A Trend Towards Remote Working
During the ten years from 2008 to 2018, the number of people working from home for their main job increased by a staggering 74%1. Despite this, in a pre-Covid-19 world (which seems a distant memory) it was reported that only around 30%2 had ever worked from home. Since the recent pandemic, the accelerated change in working patterns within the last four months has been unprecedented.
An Unprecedented Increase in Video Conferencing
Then along came Covid-19. The daily commute, general office life and meeting colleagues in person became relics of the past. An incredible 38% of the UK workforce has been solely working from home, with another 8% working from home part of the time3. Businesses have been forced to adapt and a large part of this change has involved how colleagues and businesses communicate. The Covid crisis has certainly not been doom and gloom for teleconferencing software companies with Microsoft Teams and Zoom usage surging by 894% and 677%4 respectively between 17th February and 14th June 2020.
Remote Working and Video Conferencing Have Advantages for the Long Term
Perhaps surprisingly, a large proportion of businesses have shown that they can manage to operate effectively with employees working remotely; staying connected with teleconferencing technologies. Working remotely has had many advantages for a lot of people: money-saving, no commute and an improved work-life balance. Despite not being physically near colleagues in an office, teleconferencing allows instant verbal communication and also the ability to see the individuals you are speaking to (if you choose to use the camera). It has also meant that you don’t need to limit the number of attendees to a meeting because of room capacity!
With restrictions on the number of people allowed in close proximity of one another and the implementation of social distancing, it’s unlikely that we will return to a pre-Covid world any time soon. These factors mixed with the fact that it will be difficult to entice people away from their home offices - 60% of workers would prefer to work from home more often than before the lockdown5 – means that it will be difficult to get everyone physically back together again.
Even pre-Covid, flexible working was already gaining momentum with many workers seeking an improved work-life balance by ditching the daily commute and choosing to work, at least to some extent, around their other commitments. Meanwhile companies were recognising the need for more flexible working practices to recruit and retain the best talent, with 54% of workers in the UK having the option to work outside of the common 9 to 56 – up from 9.5% in 1999. However, there will always be those times when having at least some people in a room will be of benefit or preferred.
For the medium to longer term, travel restrictions are likely to impede travelling abroad for meetings and this may also be the case more locally too. And thinking beyond the current Covid crisis, teleconferencing is more environmentally friendly and cost effective as fewer people travel to meet. Companies are keen to cut their carbon footprints and hosting meetings virtually is just one energy-efficient way to do this, providing you have a good internet connection.
Specialists in Mobile Video Conferencing Room Solutions
AV Xpert can connect office teams or boardrooms with colleagues and businesses in other locations such as different meeting rooms, company sites or those working remotely. Our modular and bespoke portable room solutions for video conferencing mean that not everyone has to be in the same room at once and popular applications such as MS Teams and Zoom are supported. With our portable AV solutions, no complex cabling or installation is required and you have full flexibility about where to host your meeting or store your device too.
In short, teleconferencing is here to stay and our portable AV systems are a great investment not just for the pandemic, but in the longer term too when we emerge on the other side. Your business needs to adapt and Avxpert can help you revise your office to a new post-covid, flexible and technological workspace. Find out more about our portable AV systems on our website, or why not contact us and see how we can help you?
References:
1https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-48180804
2https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/articles/coronavirusandhomeworkingintheuklabourmarket/2019
3https://yougov.co.uk/topics/economy/articles-reports/2020/05/13/most-middle-class-workers-are-working-home-full-ti
4https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252485100/Microsoft-Teams-usage-growth-surpasses-Zoom
5https://www.thehrdirector.com/business-news/future-of-work/uk-workers-say-they-will-continue-to-work-from-home-after-lockdown-is-eased-and-majority-are-happy-to-wait-another-month-before-returning-to-the-office/
6https://www.thehrdirector.com/business-news/flexible-agile-working/flexible-working-increase-five-fold4072019/