The start of a new decade always feels like we are on the cusp of something fresh and exciting. In the case of employment, the 20s – as they’re being referred to – are shaping up to be the years that the workplace takes on a radical new look.
The way we work is set to change dramatically in the near future and the catalyst is technology. The seismic shift is so great that the impact will be felt in recruitment, and even as far down as the property types and locations that are required by relocators.
A recent article in the business press with the headline ‘the future of offices: how tech will change the way the UK works’ used findings from fibre broadband specialist Glide to touch on a number of advancements that will reshape offices across the country. Notably, it predicts augmented reality and virtual reality will soon be part of everyday professional life, allowing for digital collaborations and interactions without the need for people to be sat around the same table.
The forecast of a more disjointed, fluid workplace with people dialing in from different locations and being able to work in a virtual space comes at the same time as a prediction from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) comes to fruition.
The organisation said that 50% of the UK workforce will work remotely in some form by 2020, with evidence already suggesting that the number of workers who have adopted this style of working practice has increased by nearly a quarter of a million over the past decade.
The number of people requesting remote working hasn’t peaked either, with the 2019 UK Working Lives Report showing that two in three professionals (68%) would like to work flexibly in a way that is not currently available. With technological breakthroughs that facilitate more flexible patterns coming at speed, there will be no reason for employers to refuse requests for remote working.
In practice, however, most UK companies will not be able to run with 100% of their workforce in a virtual state or with entire teams working remotely but it is expected that hybrid patterns – with a reduced number of set days in the office counterbalanced by work-from-home days – will become the most popular (and viable) option.
For us at Adleo, we can already see the growing emphasis on remote working will influence the type of properties we find for our clients. Our search criteria will increasingly incorporate properties with home offices and garden rooms so professionals can work in dedicated peace, while key ‘must haves’ will include fibre optic broadband with the fastest speeds and 5G coverage to facilitate video calls, speedy streaming and cloud computing.
If you need help accommodating an increasingly remote workforce that may be moving around the UK, please contact Adleo for long and short-term rental properties that are ideal for home working.
