As I worked through the alphabet A-Z and then picked a few random topics based on my experiences, I noticed that the topic gleaning the most attention was “WORK FROM HOME.” Not sure if that means readers are looking for tips, curious about others’ experiences, or wanting to see how to set up a home office. Maybe all of the above or something else entirely. For whatever reason, in the spirit of giving people what they want, I am revisiting the topic a little later to share my updated experience and observations as things continue to tip over that 50/50 point for me.
I may have shared earlier that pre-pandemic, my job responsibilities encompassed quite a bit of out-of-the-office meetings, events and activities. All of those shut down in March 2020 and many began to be virtual experiences via conference or video calls shortly thereafter. That led to a blog entry at the end of the alphabet entitled ZOOM. The more time I spent out of the office, the more I realized it didn’t matter where my computer equipment and files were located. In fact, from 2012 to early 2020, I had three different office locations—one in downtown Indy, one at Launch Fishers and one in Anderson. Each move resulted in a lower rent and shorter commute if I needed to be in the office, but no change in my job responsibilities. Then along came the shutdown.
As happened with so many office and knowledge workers, I was sent home to work. By the time my boss and I realized that it wasn’t a short term thing, sometime later in the spring of last year, we closed down my rented work space in Anderson and I moved everything to my home. I set up shop here and will remain in a work-from-home environment even as my outside responsibilities open back up. The only rent cost being borne by my work budget is the rent of a mailbox at Launch Fishers, since that remains my official work address and I still receive a piece of snail mail there now and then.
Beyond my own experiences with remote work, I have observed via reading and research that others may not be returning to established offices now, in the near future, or at all. Some jobs (I describe them as office or knowledge workers, but there surely are other types) transitioned fairly easily and perhaps will remain in remote mode. But jobs and their requirements mustn’t be the only considerations. The people involved, how they work and how their work will be evaluated need to come into the picture.
Let me tell you what I mean. For example, some work is easily parsed out and measured individually and collectively, such as customer call center work. If you can route incoming customer support calls to an employee’s home phone and that employee has the home technology to handle that customer’s needs, then each individual call is handled and moved along the pipeline. Once the call is done, the next one comes in. Once the employee is done for the shift, the underlying technology has the data to provide the management team (in another location) what the team needs to evaluate performance. Same with rolling up team data and results over a period of time. This same approach works for any number of computer-based or phone-based jobs, as we have seen over the past 15 months.
So what happens now that some workplaces where these types of workers were previously located, whether offices, call centers, schools, or whatever, begin to open back up? Here are a few things I have picked up from observations, reading and research.
- Some people may be resistant to returning to their previous traditional work environment, having become accustomed to and realizing the benefits of remote work
- Some people have personalities that are conducive to remote working, others do not; in which case, leaders should be cognizant of their employees’ needs and act accordingly
- Some studies show that 20-25% of existing employees are looking for other jobs, and the ability to work remotely is an important factor in their next career steps
- More experienced employees are looking at retiring earlier than originally planned due to a reluctance to give up remote work if their employer requires it; if their investments are doing well, this might be a good time to do so, and the outflow of experience could be a problem for employers when combined with an already high vacancy rate
- Unemployment rates are low, jobs are available, but there is still a mismatch between available jobs and talent
- Real estate is a challenge, with residential mostly a buyers’ market yet retail and commercial still with high rates of vacancies in many major cities; how can municipalities reinvent and repurpose these large, partially empty spaces?
In future posts, we will look more in depth at how these issues begin to work themselves out and what some potential resolutions might be across the nation and around the globe. Whatever happens, many of us will still work from home or other remote work locations, while still contributing to the recovery and growth of the economy!
IN CLOSING
Thanks for reading. Looking forward to your comments and connections, both virtual and in person as my world continues to open up. Until next time . . . . stay safe and healthy!
Barb's Boomer Blog 