Forbes characterizes remote working as “the biggest legacy of COVID-19”. The pandemic has produced a catalyst of revolution within the structures of many institutions and businesses. 2020 revealed that major changes do not necessarily take years, but can be rather enacted in a matter of days. Telework, videocalls and e-mails replaced the usual coffee break with the co-workers in the office. We have seen an unprecedented rise in communication channels and cooperation to tackle the newly emerged risks.
At the beginning of the pandemic, most businesses had 3 options: continue business as everything is normal, but with the risk of workplace contamination, shut down the business, or transition to working from home. Nevertheless, there is a high discrepancy between high-income countries, which have more access to digital channels, in contrast with countries such as Bangladesh and Myanmar, where more than 80% people do not have the means to work from home.
Notional normality refers to the dynamics of working practices, which are supported by shared individual and organizational beliefs about the world, that can be adjusted through accumulating problems until those principles are challenged by a major crisis or disastrous event. Hence, we can argue that the COVID-19 pandemic represents an event which has shaken the foundations of work practices. The guiding values and assumptions of most organisations have shifted from exploration and creativity towards fostering safety and resilience.
Telework is prevalent in the following domains: IT, business, financial, and management. People with already developed digital skills were arguably in a better position than those who were not accustomed already with working preponderantly on a computer. Continuous remote working might impact the effectiveness of training new employees, as their ability to observe, ask and learn is severely reduced by the limited home scenery. Moreover, necessary tools, programmes or equipment might not be available for all employees who are working from home, which could impact their overall working efficiency.
Some studies highlight the main impacts of lockdown, such as increasing fatigue, musculoskeletal conditions, poor work-life balance, reduced exercising and increased alcohol consumption. An over-looked impact, nonetheless a significant one, is that the line between private life and work has become blurry. For one, the psychological impact of not having definite media of work and rest results in a sense of not belonging, anxiety and fatigue. It is estimated that more than 50% of the employed people are struggling with deteriorating mental health as a result of the pandemic.
The most common trends were reduced motivation, loss of purpose and vitality, anxiety stemming from the ongoing isolation. The loss of social connectedness and loneliness had a significant toll on people’s wellbeing: more than half of adults (60%) and over two-thirds of young people (68%) state that their mental health was negatively affected during the lockdowns. As a result of these trends, the risk of substance abuse and addiction has increased.
With the shift towards long-distance working, several recurrent issues were faced by most workplaces. First, some individuals were not familiar with new technologies and digital platforms. Moreover, there is a major surge in workload, which resulted in high levels of stress. Also, some workers may not have suitable conditions to work from home, which might impact their productivity. On top of these drawbacks, uncertainty about employment is a frequent concern.
Needless to say, teleworking has plenty of advantages as well. First of all, people do not have to spend time on commuting: there are no delays associated with bad weather or interminable traffic. Their programme is more flexible and some of them can distribute their working hours throughout the day. Moreover, real estate and relocation costs are reduced as the companies can grow without worrying about moving to bigger offices.
One thing is clear: remote working won’t end when the pandemic is over, this change is likely to remain within our society for a long time.
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