WebProNews

Tag: Pandemic

  • COVID Has Had Lasting Impacts on the Consumer World

    COVID Has Had Lasting Impacts on the Consumer World

    A new report shows just how widespread the impacts from COVID have been as consumers look toward a post-COVID world.

    Brooks Bell conducted a survey of 700 consumers on a variety of topics, and the results show just how much the pandemic has altered consumer views and habits. The “New Normals in Retail, Travel and Financial Services: Consumer Sentiment Beyond 2020” report offers a number of insights businesses should pay attention to.

    • The report is good news for brick and mortar stores, with 76% of respondents planning to buy in-store post-COVID restrictions. At the same time, curbside pickup is here to stay, with 34% planning to continue using the service.
    • Travel is also looking to rebound, with 70% of Americans eager to travel. Millennials, in particular, are the most eager to do so. Interesting, 20% said safety will be a travel consideration indefinitely, while the single biggest consideration remains price.
    • Banking is another industry set to experience a revival, with in-person banking set to almost double from pre-pandemic levels. In-person banking doesn’t equate to face-to-face banking, however, as a preference for interacting with a human teller dropped 8 points to 38%. Even more telling, online communication in banking was the top choice among 56-74 and the over-74 age groups, dispelling the myth that older consumers are opposed to online banking.

    The full report is well-worth a read and can be found here.

  • Zoom Announces Zoom Events to Tackle Virtual Experiences

    Zoom Announces Zoom Events to Tackle Virtual Experiences

    Zoom has announced it will release Zoom Events this summer, in an effort to help companies of all sizes tackle virtual events.

    The virtualization of in-person events has been just one of the many impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Everything from big events — like Apple’s WWDC and Microsoft’s events — to smaller companies’ sales summits have gone virtual. For many companies, however, it can still be a challenge to successfully pull off a digital event.

    Zoom hopes to change that with its upcoming Zoom Events platform.

    Zoom Events offers something for a variety of use cases – from enabling large businesses to seamlessly manage and host internal events like all-hands and sales summits and external events like user conferences, to smaller businesses and entrepreneurs who have been using OnZoom to create, host, and monetize events including fitness and cooking classes, theatrical presentations, and more. As part of the launch of Zoom Events, OnZoom, currently in Beta, will be rebranded and folded into Zoom Events, and can be either private, or searched and explored publicly.

    The company sees a future for the platform that extends far beyond the pandemic. In fact, Zoom cites research showing that 80% of people believe a virtual element will continue post-pandemic, with 52% of respondents planning on enjoying both in-person and virtual events.

    “It’s an exciting time to be at Zoom where the pace of innovation continues to accelerate,” said Oded Gal, chief product officer at Zoom. “We know that people are looking for flexibility in how they attend events in the future. The hybrid model is here to stay, and Zoom Events is a perfect solution for our customers who are looking to produce and host customer, company, and public events with an easy, yet powerful solution. This is another way we’re helping customers scale to meet consumer demands and the evolving virtual and hybrid landscape.”

  • Google Finally Embraces Long-Term Hybrid Work

    Google Finally Embraces Long-Term Hybrid Work

    Google has finally embraced long-term hybrid work, paving the way for employees to have more flexibility.

    Google was one of the first major companies to send employees home as a result of the pandemic, and has continued to push back its return-to-office date. Nonetheless, the company had previously sent clear signals that it was all-in on in-office work, even investing billions in new office space.

    The company’s move was unpopular with employees, many of whom started pushing back against the idea of returning to the office full-time. Some even threatened to quit if Google forced their hand. Further complicating the issue was the company’s own financial reports, showing it saves roughly $1 billion a year as a result of remote work.

    It appears Google is beginning to change its tune, finally embracing remote and hybrid work long-term. In a blog post, CEO Sundar Pichai outlined the company’s new policies.

    We’ll move to a hybrid work week where most Googlers spend approximately three days in the office and two days wherever they work best. Since in-office time will be focused on collaboration, your product areas and functions will help decide which days teams will come together in the office. There will also be roles that may need to be on site more than three days a week due to the nature of the work.

    In addition to the hybrid approach, Pichai says Googlers will have far more freedom to choose a different Google location to work from. This will give employees the ability to choose from the company’s many locations around the globe, rather than their job being tied to a single location that may not be ideal for them or their family. The only major limitation will be whether the proposed location has the infrastructure to support a given role.

