It is hard to fathom that it has already been three years since the pandemic hit and changed our lives forever. I can still remember when it all began, the speculations were at their peak, and we couldn’t imagine how long it will take for our lives to go back to normal or not at all. When the lockdowns were first enforced, we were skeptical on the one hand that the pandemic will remain for a long time. On the other hand, paranoia and uncertainties were building up. 

COVID-19 was a unique pandemic in a way that it was one of the most widespread viruses in recent times resulting in a lockdown that was not ever witnessed by our generation. To add to that, this pandemic came at a time when technological advances had reached new heights, and as a result, both information and misinformation spread like wildfire, and it might as well have been one of the worst times for many people.  

Fear, panic, desperation, and a sense of impending doom are all that we remember from those early days of the pandemic. We were frustrated as we felt trapped and helpless. Nonetheless, one of the darkest times in our lives came with a silver lining. As the lockdowns forced the world population to remain indoors, reports started to appear that nature is healing and the lockdowns had a significant impact on environmental pollution and air quality improved all over the world. Staying at home meant lesser travel for both the local and international scene, which resulted in lower carbon emissions and helped our environment. Nature in the tourist attractions revived due to fewer visits and the water and air became cleaner.  

Another gift that the pandemic gave us was the ability to test remote work and see its effectiveness. Some companies like Genashtim Pte Ltd already operated on a remote work model for years, which further proves its effectiveness. The idea, however, was still novel for many companies and most were reluctant to try it. The lockdown measures taken during the pandemic made remote work inevitable.  

The Changes in Our Lives Because of the Pandemic  

Without a doubt, the first year of the pandemic was one of the most traumatic periods of our time and it changed our way of life forever – from our way of thinking, how we work and live, and how we perceive things. Now, even though lockdown restrictions have been lifted, we still prefer to wear masks in crowded places and always carry hand sanitizers. We developed healthier habits such as always washing our hands, avoiding touching surfaces, and observing social distancing in public places. We never considered these small actions before the pandemic but now it has been embedded in our lives.  

On the work front, remote work had a similar impact.  Before the pandemic, the idea that work can be done from home seemed ridiculous to many. Now, it has become the new normal that almost 62% of employees reported working remotely for at least some time. By the end of 2022, almost 25% of all professional jobs in North America are expected to become remote.  

The integration of remote work as a valid form of work model in the job market ensured that many industries and businesses continued their operations during the pandemic. More importantly, it has brought salvation for disadvantaged communities like people with disabilities, refugees, women in oppressed environments, and LGBTQIA+ individuals, as well as for those people who cannot work in offices for various reasons ranging from being stay-at-home parents, retirees, or those with visa restrictions to work in a specific country.  

Remote Work During the Pandemic 

On 11 March 2020, WHO announced COVID-19 to be a pandemic, and subsequently global lockdowns ensued to prevent the contagion from spreading. Our modern world was thrown into utter chaos and uncertainty and amidst it all, a new way of working was introduced to us out of necessity among other innovative ways to continue our lives.  

Although remote work’s foundation goes way back to 1973 when NASA engineer, Jack Niles, coined the term telecommuting, it gradually began to gain traction after the invention of the internet and later on, with the introduction of modern collaborative technologies. Remote work has been around in one form or another for a long time and many even argue that remote work was the natural state of affairs, and group work in a specified space was introduced during the industrial revolution. This current trend of remote work is just returning to the routine that had been going on for centuries.  

The concept of remote work accelerated in the last decade, and it quadrupled in 10 years since 2010. COVID-19 gave the ultimate push needed to make it mainstream as almost 70% of workers were working remotely during the pandemic. Once the employees experienced the benefits of remote working there was no going back, and this played an important part in the great resignation.  

The Great Resignation 

The term was coined in May 2021 when a record number of employees resigned from their jobs globally. The reasons ranged from low salary and lower job satisfaction to the inability to have flexible work hours. A survey conducted by Pew Research Centre found that over 63% of respondents cited low pay as the reason for quitting their jobs while 45% said that not having enough flexibility to choose when and where to work from is the reason for their resignation.  

In the Global Workforce Hopes and Fear survey conducted in 2022,  over 63% of employees responded that they would like to have some form of remote work in the future and that they expect their companies to provide this flexibility in the next 12 months. 

Employees have seen the benefits of remote work during the pandemic – which allowed them not only to have commute-free workdays but also rewarded them with a higher rate of job satisfaction and as a result, remote work soon became the new normal.  

The Future of Remote Work  

Companies must come to terms with the new reality of remote work and provide their employees with the option of remote work to increase their employee retention as employees now know that remote work is beneficial for their mental health, job satisfaction, and work-life balance. Remote work has not only been beneficial for humans but it also had significant impacts on the environment- with lesser commutes and use of office spaces, remote work significantly decreased our carbon footprints. Besides the obvious carbon emission from our vehicles, working from home also helped to reduce the impact of fast fashion. Working from home meant lesser social pressure of wearing new and fancy outfits all the time and it also reduced the use of disposable cups and cutlery as remote workers get their lunch and coffee at home. All these otherwise unnoticeable factors helped the environment and our climate to get some respite and heal.  

The shift after the pandemic has left some resounding ripples and none of us will be able to go back to our pre-pandemic routines. An overwhelming number of remote workers – 97% to be precise, would like to continue working remotely in some form for the rest of their careers, and the same number of remote workers would recommend remote work to others. With such definitive data available, companies can’t turn a blind eye to the needs of their employees and must introduce hybrid work models if complete remote work is not acceptable for them. 

Genashtim Pte Ltd is one of the few companies that had mastered the remote work models before the pandemic and as a result faced no difficulty. The company even gained substantial growth during the COVID-19 lockdowns as all its workers were already working 100% remotely. Seeing the much-needed demand as well as support and guidance needed for remote jobs, Genashtim developed a remote job portal for job seekers to look for jobs and relevant training to start a remote career. Visit the JEDI Jobs website at https://www.jedi-jobs.com/aboutus.php to find out more.