Tag: WFH

AI Helps Restore Trust Between Employers and WFH Workers

In the last 24 months we’ve seen enormous changes to our lives. Our work, our healthcare, and just about everything that we do and all the ways in which we interact changed. Now that we’re closing out 2021, we’re seeing many things returning to some form of the old normals. Some of the changes we’ve made, for better or worse, don’t seem to be going anywhere at all. Let’s learn more about WFH workers and their impact below.

One of those lasting and impacting changes is the switch from working in the office to working from home. Working from home was already on the rise and many employees were wanting to go this route long before the COVID pandemic forced it upon us. However, we never saw the events of 2020 coming and the challenges we are now facing from remote work are something that we must address in order to ensure that remote work remains the positive change that we need it to be.

The WFH Trend

Since 2019, we’ve gone from 4.1% of US employees working from home to 42% in 2021. The number has dropped back down from it’s 69% at the height of the pandemic, but it looks as though working remotely is a permanent addition to the new normal. As such, businesses and their employees are learning to navigate new ways to communicate and new territories of trust and work ethic.

For the most part, working from home is seen as a positive for employees. The majority are satisfied with their workspace and available technologies. They’re able to meet project deadlines with fewer interruptions, and they feel motivated to work. Fifty-seven percent of these employees are also more satisfied with their jobs, which means a lower turnover rate, not to mention the 18% decrease in road traffic as a result of working from home. The benefits are well worth the necessary adjustments.

Employers are benefitting as well, with thousands of dollars saved on overhead costs and more productivity from happier employees.

Trust is a Challenge

However, one of the challenges with remote work is that the level of trust from employer to employee has decreased with remote work. In fact, 41% of employers are uncertain about their employees’ work ethic, which results in the issue of micromanagement.

Employees are feeling this lack of trust and report that micromanagement is the number one cause of stress in their jobs. It is such an obstacle that 69% would consider changing jobs just because of this one issue. Micromanagement is not doing employers any favors either as they see higher turnover rates and less productivity from those who are feeling this stress. They also then must cover the costs of replacing dissatisfied employees who turn elsewhere for work.

AI can help businesses and their employees to mitigate some of the trust issues by automating processes that can be automated, such as payroll apps, scheduling, timesheets, online leave management, and on-the-go workforce management. Four out of five employees believe that using AI technology would help improve their job performance, and employers could use these tools to rebuild the environment of trust between them and their employees.

Learn more about trusting WFH workers in the infographic below:

Source: TrackTime24.com

November 15, 2021
A Look at the Future of Networking

The COVID pandemic of 2020 brought many drastic and sudden changes in the way we do a multitude of things; not the least of which is the way we do business. Working remotely was already a growing trend and now, post-pandemic, we find that the number of employees working remotely has skyrocketed. In fact, it is projected that 87% more Americans will be working remotely by the year 2025 compared to pre-pandemic numbers. Although the majority (78%) of executives say that remote work isn’t going anywhere any time soon, and 96% of employees are happy to continue with this “new normal”, remote work does present some unique challenges that businesses must face. Solutions to issues like slow, unreliable, and unsecure network connections must be among the top priorities for businesses who now find themselves with scattered employees and relatively empty headquarters.

The Internet Demands of WFH

In surveys, 94% of remote employees report facing difficulties when working from home. Thirty-five percent of those surveyed said that at some time, they could not finish their work due to a slow or poor internet connection. Another 43% report having to use phones or hotspots during the height of COVID quarantine. Sixty-nine percent also state that they had difficulties with their VPN. Another connectivity issue facing remote workers is that in-home data usage jumped by 38% in 2020, to a whopping 16.6 GB per month. This spike caused problems with real-time services like VoIP and video conferencing.

Unfortunately, slow, unreliable connections aren’t the scariest connectivity issues facing companies or employees. Another new threat is a lack of reliable security measures. Employees are no longer safely cocooned in the security networks of their business headquarters. Instead they’re working from home or coffee shops and other places which may be much more susceptible to cyber attacks. In fact, 60% of all businesses report an increase in cyber attacks post-pandemic. VDI or RDP account for 60% of these attacks while phishing accounts for 30%, and VPN vulnerabilities account for another 20%. Before COVID, 71% of companies report being satisfied with their network security measures. That number has now plummeted to 44%, and it’s no wonder since only 39% of businesses feel they are prepared to manage and protect against security risks inherent with a remote workforce. Currently, IT departments are employing multiple hardware and software rollouts to connect remote workers securely. This is proving to be both difficult, time consuming, and costly.

It’s pretty clear that the future of doing business is simply in need of better solutions and a better internet. These solutions must face and remove remote work obstacles by delivering stronger security with zero-trust access and full visibility; by enabling faster network connections with increased network reliability and optimized protocols and routes; and by simplifying connectivity by removing unnecessary hardware and reducing administrative costs.