    In addition, employees will be able to apply for completely remote work, depending on the job in question. As with the location transfers, remote work applications will be evaluated on whether the job can be adequately accomplished, and the team properly supported, remotely.

    Taken together these changes will result in a workforce where around 60% of Googlers are coming together in the office a few days a week, another 20% are working in new office locations, and 20% are working from home.

    With this adjustment to its work plans, Google joins a long list of companies that are fully embracing remote and hybrid work, furthering the workplace transformation the pandemic started.

  • Zoom Launches $100 Million Fund to Stimulate Zoom Apps Ecosystem

    Zoom Launches $100 Million Fund to Stimulate Zoom Apps Ecosystem

    Zoom has launched a $100 million fund to help stimulate and grow the app ecosystem surrounding the videoconferencing platform.

    Zoom emerged as a front-runner in the early days of the pandemic, with companies, schools, religious organizations and individuals turning to the platform to stay connected. As a result, Zoom experienced meteoric growth, far outpacing some of its rivals.

    The company is looking to ensure its long-term success, by helping build out the ecosystem of apps, hardware and integrations that will continue to improve the service Zoom offers.

    “I founded Zoom in 2011, nearly ten years ago. Without the support of early investors, Zoom would not be what it is today,” said Eric S. Yuan, Founder and CEO of Zoom. “What I’ve learned over the past year is that we need to keep meetings productive and fun. My hope is that the Zoom Apps Fund will help our customers meet happier and collaborate even more seamlessly, and at the same time help entrepreneurs build new businesses as our platform evolves.”

    According to Zoom, portfolio companies will be eligible for investments “between $250,000 and $2.5 million to build solutions that will become core to how Zoom customers meet, communicate, and collaborate.”

  • Salesforce Extends Remote Work, Opening HQ in May

    Salesforce Extends Remote Work, Opening HQ in May

    Salesforce has updated its work strategy, extending work-from-home (WFM) till the end of the year.

    Salesforce made headlines in February when it announced it was embracing remote work permanently, giving employees the option to have a hybrid work schedule. Under the company’s new plans, there would be three categories of workers: flex, fully remote and in-office.

    The company expects the majority of its employees to be flex workers, only coming to the office 1-3 days per week. In-office will comprise the smallest percentage, and be in the office 4-5 days. Fully remote workers would be those that live outside a reasonable commute distance, or those with roles that don’t require an office.

    Salesforce is working on reopening its offices, with some 22 locations around the world now open. The company’s first US office and HQ, Salesforce Tower San Francisco, will be open in May. In the meantime, the company is extending its WFM till at least December 31, making any return to the office optional until then.

    The company also shared several insights gleaned from its WFM efforts.

    Thursday has emerged as the most popular day for employees to come to the office, with many employees preferring to start their week at home.

    Productivity has also been impacted, as “employees are 16% more likely to agree they are more productive at home, and 13% more likely to agree that their teams are more productive at home than in the office.” In addition, 20% of WFM employees are more likely to take wellbeing breaks than their office-bound counterparts.

    At the same time, the office is still seen as a superior place for collaboration. In the company’s Sydney location, “64% of collaboration spaces like lounges and conference rooms were utilized; whereas only 24% of desk space was used. And employees working in the office were 19% more likely to have connected socially with a colleague compared to those working from home.”

    As a company that has embraced WFM, Salesforce offers important insights and a roadmap for companies wanting to make a similar transition.

  • MacBook Pro and iPad Pro Facing Delays Due to Chip Shortage

    MacBook Pro and iPad Pro Facing Delays Due to Chip Shortage

    Apple may be delaying production of the highly-anticipated MacBook Pro and iPad Pro amid a global semiconductor shortage.

    The coronavirus pandemic sparked a series of events that have led to a severe shortages of chips. At the outset, production was hurt as companies were forced to shut down their factories due to lockdown measures. As the pandemic drug on, however, stay-at-home orders and remote work helped drive a significant increase in demand for computers, gaming consoles and tablets.

    Companies in many industries have been experiencing the impact of the chip shortage. Some automakers have had to halt production due to the shortage, and some vehicles are shipping without the usual slate of chips, impacting their long-term fuel mileage.

    The shortage may now be impacting Apple’s upcoming products, according to Nikkei Asia, causing production delays for the upcoming MacBook Pro and iPad Air. Apple is expected to be on the verge of releasing a MacBook Pro 16”, as well as the biggest iPad Pro update ever. Unfortunately, it appears the MacBook production has been delayed at the point where the components are mounted on circuit boards. Meanwhile, the iPad production has hit delays as a result of shortages of displays and display components.

