There is a lot of negative press coming out of the business world at the moment due to COVID-19. Restaurants and entertainment venues have suffered drastically due to lockdown restrictions, and every day companies seem to be going into liquidation or making redundancies.
Some Good News
However, it is not all bad news in the business world. Companies such as Amazon and other online retailers are showing record profits as people have had to stay home and shop. Likewise, home entertainment and video conferencing companies have seen an upsurge in people subscribing to their services since the middle of March.
Although there will be redundancies in some industries, others will need to take on more staff to meet increasing demand. However, the way people actually conduct their working lives is changing.
The trend of people working from home has been gaining momentum for several years as technology and company culture change to accommodate it. However, COVID-19 has accelerated this trend and meant that more people had been forced to work from home for the time being. The practice has become popular with both employees and companies, and this may not change.
Employees are happy to be offered more flexible working and enjoy having to commute no further than the spare room or kitchen table. Companies have seen an increase in production, as their staff have fewer distractions, and they have started to calculate how much money they will save if they are able to cut overheads and allow people to work from home. Many also realise that allowing home-working will give them access to the best talent available globally rather than locally.
The trend of home-working looks set to continue with employees beginning to furnish their homes for long-term office work. The ability to order next day office furniture online has helped with home offices. Websites such as https://www.bestbuy-officechairs.co.uk/office-chairs/next-day-chairs/ have been especially busy as people design the office space they now need in their homes.
Many people believe that they are able to get more work done if they have a designated workspace available to them and are not interrupted by noises at home. Some companies estimate that as many as 20% of their workforce will continue to work from home after the threat of COVID-19 has passed.