In-Office Work is Losing Steam

December 4, 2023

Remote work has changed the way that businesses approach normal operations. Due in large part to the disruptions of the past couple of years, remote work has become a staple of the business environment, and while you might hear stories of businesses pushing hard to return to the workplace, the reality is that they are the exception rather than the norm.

In fact, statistics show that a hybrid workplace is becoming more and more popular with businesses, and they are adopting policies that will help them offer these scheduling practices to their employees.

Most Companies Aren’t Pushing Super Hard for a Return to the Office

You might see companies like Goldman Sachs or Tesla claim that these efforts are a way to force out employees who are not working hard enough, but really, this issue is not as large as it might seem to be.

The opposite of this is true; companies are looking for ways to make hybrid work a reality for their employees, and they are succeeding. In a report by Prithwiraj Choudhury, one of the associate professors at Harvard Business School, approximately 30 percent of United States workdays are completed remotely and office occupancy has hovered at half.

This does not look like a requirement of in-office work.

Use Hybrid Operations to Your Business’ Benefit

Hybrid presents several great opportunities and benefits for businesses. Employees also find it helpful; it turns out that having more flexibility than your traditional office environment is a powerful recruitment motivator. This is assuming that hybrid work fits into your workplace’s established operational workflow, and regardless, you’ll have to figure out who is working in the office and on what days.

The biggest benefit of hybrid work for most employees is going to be flexibility, so you’ll need technology to ensure that everyone can follow through on their workplace responsibilities as easily as possible. Therefore, the flexibility and technology you need to allow for this flexibility will be a major bargaining chip to get the most highly qualified candidates.

We’ll Help You Improve Your Business Technology

First Column IT can help your business implement the best technology for a hybrid office environment. To learn more, call us at (571) 470-5594.

Three Ways SMBs Combat Mobile Malware

Mobile malware might not have a lot of attention on it, but it can be a significant problem for organizations that rely on smartphones. This goes double for small businesses that typically don’t have the large teams and big budgets for their mobile strategies that include devices, data and phone plans, and security controls. Today, we’ll look at mobile malware and how an organization with a limited budget can keep it from impacting its business.

September 4, 2024

You Should Be Aware of These Two Productivity Pitfalls

Technology has empowered us to achieve more than ever, but with that progress comes increased expectations for everyone. This means greater productivity, and the pressure to perform can be relentless at times, making it crucial to find efficient ways to manage our tasks. Unfortunately, there is a natural limit to how much we can accomplish, and certain challenges can push us to that limit faster. Today, we want to explore two of the most common productivity pitfalls.

September 2, 2024

Cybersecurity Solutions for Remote and Hybrid Work

Remote work has been a mainstay in most businesses’ standard operating procedures in at least some capacity, but it opens up a nasty can of worms regarding cybersecurity. If cybersecurity is not your top priority, and you have remote or hybrid employees, we need to have a talk—and probably a hard one.

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