Remote working to have far-reaching impacts, says Business Bunker Radio
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM — Ever-increasing digitisation, including the burgeoning popularity of remote working, will have far-reaching impacts, a business radio has suggested.
Business Bunker Radio, a weekly show dedicated to “discussing all things SME, business, and enterprise in South East England,” in a blog post asserted that “a new era in the world of work is unfolding as firms rapidly digitise and move to a flexible, remote work model.”
“Digitalisation can be very positive for us, or it could lead to many problems,” Business Bunker opined.
It added, “Before the pandemic struck, organisations knew they had to digitally transform their businesses, but there was no urgency. In a lot of cases, there was a lack of expertise or indeed fear of the technology, especially amongst SMEs.
“Now, the urgency is there, and many organisations have had to adopt digital transformation in order to stay in business during lockdowns and with furloughed workforces.”
As many recent studies have similarly noted, Business Bunker pointed to the rising trend of workers preferring to continue working “flexibly and remotely” as the pandemic rages on.
“Before the pandemic, remote work was something a lot of companies resisted, worried about productivity, staff management, and security,” it noted.
“Now, forced to allow staff to work remotely, they’ve had to rapidly adapt and implement systems to facilitate WFH.”
Impacts of the “rise of the remote employee”
Business Bunker opined, “This rise of the remote employee, the digital nomad, and the flexible worker will be long-term and it will have a significant impact on how we organise our work, house prices, and the commercial property market.”
As more workers move away from cities and opt to live rurally, “designing and creating home-based workspaces, garden offices, and the ‘fold-away office’” will become a new industry standard, in turn possibly affecting house prices based on how many people move out of the city.
Additionally, with fewer employees in the office equating to companies requiring less office space, the price of commercial rentals could drop along with decreasing demand.
Meanwhile, fewer people in the office could also mean fewer people on the road and in trains, “directly affecting planned and future infrastructure projects,” but also meaning enhanced digital infrastructure, such as 5G, could become a necessity to provide a strong internet connection to those living in rural areas.
“Whatever happens next,” Business Bunker said, “we are certainly entering a period of disruptive change.”
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