    As a result, Apple is pushing back some of the component orders from the first half of the year to the second half. If the report is true, we may see both devices previewed at WWDC in June, but not released until sometime between August and October.

    The news is even worse for the industry as a whole, given Apple’s legendary supply chain efficiency. If Apple is experiencing significant delays, smaller companies, and ones without as efficient a supply chain, will likely be impacted far worse.

  • Workday CEO: Digital Transformation To Be Faster Trend Out Of Pandemic

    Workday CEO: Digital Transformation To Be Faster Trend Out Of Pandemic

    “Digital transformation will come out as a faster trend out of the pandemic,” says Workday co-CEO Aneel Bhusri. “What’s been interesting about the pandemic is that for companies that were in the cloud they figured out how to how to thrive and adjust to the new world. Companies that weren’t in the cloud realized that they needed the flexibility, agility, and ability to plan instantaneously. They needed those capabilities.”

    Aneel Bhusri, co-CEO of Workday, discusses how the pandemic will drive digital transformation forward at an even faster pace:

    Digital Transformation To Be Faster Trend Out Of Pandemic

    The first three quarters during the pandemic were challenging. The vagaries of subscription accounting models are such that it is a lag indicator. We expect new bookings growth to accelerate this year and that is our primary indicator and the way we run the business. We’re very excited about where we’re headed. That acceleration will probably take at least a year to show up in subscription accounting numbers just because of the way the model works. 

    What’s been interesting about the pandemic is that for companies that were in the cloud they figured out how to how to thrive and adjust to the new world. Companies that weren’t in the cloud realized that they needed the flexibility, agility, and ability to plan instantaneously. They needed those capabilities. In many ways, companies like Nike that are just such great market-leading companies, recognize that they needed to move this capability to the cloud. So I think actually digital transformation will come out as a faster trend out of the pandemic. 

    Employee Engagement Rose To The Top Of The List

    It comes back to the flexibility and agility that that cloud solutions like Workday provide. We’ve been very fortunate. We’re so happy to have Laboratory Corporation of America become a customer. J&J is a customer. Visor’s a customer. AstraZeneca is a customer. I just feel honored to be able to support these companies who are doing the best they can to save our lives and are just doing amazing work with the vaccines and testing. We’ve always had a strength in the pharmaceuticals and diagnostics role. We’re going to do everything we can to make sure that they’re successful because they’re taking care of all of us.

    Coming back to what we learned during the pandemic, employee engagement just rose to the top of every CEO’s list and every head of HR’s list. In a remote work orientation, it was harder to really understand how do employees think about the company they work at, their engagement level, their comfort with their manager, and if they are feeling fulfilled at work. We were already down the path at Workday with something called Pulse Surveys. We recognized that this emerging trend was going to be critical going forward. 

    We Fell In Love With Peakon So We Acquired Them

    We concluded that we had to get in this market now, the market’s happening now, and Peakon is the well-known leader in this category. Peakon is a UK-based company with an amazing management team. We fell in love with the product and the management team so we made them part of Workday. They’re one of the new generations of companies that’s machine learning first.

    They really use machine learning in the right way to guide decisions and really give you insight into how employees are thinking about the company that they’re working for and how engaged are they. That is a supercritical set of information that’s going to drive companies going forward.

    Digital Transformation To Be Faster Trend Out Of Pandemic, Says Worday co-CEO Aneel Bhusri
  • Over One Third of Workers Will Quit if WFH Ends

    Over One Third of Workers Will Quit if WFH Ends

    A recent poll is bad news for employers wanting to resume in-office work post-pandemic, with 35% saying they’ll quit if work-from-home (WFH) ends.

    WFM has become the new normal for a large percentage of companies during the pandemic. What happens post-pandemic varies greatly from one company to another. Some companies have fully embraced remote work, and many others have committed to hybrid work options. Still others, however, are determined to bring employees back in-house as soon as possible.

    Employers in the latter category may be in for a rude awakening, according to a poll posted by a Blind user. Blind is an anonymous network of professionals, providing a safe way to exchange ideas, information, tips, and more.

    According to the poll, some 35% of users say they would quit if their employers get rid of WFH. Another 11% say they have already negotiated for WFH on a permanent basis. Only 54% said they would return to the office regardless.

