Remote Work Trends for 2022

The pandemic has brought us many things these past few years. For example, stylish cloth masks, the ultimate excuse to avoid seeing people (“I can’t come out, I’m social distancing!), and, of course, the increasing availability of remote work. 

 

Now, it may not be for everyone, but some employees have truly loved their time working from home. They don’t have someone looking over their shoulder constantly, they have a fridge full of food and drinks nearby – a lot of them don’t even have to get dressed in the morning!

 

Indeed, some workers seem to think they currently have a pretty good deal working out of their home office. However, what they don’t know is what remote work will bring in 2022. Will they still be happy about their situation in the New Year?

 

Well, that may depend on the worker. Here are some of the remote work trends to expect in 2022.

 

Hybrid Work Will Become the New Norm

Though many people have enjoyed working from home, they’re not necessarily against going back to the office – at least not completely. While less than 20% of executives said they wanted to return to a pre-pandemic office environment, only 13% said they were ready to do away with the office for good.

 

This suggests that, if some changes are made, many workers may be ready to return to the office in 2022. To address this, more businesses may allow their employees to shift from the remote work model to a hybrid work model. This allows them to get the best of both worlds: the flexibility and space of working from home, and the advantages that come along with working in a collaborative team environment in the office.

 

Remote Networking

By now, just about everyone who has worked online has probably used something like Zoom for online meetings. Video chat is a great way to get the remote team together and keep everyone on the same page, so Zoom meetings aren’t likely going to go anywhere in 2022. In fact, they may be used for even more work-related purposes, like networking.

 

Since meeting up may still be difficult in 2022, workers may want to try and extend their professional network by arranging networking opportunities online. They can message someone they’ve been wanting to connect with professionally, and ask them if they’d like to meet up on Zoom for a chat – kind of like a virtual coffee date. You could even have a specialty coffee delivered to their place for extra effect!

 

While this may have seemed strange in pre-pandemic times, nowadays it’s perfectly acceptable. If you haven’t been a part of a virtual coffee date yet, don’t be surprised by an invitation in 2022.

 

A Growing Concern for Cyber Security

As remote workers have headed online in droves, so has a ton of personal employee data and company data. This begs the question: is all this private and sensitive information safe online?

 

Considering that major social media platforms and even banks have had cyber security issues within the last few years, this is a legitimate concern. Therefore, expect to see companies continuing to ramp up their cyber security game in 2022.

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