When the world was sent home in 2020, Australians became better acquainted with a new way of working. Zoom calls replaced the traditional meeting, the living room doubled as the office, and the commute became non-existent.
Some thrived in the WFH environment while others craved the social connection and collaboration of a physical workspace, but as the world continues to evolve from the events of 2020, the workplace is one facet that may never be the same as it was pre-pandemic.
A number of companies have announced more permanent WFH arrangements. Atlassian, Dropbox, Twitter, Shopify, Spotify; they’ve all made changes to their policies to allow employees to work remotely forever, after finding this to be the preference for the majority of workers.
You see, remote work provides a number of benefits for both employee and employer. For individuals, an improved work-life balance, reduced commuting costs, and an increase in distraction-free productivity have all been cited in recent research.
And for businesses, the downsizing of overheads including office rent, stationery supplies, and a massive reduction in bills feels favourable too. Remote work arrangements also mean employers can also extend their talent search beyond local candidates to find the perfect person for a job based in just about any location around the world. Whereas an out-of-area hire would usually require a relocation bonus, businesses can save the cash while still hiring the right people for available roles.
This win-win for people on both sides of the coin might be why a recent survey found 38% of workers will be remote within the next 10 years, while in Australia, 68% of companies are currently allowing remote working, according to findings from Indeed.
As for how you can capitalise on this new way of thinking? For starters, there’s some work to be done to shift your mindset around new employment opportunities outside of your city. There’s never been a better time to think outside the box.
You can begin by looking for roles online, filtering ‘remote’ as the setting for your location. And when you do manage to land a job interview, get prepared with our guide to answering the five most common interview questions, and our advice for changing careers in 2021.
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