Remote work (also known as WFH) is a hot topic in 2022. As pandemic-era mandates and restrictions come to an end, there has been a new battle forming. In the left corner, we have companies that want their employees to come back into the office, and in the right-hand corner, we have employees who have been allowed to work remotely for the last two years being asked to come back into the office.
After two years of pandemic restrictions and mandates, things finally started opening up in late 2021. By early 2022, most countries with the most aggressive restrictions started to ease things. It felt like we were returning to normality, and there was hope. Some companies allowed their employees to take a hybrid approach of a few days in the office and at home. Then some companies started forcing employees back into the office. And some companies threatened their employees to return.
When it comes to working from home, the same benefits are often touted like saved money, reduced commute times, lack of in-office distractions. But, there are benefits which don’t often get mentioned as much as they should. Only one car needed Prior to the pandemic like many working families, we had two cars. When the pandemic set in and I went from 3 days remote to 5 days remote, our second car sat unused collecting dust (and bird droppings). Going forward I knew going into the office would be a rare thing, so we sold our second car and put it towards our renovations.
The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic really turned the world on its head. Despite the fact people have lost their jobs, businesses have been hurt, airlines are struggling and tourism has taken a nosedive, many of us have been fortunate enough to keep our jobs and work from home. Many large tech companies have already announced permanent changes allowing employees to work from home indefinitely. Twitter, Square and Facebook being some of the biggest who have announced changes.
I think many would agree that 2020 has been a terrible year on multiple fronts. One of the biggest dampers on 2020 was COVID-19, which has changed how we live, interact, work and go about our daily lives. Perhaps the biggest positive and upside to COVID-19 is the remote work revolution that was forced upon everyone. For some of us, we were ready for it and either already remote working or wanting too. Companies had a choice, allow their employees to work remotely or not work at all.