The Network of the Future

Fortunately, there is already a solution to all of this. A private network, such as one provided by Ananda Networks, makes connectivity obstacles of remote work obsolete. It’s a cloud-managed SASE model and a private network that can be set up in minutes, rather than weeks. This type of network requires only software to rollout; no hardware setup. It upgrades network security to zero-trust, significantly lowers administrative costs, and can improve network performance by up to 25x.

The future of business is here. It’s time to build the network of the future:

April 7, 2021
The Effect of Remote Work on the Wage Gap

When the COVID-19 pandemic reared its head last year, millions of Americans were forced to make dramatic changes to their daily life. Students attended class through a computer, masks became a necessary accessory for outings, and large segments of the workforce did their jobs from home. Nearly 90% of global organizations either encouraged or required employees to work remotely. Of those companies, two thirds of them believe remote work will become a permanent fixture. Changes that many viewed as a coronavirus-induced aberration could become the new normal.

What does this mean for the American worker? How will converting the home office into one’s only office change workplace dynamics? On the subject of persistent pay inequality, will remote work improve or escalate the problem? As is the case with any form of change, the transition to permanent remote work has benefits and drawbacks. While good things can arise from the new system, it isn’t poised to iron out payment inequalities any time soon.

On the side of workers, the major benefit of telework is elimination of commute. Not only does this free up time for employees, but it also spares the money they would have otherwise spent on fuel, vehicle maintenance, or toll fees. Once a worker knows they will rarely (if ever) have to visit their company’s office in person again, they no longer need to live so close to their employer. Despite recent business migrations, many companies are still headquartered in expensive cities like San Francisco, New York City, or Washington DC. These major metropolises have extreme costs of living and scarce affordable housing. If a remote worker no longer needs to live in those cities for their job, they are free to relocate to a less expensive location.

And relocate they do. Already as many as 23 million Americans may relocate, with city dwellers twice as likely to move. In the coming years, that number may increase to 3 or 4 times that number. Because part of an employee’s salary is contingent on local living expenses, some companies will cut pay for those who move. However, the drop in housing, living, and transportation costs can more than make up for the decrease in earnings. Location-based pay differences are a form of wage gap, but they are one capable of benefiting everyone. American workers could still save up to $4000 annually thanks to remote work.

When it comes to the better known forms of wage gap (those incurred on the basis of gender and race), the picture is less than rosy. Though some experts think that telework will decrease hiring and management biases against women and racial minorities, women still earn less than men when both work in remote positions. In addition, many jobs women and racial minorities currently hold are less likely to allow them to work from home, preventing them from realizing the benefits discussed above.

Every new update to the world comes with pros and cons. The advent of telework is no different in that regard.

January 13, 2021
Salesforce Will Allow Employees to Work From Home the Rest of the Year

Salesforce has become the latest company to extend its work from home (WFH) policy, allowing employees to do so through the rest of the year.

Virtually every major tech company has allowed, or even mandated, its employees to WFH during the coronavirus pandemic. In some cases, the result has been enlightening for many companies, showing how productive employees can be working from home. As a result, some companies have decided to allow employees to WFH forever, with Twitter being the most high-profile example.

While not allowing employees to work from home forever, Salesforce has decided to allow employees to WFH for the rest of the year.

“For us, the timing of when we bring employees back into our offices will be unique to each office—we’ll make those decisions on a city-by-city basis, in a way that’s consistent with local government guidelines and in line with the advice of our medical experts,” writes Amy Weaver, President & Chief Legal Officer.

“Regardless of whether their local office has reopened, Salesforce employees will have the option of continuing to work from home until the end of the year.”

While stopping short of Twitter, Salesforce’s decision is likely welcome news to its employees.

May 15, 2020
Twitter Employees Will Be Able to Work From Home Forever

Twitter employees working from home will be able to do so forever, as the company has no plans to require them to come back to the office.

Twitter was one of the first companies to allow its employees to work from home as the coronavirus pandemic began spreading in the US. Now the company is willing to let employees whose jobs are compatible with telecommuting to continue to do so indefinitely.

“We were uniquely positioned to respond quickly and allow folks to work from home given our emphasis on decentralization and supporting a distributed workforce capable of working from anywhere,” reads the company blog post. “The past few months have proven we can make that work. So if our employees are in a role and situation that enables them to work from home and they want to continue to do so forever, we will make that happen. If not, our offices will be their warm and welcoming selves, with some additional precautions, when we feel it’s safe to return.”

Experts have been saying the pandemic could forever alter how the workplace looks and functions, with an emphasis on working from home where possible. It appears Twitter is bravely embracing this new world, and its employees will likely appreciate it.

Here’s to hoping more companies follow Twitter’s lead.

May 13, 2020