The past few years have been a torrid time for workers but by integrating innovative technology the future looks bright.
The Covid-19 pandemic has taken it’s toll on many businesses around the world. Unemployment is 14 times greater than after the financial crisis a decade ago and companies have had to adapt quickly to keep functioning in an efficient way.
Before the pandemic, in February 2020, just 5.7% of us were working from home (or WFH as it’s now commonly referred to). Today this couldn’t be further from reality, with nearly everyone having experienced or have known someone who began working from home in April 2020, with new reports showing 43.1% found ourselves working remotely.
During lockdown WFH was a challenge for some of us. Video calls interrupted by rowdy kids, barking dogs or cat’s bottoms. Forgetting to press mute while we aired our frustrations with our team (or worse still boss), and as time wore on, what started as a fully groomed and dressed participants, soon turned into a lounge wearing and top knot types that might not even have bothered to put pants on!
However, on plus side is the alternative practices and technologies which were integrated during this time which have helped companies thrive. Several studies over the past few months show productivity while working remotely from home is better than working in an office setting. On average, those who work from home spend 10 minutes less a day being unproductive, work one more day a week, and are 47% more productive.
When in the office, it’s easy for noise levels to rise, people to chat and for time to be spent moving around from one meeting room to another. With remote working, employees are often met with quiet, less distractions and the comfort of having a workspace in one room, which has resulted in increased productivity.
Communication software has been fundamental to this increase. Project management tools such as Asana, Microsoft Teams, Trello, Slack, and the system THE FEED uses Monday.com, have revolutionised collaborative teamwork and allowed us to divide up tasks between our team, monitor project progress, and ensure individual tasks are completed to schedule.
THE FEED provide individual project templates to each of our partners which are tailored to the particular needs of your organisation. You can monitor daily task management, prioritise workflow and oversee campaign and video/photography production. We provide free professional training to all our clients and have found that it is a brilliant foundation for our collaborative philosophy.
Whilst many of us may be missing our colleagues and the coffee catch ups, we just don’t want to part with remote working just yet. It has become something that many of us expect to be offered from employers as well as a creature comfort on those days when we just want to get our heads buried into our daily tasks without distraction. Despite not everyone being able to work from home, it is likely that it is here to stay now and into the distant future and it’s something we are excited about!
