Well, a large portion of it anyway. As of February this year, 1 in 10 jobs were being advertised as remote, a figure which only seems to be increasing as time goes on. It's clear that employers and employees alike are being switched on to the benefits of asynchronous and flexible working. While previously, flexible work only applied to the highly-lauded but rarely taken flexitime, now many companies are allowing their employees to work from wherever (and sometimes whenever) they want - as long as they get their work done.
Such a move is promising given the tendency towards presenteeism over the past century. The general consensus that has prevailed since the dawn of the office 9-to-5 was that employees could only be productive when under the watchful eye of their boss. But the pandemic has shown that people became more productive, not less, while working-from-home or remotely.
Remote work makes you more productive
A 2021 study by the University of Southampton examined workers' attitudes and output levels while working remotely. And not surprisingly 90% of workers thought that their productivity had increased or stayed the same as pre-pandemic levels.
So it's no wonder that big companies like Twitter, Airbnb and Meta are taking the work-from-anywhere plunge despite worldwide restrictions largely lifting.
But moving the world of work online isn't something that can just happen unassisted. Which is why technology has been adapting to suit this new way of life. So here are 4 online tools and apps that you (and your team) absolutely should be using if you too are part of the remote revolution...
While remote work has many (many) benefits, there are some elements of the office that are sorely missed. For example, pre-pandemic when you needed to grab a document all that was needed was to sift through a filing cabinet. Nowadays it seems like there are hundreds of hoops to jump through.
A single company might use Google Docs, Notion, Slack, Canva, Microsoft Teams, Asana, Hubspot and other tools to store information. So it can often feel like a never-ending nightmare when it comes to finding that exact document or image that you need.
But with Qatalog, you'll find everything in one place.
Often branded the 'virtual workspace', Qatalog uses the latest innovative tech trends to enhance and improve upon the traditional in-person office, whilst also bypassing the need to use tens of other online tools during the work day. Using their platform you can communicate with your team, track updates across different departments, store and integrate information from other tools as well as perform countless other tasks all in one place!
If you find yourself WFH on the regular, you might have noticed your exercise routine slipping.
No judgment from us though! We all know what it's like when you get comfortable at your desk and then meetings after meetings (after meetings) can mean going for a run is not your top priority.
By integrating walking meetings into your routine using their audio-only conferencing platform, you can get your work done whilst also taking care of your physical health. You don't even have to worry about making notes - Spot creates a transcript of your meeting as you're talking; and for their latest product update they've also added a handy summary card to the end of every call.
Their platform won't even just improve your bodily health - walking could actually make you better at your job. A simple stroll helps to increase productivity, boost energy levels and trigger your creativity in a way that sitting on Zoom could never achieve.
Succesful companies also have thriving cultures, and that kind of thing can only be built with out-of-work activities. You might think this would be much too difficult to cultivate in a remote team - but actually it's as simple as joining Unlock.
With their unique social video conferencing, you and your teammates can unlock (see what we did there?) a wealth of fun online activities. From your basic coffee roulette, to virtual origami courses, to breath work and cold water therapy workshops.
Unlock allows users to choose from privately hosted activities (much like you would do for in-person experiences on Airbnb) or their multiple breakout rooms, including their aptly named 'bar', 'cafe' and 'lounge'.
And of course, we couldn't miss out on an opportunity for a bit of self-promotion, could we?
While 'remote work' often conjures images of people working from their makeshift home offices or balancing their laptop on a precarious pile of books to create a terrifyingly top heavy standing desk, it doesn't always have to be this way. In fact, there are a number of benefits to physically separating your professional and personal lives.
And creating this distance is easier than you think when you use NearU.
Our award-winning app gives you immediate access to a network of global on-demand workspaces (near you, as the name suggests), so you can simply search, book, and work wherever (and whenever) you need to. Whether you’re looking for a meeting room equidistant between remote colleagues, or a hot desk if working from your kitchen just isn’t cutting it, we've got you covered.
Want to start working-from-anywhere today? Just download our app from the App Store or Google Play and search, book, work.