    The poll breaks down the results by company, and it’s particularly bad news for Amazon. The company released a memo last week emphasizing its “office-centric culture,” and its intention to bring its employees back to the office by early fall. According to the Blind poll, 43% of Amazon employees will quit once WFM disappears.

    The poll also shows a rise over a LiveCareer poll in January, when 29% of employees said they would quit if WFH was off the table.

    With WFH increasing in popularity, employees would do well to take note and make adjustments.

  • Google Extends Unlimited Google Meet Calls

    Google Extends Unlimited Google Meet Calls

    Google has extended unlimited calls in its Google Meet platform, making the popular feature available for free through June 2021.

    Like many companies, Google took steps to help individuals impacted by the global pandemic. As one of the most popular videoconferencing platforms, Google Meet is used by individuals and companies around the world. Google made unlimited calls free in April 2020. The feature was initially set to expire at the end of that September, but the company extended the deadline to the end of March 2021.

    Now Google has extended the deadline once more, this time to the end of June 2021.

  • Google Pulls Out of Mobile World Congress Event

    Google Pulls Out of Mobile World Congress Event

    Mobile World Congress (MWC) is one of the biggest phone events of the year, but it will go on without one of its biggest attendees, as Google pulls out.

    MWC is one of the biggest electronics events of the year, and serves as a place for phone manufacturers to showcase their upcoming models. It’s especially helpful for smaller companies that may not have the same pull in the press as Apple, Google or Samsung.

    Last year, MWC 2020 was canceled as a result of the pandemic. This year, planning has resumed for an in-person event, using only standard protective precautions. In contrast, most other major events in the tech industry are still being held digitally.

    It seems Google isn’t willing to take the risk, given the ongoing pandemic.

    “Following our current COVID-19 travel restrictions and protocols, Google has made the decision to not exhibit at Mobile World Congress this year,” read Google’s statement. “We will continue to collaborate closely with GSMA and support our partners through virtual opportunities. We look forward to this year’s activities and seeing you in Barcelona in 2022.”

    Ericsson was the first company to announce they would not be attending because of the pandemic. They were quickly joined by Nokia, Sony and now Google. It remains to be seen if MWC will change course, given the high-profile pull-outs. Interestingly, MWC organizers insisted on continuing with the conference last year, only to abandon those plans when enough major companies withdrew their support.

  • Amazon Wants ‘Office-Centric Culture’ as Its Baseline

    Amazon Wants ‘Office-Centric Culture’ as Its Baseline

    Amazon is bucking the trend among many tech companies, telling US employees they should expect to be back in the office by early fall.

    Many companies are making remote work part of their permanent culture. In many cases, with the majority of their workforce operating remotely, this has led to selling or renting out prime real estate. Even outside of the tech industry, companies are embracing the trend, with Ford recently announcing 30,000 of its employees would be able to work remotely on a permanent basis.

    Amazon appears to be going in the opposite direction, according to a memo to employees.

    Our plan is to return to an office-centric culture as our baseline. We believe it enables us to invent, collaborate, and learn together most effectively.

    The timelines for returning to the office will vary by country, depending on the infection and vaccination rates, and we expect our return to the office to be gradual. In many parts of Asia, our employees are already back in the office. In the U.S., as vaccines become broadly available in the next few months, we expect more people will start coming into the office through the summer, with most back in the office by early fall. In some countries in Europe, we expect in-person working to take longer given recent setbacks. As we get closer to the summer, we’ll develop more country-specific plans and post all updates to Inside Amazon under Local News.

  • GroupM: Stimulus Money Will Help US Ad Industry Grow 15% in 2021

    GroupM: Stimulus Money Will Help US Ad Industry Grow 15% in 2021

    GroupM has revised its outlook on the US ad industry, expecting it to grow 15% in 2021, thanks in large part to stimulus spending.

    2020 was a difficult year for advertisers, as the global pandemic impacted all sectors of the economy. GroupM had previously predicted a 12% growth in the industry in 2021.

    The company is now predicting a 15% increase, thanks to increased spending as a result of the latest stimulus package. Even more significantly, this represents a 6% increase over 2019 levels, indicating the industry will fully rebound from the pandemic in 2021.

    Our upgrade of expectations is primarily a reflection of the healthier-than-expected recovery of the economy from the depths of the pandemic paired with the significant impact of fiscal stimulus the federal government is providing to consumers. Digital advertising is the primary beneficiary of trends impacting the economy, both because new small businesses are forming at a record pace (even if collectively they may be losing share of activity within the economy) and because large businesses are increasingly focused on e-commerce, with spending shifts to digital media generally aligning with this trend.

