CEO & Founder of Future Tech Enterprise, Inc., an award-winning, global IT solutions provider. A serial entrepreneur and NY Giants fan.
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The Covid-19 pandemic has affected businesses around the world in many ways, and one of the biggest changes for workers was the near-immediate shift to working remotely.
Employees who had typically spent every working day in an office have found themselves parked in front of a laptop in their kitchens, living rooms, bedrooms — basically, any room with a flat surface and a power outlet.
While it was a struggle at first for some people, adjustments were made quickly, and work continued.
The term "zoom" took on a whole new meaning, workers discovered the joys of not commuting and we all got to find out what everyone else's living rooms looked like.
There have been pleasant surprises along the way, too. Some businesses have found new ways of working that are turning out to be more efficient and productive than expected. The positive momentum has led some to speculate that traditional offices may become a thing of the past. Twitter made headlines in May when it announced that all of its employees will have the option to work remotely on a permanent basis. A recent survey found that two-thirds of businesses expect new work-from-home policies to become permanent or at least to be long term.
Does all of this mean the office is going away for good? Not necessarily.
A survey of U.S. workers shows that 60% of them would choose to head back to the office as soon as it's open and considered safe. There are a number of reasons behind the motivation:
• Fifty-five percent of workers say they're working more hours than normal while at home.
• Sixty-two percent report have a tough time juggling work and kids.
• Isolation and disconnection are also issues.
As the chorus of media coverage around remote work continues, I am a firm believer that the office will always have an important role to play.
Our company has always put a premium on the personal relationships an office environment can foster, which has helped us win a number of "best place to work" awards.
My perspective is that when you look at an employee base, skill and knowledge have to be there, but even more important are factors like trust, dedication and camaraderie.
You lose a piece of that when you move to a virtual environment where you can't look someone in the eye and pick up on what they're thinking and if they're feeling emotional. Having people together will always foster those aspects of work.
Future Tech has always had a combination of office staff at our campuses and remote account representatives around the country. We ensure that those remote workers get plenty of opportunities to spend time with all of their colleagues. We frequently fly in all of our people from around the country to our headquarters for meetings and holiday celebrations, because we want everyone to feel like they're part of the team and to understand that they matter. Maybe that's a bit of an old-school approach, but we'll stick with it. Spending time together becomes more important when crisis-level events try to pull that fabric away.
I'm looking forward to reconvening employees in our offices again, but I know that when the time comes, reopening will be a gradual process.
We'll give our people everything they need to be safe, but if anyone is still uncomfortable, we'll adjust. We'll keep our options open and may take a blended approach at first.
As business leaders, we should do what we can to help our own employees stay effective while working remotely but also continue to help customers as they continue to adjust to the realities of pandemic-era business.
Obviously, there are a lot of great tools available companies can use — Workbooks, VPN connectivity, LTE devices, video cameras — that can help in today's environment.
We're doing things with our partners involving infrared tech that's built into kiosks where people can test their temperatures as they enter a building.
We're also doing a lot with collaborative VR from partners like Nvidia. It's the best tool out there for companies with dispersed work environments, and it will make things easier for organizations to slowly come back to the office rather than doing it all at once. For global organizations, it makes even more sense, given the challenges around crossing national borders right now.
I believe companies that find ways to get through the pandemic with their staff and culture intact will be at an advantage in the long run — and that means finding ways to bring office environments back once it's safe to do so.
You can't let current conditions become the "new normal." While the timeline is uncertain, I think the researchers and doctors focused on finding a vaccine for Covid-19 will be successful.
I believe the companies that build relationships in a group environment will come out on the other side of this much stronger and in a better position to succeed.
In the future, offices will be different. But one thing that I believe won't change is that offices can and should be an essential part of building relationships, fostering camaraderie and establishing a successful corporate culture.
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