The Changing Workplace
June 23, 2020
As someone who is graduating in a year and about to begin the process of job searching, understanding the workplace climate is an important aspect to keep in mind. To add onto this, workplaces could be drastically changing in the near future. With quarantine, many employees are working from home and most likely doing so for the first time at their job. Depending on the change in performance and costs from having many employees work from home, we could see a fair share of businesses begin to utilize remote work more frequently. So, what are the chances of seeing an actual shift in the way people work, and what does that look like for those looking to enter the job force?
We first need to look at the demand for this among people. Is this even a thing the employees themselves want to continue? It seems to be pretty split currently. CNBC reported that 43% of full-time employees hope to be able to continue working remotely event after a full reopening of the economy. In another survey, they also report that employees said 20% of their employers were actively looking at ways to make remote work more of an option. If you apply this number nationally, that means we could potentially see one-fifth of full-time jobs be primarily remote work or at least a significant amount of their work become remote. Another survey conducted by research firm, Gartner, found that 74% of senior finance leaders were planning on finding ways for employees to telework permanently. While there is no way of really knowing if this telework shift is permanent, these surveys at minimum show that both employers and their employees are actively seeking this as a viable long-term work option.
The desire to work from home is there, but does it actually make sense for a business to make the move towards remote work for good? Fortunately, the data seems to suggest yes. In an article published in 2017 by Forbes, this is specifically addressed. In this article, Best Buy saw a 35% jump in productivity after introducing a flexible work program. The same article also cited that 91% of employees said they were more productive when getting to work from home. Obviously, this is somewhat subjective unless you have project management systems to show how tasks are being completed, but it still is a testament to the use of remote work with 9 of 10 people feeling this way. It also just depends on the company and the job. For a graphic designer, remote work might be a more feasible option than someone managing in a factory. This will be something that each company looks at case-by-case, or job-by-job, I should say. They’ll most likely go through and decide if a job can’t change at all, can have a flexible work program, or can be completely remote. So, how should soon-to-be college graduates and job searchers take this?
There’s no question this will change the way offices across the country function. I have many friends who work every other day in the office and work from home on the alternating days. I have friends who have been told they can work from home whenever they would like as long as results continue to come in. What does this mean for those who start this search? It can seem overwhelming when you’re thinking about beginning to look for jobs, and unemployment goes from record lows to record highs, but there is still some good tips to keep in mind:
- Use the Right Resources
You may have just read that and thought, “Wow, Andrew what profound words.” But, did you know that there have been new features on job sites like Glassdoor that were designed to help those looking for a job during the pandemic? They have filters to show the latest in-demand jobs, remote work opportunities, and “surge explorers” which will show companies hiring for multiple roles. LinkedIn has also done similar things to help those needing to look for work.
- Be Flexible and Creative
A lot of recent and soon-to-be graduates were against temporary positions because of the uncertainty, but now that might be the way to get your foot in the door and create more opportunities out of it. Be open to taking a temporary position and look for ways to exploit possible opportunities that will arise while there.
- Network
Times like now are some of the key reasons you should have a network. It can serve as a vital tool when dealing with unknown situations that are within or outside of your control.
Using these three job search tools can help you feel better about combing through hundreds of positions and not feel like you are just sending in pointless applications. The opportunities are there, but you just have to stay committed to finding what you can and making the most of what’s presented. Keep your eye out too for jobs that include remote work opportunities. Maybe remote work is only available until a certain government restriction is lifted or it could be a new integrated part of the job. If you’ve read this and think you operate better in the structure and organization of an office, that is an important factor while job searching too as companies will still need people to fill spots inside the office. I also encourage you to follow some business news sources like the Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Forbes, and INC.com. These are just some of my favorite sites to use, but you can find plenty of other good ones. These news sites are great for keeping up with business trends and current events. The changing workplace is an exciting time for anyone looking for their first job or a career change, so get creative and make the most of this time to search!
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Written by: Andrew Reynolds
Andrew is a Senior Project Management Major, and enjoys writing for the blog because of the opportunity it gives him to grow as a writer and to challenge himself to see current topics and discussions from a view point he may not have otherwise thought about.