    GroupM originally factored the vaccine rollout into its projections, but the Georgia Senate races made the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 a reality, adding to the recovery.

    GroupM’s report is welcome news for the advertising industry, and the economy at large.

  • Biden Administration Working on Vaccination Passport Standards

    Biden Administration Working on Vaccination Passport Standards

    The Biden administration is working on standards to help establish a vaccination passport, another step toward a return to normal.

    One of the major challenges countries face is containing the spread of COVID-19, including new variants that arise, while at the same time easing travel restrictions. While vaccination plays a major part in that, there is currently no standard way to prove one’s vaccination, other than using the physical vaccination card provided. The physical card isn’t the most practical option for travel, and can be easily faked.

    According to The Washington Post, the Biden administration is working with private companies to develop a scannable, digital passport. With many industries refusing to fully open without proof of vaccination, the passport will provide an easy way for people to prove they’ve received it.

    The work echoes efforts in the European Union to do the same, with IBM winning the contract to create the passport for Germany.

  • 57% of Small Businesses in US Are Now Fully Open

    57% of Small Businesses in US Are Now Fully Open

    As restrictions ease around the country, a new reports shows that 57% of all small businesses are fully open.

    Small businesses were among the hardest hit as a result of the pandemic, with many lacking the infrastructure to move online or the resources to wait out long lockdowns. As restrictions ease, however, a slight majority have resumed full operations.

    In its Small Business Recovery Report, Kabbage polled more than 550 small businesses. Of those polled 57% are now fully open.

    Interestingly, one-third of the businesses said they were now either selling exclusively online or had significantly expanded their online sales. Online sales accounted for 57% of their total revenue, up from 37% before the pandemic.

    The mass shift to sell online has changed the mindset of small businesses about adopting new technologies. Overall, 77 percent of small businesses agreed they’re more open than ever before to replace old systems and adopt new technologies to run their company more efficiently.

    Understanding the status of small businesses and their future is an important step in understanding how to move forward.

    “We knew the path to recovery would look different across businesses, but it’s clear there’s a stark difference between the largest and smallest of small businesses—which represent more than 80 percent of all companies in the U.S.,” said Rob Frohwein, Co-founder of Kabbage, an American Express Company. “As our economy recovers it’s imperative all small businesses, especially those most marginalized and vulnerable, have equitable access to financial tools, systems and stimulus programs to ensure we all rebound from this crisis together.”

  • Microsoft Blocks 300,000 Advertising Accounts In 2020

    Microsoft Blocks 300,000 Advertising Accounts In 2020

    Microsoft Advertising has released its 2020 year-in-review report, giving a glimpse of the state of online advertising.

    The company blocked some 300,000 accounts from its advertising platform, a 30% increase from 2019. Microsoft also removed 1.6 billion bad ads, as well as 270,000 sites from its system.

    Given the year that was 2020, it’s not surprising what Microsoft’s five key areas of focus were: the pandemic, political advertising, third-party government services, tech support scams and advertiser safety.

    Microsoft emphasized its approach to advertising, one that uses a combination of artificial intelligence and manual reviewers.

    Advertising fraud is fast-moving, and we continue to see new patterns surface globally. We take an all-hands-on-deck approach to ensure we continue to deliver the highest quality content possible. We constantly update and refine our policies to ensure we meet evolving needs. Our fraud detection technology makes use of a wide variety of signals and uses the latest machine-learning algorithms to find fraud patterns which can otherwise be difficult to detect. We also have a geographically distributed team of experts working round the clock to help us conduct detailed investigations on any new patterns we’re seeing, by making use of smart and scalable tools. Detecting fraud before it has a chance to reach customers is one piece of our approach.

    We also address escalations and complaints from customers to quickly remove low-quality ads. In 2020, we received a total of ~50,000 complaints related to ads not being compliant per our advertising policies. We investigated each complaint and found ~ 65% of the reported ads to be in violation of Microsoft Advertising policies. Most of the complaints were related to trademark infringements. As we continue to roll out new products and make it easier for brands to engage with audiences, we made additional investments to protect and respond to advertisers’ concerns around trademark use and were able to reduce the trademark related complaints by ~ 25% year over year. We also received a few complaints related to unlicensed gambling sites, phishing, unauthorized government service provider websites, and other user safety concerns. We have a highly responsive operations team working 24/7 to promptly address concerns relating to our ads. In response to complaints, our operations team took down nearly 400,000 violating ads from our network.

