The Full Adoption & Impact Of Remote Tech Work Due To COVID-19
Even though the remote work trend was already increasing, the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed the process into hyperdrive. The new reality is that everyday people now use advanced connectivity tools such as Zoom, Google Hangouts, Microsoft Team, and many others. If brick-an-mortar businesses and families have adopted collaborative tech, what does this mean for the technology labor force? Let’s find out.
Remote Work Expectations & Benefits:
Fast forward to today and not only is remote work expected, it’s become a requirement. Zapier recently commissioned The Harris Poll to dig into the work-at-home numbers. It turns out that about half of America is now working from home. The reason this is possible is thanks to tools such as UCaaS and video conferencing platforms. However, many workers and their employers are also seeing other benefits feeding this new trend.
For example, the Zapier/Harris poll showed that of those polled:
- 65 percent perceive increased productivity working from home.
- 80 percent say they can better manage interruptions from coworkers.
- 77 percent say they find new times to be productive outside of normal 9–5 hours.
Other business benefits are cost savings since less resources are needed when people work from home. Theoretically, no office is required at all. So this begs the question: are there any benefits at all to having a physical office space for your workforce?
Nothing New Here:
The reality is that many companies have been thriving for years with a 100% distributed team, well before the Coronavirus crisis struck. Not surprisingly, most of the companies are tech innovators and leaders. Some examples are (list provided by Scott Berkun):
- Basecamp
- WordPress.com/Automattic (245 employees)
- Genutec
- GitHub (100 employees)
- Kalypso LP
- MCF Technology Solutions
- ProofHQ
- Treehouse
- Copyblogger
- YouNeedABudget
- StackExchange (50/50)
- MySQL (70/30)
- GrantStreet
- SoftwareMill
- Mozilla
- 10up
- Devrix
- Art & Logic (70 employees)
- AsmallOrange
- LullaBot (35 employees)
- AppendTo (23 employees)
- UniversalMind (65 employees)
- Basho (115 employees, 50% remote)
- ScrapingHub (60 employees)
- UpWorthy (37 employees)
One can only imagine how long the list is now with some stay-at-home orders still in effect or due to company mandate.
How The Tech Job Market Is Affected By Work-From-Home:
For the tech hiring manager, this new reality offers several advantages. For starters, some of the money saved from diminished overhead (no more relocation expenses, less office space, etc.) could be added to salaries to attract and retain better talent. Also, the talent pool from which to draw from increases exponentially as you can seek workers from coast to coast.
For tech job candidates, there’s an increased need to hone skills as the competition can now come from literally anywhere. The pressure from cheaper overseas labor will also have an impact. Still, stateside workers should be keen to leverage their cultural know-how and work style to land more jobs.
Conclusion:
As in nearly every sector, Covid-19 has brought great change. Remote work is not only possible—but in many ways—it’s an advantage. Navigating the tech job market for both companies and workers presents new opportunities and challenges.
At Summit Human Capital, we’ve been assisting companies and job seekers with remote work issues for years. Give us a call and see how we can help you match jobs + talent.