Work Part 2 – Remote Work is Booming, So What’s Next?

the future of work

In Part I of our series on the Future of Work, we discussed how the conversation around the passion economy is ongoing. Amidst talking points like employee upskilling, there’s a key piece that deserves more air time—on-demand talent for the enterprise. In this, Part II of our series, we’ll show how remote work is booming, and explore what happens after that happens.

work is changing

The current reality is that the Coronavirus has disrupted nearly every aspect of the global economy, healthcare, travel, and businesses in the public and private sector. 

• As of 3/9/20, major metro areas across the globe are shutting down business and asking folks to stay home.
• Some of our biggest companies, members of FANG, Facebook, Google (Alphabet), Amazon, are asking their workforce to stay home and work remotely
• Remote work was already a reality, and Coronavirus is just an accelerant 
• The aftermath is that more and more people are using remote work tools like Slack and Zoom to connect

the acceleration of remote work

New research published in Buffer’s 2020 State of Remote Work shows that even before the unexpected black swan of the Coronavirus, remote work has been on a constant upward trajectory. 

And it’s not just good for workers who want more freedom and flexibility. It’s good for employers and enterprise businesses, too.

Recent Gallup research reports that:

• Remote workers are more engaged, effective and productive. 
• Job flexibility increases engagement 
• Highly engaged workplaces report 41% lower absenteeism, 40% fewer quality defects, and 21% higher profitability.

“When employees are engaged, their performance soars.”

Gallup

making the leap

The research is validation for this enormous shift. If more and more people want to work remotely and remote work is good for business, then doesn’t it make sense to make the leap?

If you’re newer to remote work or your organization is thinking about remote work, here are some things to know:

• You can do this
• You can manage effectively 
• You can focus and get more done
• You can thrive in this environment
• It doesn’t matter where people sit – if they are talented, passionate, and focused, great work can get done!

So, what’s next?

Once you’re thriving, the next leap is from remote work to working seamlessly with a virtual workforce that you trust.

Once you’re no longer sitting together in a physical space, the friction of how you define a team goes away. Think about it—you’re no longer sitting next to them, what do you care if they’re officially part of your team or not? 

With that, your remote workforce becomes a collection of highly competent, engaged people helping you get stuff done. 

final thoughts

Remote work is exploding, and the future of work is using on-demand talent with hard to find skills to get work done outside your organization.

Through platforms like Topcoder and others, you can work this way.

• Technology is really strong here (devs, data science, QA, design) – and that is Topcoder’s sweet spot
• Certainly goes well beyond technology (C-level consultants, content, demand gen, marketing, video creation, and more)

To understand on-demand talent for your enterprise, talk to us.

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