    Microsoft’s 2020 report shows the challenges the advertising industry faces, as well as provides insights into how to manage those challenges.

  • Verizon Look Forward: Streaming and Mobile Gaming Big Pandemic Winners

    Verizon Look Forward: Streaming and Mobile Gaming Big Pandemic Winners

    Verizon’s Look Forward report has a number of important insights, including the growing importance of streaming TV and mobile gaming.

    The global pandemic has led to a digital transformation across multiple industries, cramming into a single year what would have taken several. Two industries that have seen massive growth are streaming services and mobile gaming.

    According to Verizon’s Look Forward report, major streaming sites have seen a 21% increase over pre-pandemic levels. Rather than being an isolating experience, discussing streaming TV content has helped some 44% of adults content with friends and family.

    Some 2 in 3 (67%) are watching at least 3 hours of live TV a week, with over half (59%) watching about the same amount of streaming TV. Just as significantly, of those who watch streaming content, 82% anticipate spending the same amount of time or more a year from now, indicating the uptick in content consumption is likely a permanent change.

    Almost half (47%) of adults have subscribed to a new streaming service since the pandemic began, with 70% binge-watching shows at least once or twice.

    Mobile gaming is another big winner during the pandemic, with 46% of people downloading or buying at least one mobile game during the pandemic. Interestingly, only 36% did the same with a computer or console game. Almost a third (31%) spend at least 3 hours a week playing a mobile game.

    Some 32% of those who engaged in online gaming reported spending more time doing so now than at the beginning of the pandemic, with 45% saying they were spending about the same amount of time.

    As Verizon’s report shows, streaming TV and mobile gaming have become staples of the pandemic era, and will likely continue to see major growth for years to come.

  • US Travel Spending Plummeted 42% Amid the Pandemic

    US Travel Spending Plummeted 42% Amid the Pandemic

    A new report sheds light on the devastating impact the pandemic has had on the travel industry, accounting for a 42% drop in spending.

    The U.S. Travel Association says the travel industry’s impact on the US economy dropped 42%, from $2.6 trillion to $1.5 trillion. Similarly, travel-supported jobs dropped from 16.7 million to 11.1 million, a total of 5.6 million. Just as telling, those losses account for 65% of all US jobs as a result of the pandemic.

    “While the gradual progress of vaccinations has provided hope that a turnaround may be on the horizon, it is still unclear when travel demand will be able to fully rebound on its own,” said U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow. “With the travel industry suffering such a disproportionate share of losses, policymakers need to understand that a nationwide economic recovery effectively hinges on a travel recovery.”

    The economic stimulus will no doubt have a positive impact on the industry, but there’s still a long way to go before it recovers fully.

    “The latest round of relief was helpful to our industry, but there are a number of important steps that still must be taken, especially extending the deadline for the Paycheck Protection Program and passing the key package of tax incentives in the Hospitality and Commerce Job Recovery Act,” said U.S. Travel Association Executive Vice President of Public Affairs and Policy Tori Emerson Barnes. “The PPP is set to expire in just two weeks, yet the economic effects of the pandemic will continue to harm the industry far beyond that point.”

  • Ford Embraces Permanent Remote Work, Impacting 30,000 Employees

    Ford Embraces Permanent Remote Work, Impacting 30,000 Employees

    Ford has announced some 30,000 employees will be able to work remotely, providing a clear measurement of just how much the workplace has changed.

    The coronavirus pandemic has driven a widespread adoption of remote work, although much of that transformation has occurred primarily among tech companies. Ford has now become one of the largest companies outside the tech industry to embrace a remote workflow.

    According to The Washington Post, Ford discussed its plans at a virtual town hall meeting. The new policy will apply to all workers whose jobs are not place-dependent. The degree of in-person versus remote work will depend on the employee and the position in question.

    For example, starting in July, employees will be able to go to the office for tasks that require in-person interaction, such as group projects or meetings. For the rest of their work, however, employees will be able to continue working from home.

    “The nature of work drives whether or not you can adopt this model. There are certain jobs that are place-dependent — you need to be in the physical space to do the job,” said David Dubensky, chairman and chief executive of Ford Land. “Having the flexibility to choose how you work is pretty powerful. … It’s up to the employee to have dialogue and discussion with their people leader to determine what works best.”

