Remote work is exhausting and many are trying to find an alternative

It seems the age of remote had begun. Some thought the pandemic would be short-lived and everyone would soon return to the office, but already thirteen months have passed. The majority of people want flexible remote work to continue, but new research from Microsoft warns leaders that they're out of touch with exhausted employees and need to plan if hybrid work is to be successful. Some say that flexibility and agility is something that people appreciate, and it's here to stay. At the same time, few corporates are waiting for the announcement as COVID-19 is more like a seasonal flu than a pandemic.

The theme of the pandemic is that the entire world participated in this work-from-home experiment, and it became a norm essentially. This is going to be the new way of working that is actually going to bring better culture, more inclusion. The human need to accommodate each other is something that creates connection, and all of us should think about how we accommodate each other in this new way of working. One problem is that leaders are more isolated than before the pandemic. Remote flexibility and a lack of support may explain why 41% of employees are now planning to leave their current job within a year.

The pandemic has accelerated the introduction of technology across the globe in a short period of time, as well as the advent of telecom as a critical source of connectivity to various services. We're on the cusp of the next workforce disruption. Across the board companies are thinking about how they can reinvent themselves. I however, believe that the future is more heterogeneous – it is a combination of home, hybrid and on-location working.

The flexibility and agility is something that people appreciate, and it’s here to stay. This is going to be the new way of working that is actually going to bring better culture, more inclusion. The human need to accommodate each other is something that creates connection, and all of us should think about how we accommodate each other in this new way of working. The post-COVID era will be shaped more definitively by technology than any other force in the global theatre today.

The way people work and interact with their workplaces and the way companies operate will see tremendous changes. The future of the workplace will be digital, so it’s only axiomatic that India with its massive demographic bulge and technology industry with its transformative history, is showing the way. It is very important for all of us to understand that the new normal, or next normal in the post-COVID era will be shaped more definitively by technology than any other force in the global theatre today. Every aspect of our lives, from wellbeing to work, and everything else in between, will be massively disrupted in the coming years, thanks to technology.

S Mohini Ratna, Editor, VARINDIA