    Ford’s move, the first among the major automakers, is sure to have ripple effects throughout the industry, and will likely put pressure on the other companies to follow suit. More importantly, it’s a strong testament to the success and viability of a permanent remote work model.

  • Upwork: Businesses Will Stick With Remote Work After Pandemic

    Upwork: Businesses Will Stick With Remote Work After Pandemic

    Upwork has released its Economist Report: One Year Remote, finding many companies will continue with remote work thanks to its benefits.

    The pandemic is attributed with forcing a decade of digital transformation in a year’s time. Companies large and small had to adapt quickly, and help employees work remotely. Many companies have embraced the change, committing to a remote or hybrid workforce moving forward.

    According to Upwork’s Dr. Adam Ozimek, the transition to remote work may be more successful than many companies and executives realize. One of the biggest benefits has been an increase in productivity.

    When workers are asked if productivity has gone up from working remotely, 61% say yes, and only 12.7% say no. While workers may be viewing their productivity in a self-serving light, Upwork’s survey of 1,000 hiring managers showed a positive view as well: 32.2% of hiring managers felt that overall productivity had gone up as of late April compared to the 22.5% that felt it had decreased.

    Another benefit has been the ability to relocate to less expensive areas. Upwork estimates some 23 million people planned to relocate, thanks to the freedom remote work offers.

    More companies are also open to the possibility of hybrid teams, made up of a combination of full-time and independent workers. The pandemic has helped many hiring managers become more comfortable with hiring independent freelancers, breaking down previous misconceptions and opening the door to a wider talent pool.

    Not surprisingly, reduced cost was another big factor. Upwork estimates that employees who commuted to work by car saved roughly $4,350 this past year. On average employees have been saved approximately nine days of commuting in just a year’s time.

    One of the most interesting findings of Upwork’s report is a greater understanding of perceived pain points and their true cause. In other words, some of the issues blamed on remote work are really a result of the pandemic, not remote work.

    Parents, for example, have likely had to balance work with interruptions from children. This is not a product of remote work, but rather a result of many schools having been closed due to COVID. In a post-pandemic situation, kids will be at school, and remote work will mean fewer interruptions.

    Upwork’s full report is well-worth a read and demonstrates the permanent effect this past year has had in transforming the workplace.

  • BuzzFeed Lays Off 47 HuffPost Workers, Will Shutter HuffPost Canada

    BuzzFeed Lays Off 47 HuffPost Workers, Will Shutter HuffPost Canada

    Less than a month after acquiring rival HuffPost, BuzzFeed has announced it will lay off 47 workers and shutter HuffPost Canada altogether.

    BuzzFeed announced the deal in November, acquiring an ownership stake in HuffPost from Verizon. The deal saw Verizon retain a minority stake, and the two companies agreed to cross-syndicate each other’s content.

    Just three weeks after closing the deal, BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti announced the changes, impacting 47 employees, including eight managers. The remaining 35 are presumably journalists. Peretti said the cuts would help HuffPost break even for the year, and even pave the way toward profit.

    “Though BuzzFeed is a profitable company, we don’t have the resources to support another two years of losses,” Peretti said.

    “We want to ensure the homepage remains a top destination on the internet,” he added. “We also want to maintain high traffic, preserve your most powerful journalism, lean more deeply into politics and breaking news, and build a stronger business for affiliate revenue and shopping content.”

    BuzzFeed’s announcement is just the latest example of the hit media companies have taken during the pandemic.

  • Deutsche Telekom Bidding on EU Vaccination Passport

    Deutsche Telekom Bidding on EU Vaccination Passport

    T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom has submitted a bid to create a digital vaccination passport for the EU.

    One of the biggest challenges countries face is managing travel during the pandemic. International travel helped the coronavirus spread at a record pace in the early days of the pandemic, and continues to be a major threat to containment efforts.

    Some countries have made vaccination a requirement to cross their borders, but there is currently no good way to keep track of who has been vaccinated. The issue is especially a concern for the EU, where individuals are normally able to cross member state borders at will.

    Deutsche Telekom is hoping to help address the problem, submitting a bid to the German government to create a digital vaccination passport. A vaccination passport would serve as proof the holder was vaccinated, and therefore relatively safe to travel.

    If the EU’s efforts are successful, it’s a safe bet other countries will follow suit, implementing their own methods for keeping track of those vaccinated.