The past decade has witnessed incredible growth in remote and flexible work opportunities. As 2020 draws nearer, it’s evident that remote work opportunities are here to stay and will play a larger role in how businesses and people accomplish their work.
A recent report, which mapped the popularity of remote work from the early 2000s onward, reveals just how impactful off-site work opportunities will become in the new decade. In 2017, for example, 4.7 million people telecommuted for their jobs, resulting in a 159% increase in remote work since 2005.
For business leaders, the primary takeaway here is that remote work is no longer a benefit offered by a small number of organizations; rather, the future of all work is virtual. Employees today expect remote work privileges at some capacity, and failing to deliver on flexible work needs may affect your ability to attract and retain the best talent.
But what caused this massive boom in virtual work opportunities across various job titles and industries? The answer almost singularly boils down to one cause—the widespread implementation of remotely-accessible technologies. As existing tools become more accessible every day and newer innovations emerge on the market, the future of what we are able to accomplish remotely will shift as well.
Listed below are a few key trends that remote leaders can expect in 2020 that may further alter how businesses perceive flexible work benefits and how these benefits drive higher levels of productivity.
1. IoT Connectivity
IoT technology presents a vast, nearly limitless potential for businesses that want to more deeply integrate with the tools they use. Simply put, the Internet of Things (IoT) is defined as the collective billions of devices that are currently connected through the internet and capable of sharing information with each other. So long as it can connect to the internet, everything—from a company truck to your daily coffee mug—is considered to be within the IoT device cluster.
This cloud of connected devices has already reached billions, but many tech spaces forecast even greater explosions in size in 2020 and beyond. Some predictions say as many as 64 billion IoT devices will exist globally by the year 2025.
The Internet of Things presents a number of possibilities for remote-majority teams. Since you will be able to connect with your team entirely through connected devices, IoT will likely further dissolve traditional office workspaces and diminish the need for in-person communication. This means that businesses will be able to fully rely on solutions like virtual assistants for reception services and IoT-paired bots for keeping an inventory of office supplies, as well as ordering more when your shelves begin to look bare.
2. VoIP Communications
Similar to the Internet of Things, VoIP is another rapidly emerging tool that will help remote teams of the future communicate more accurately and easily. Voice over IP (VoIP) is described as a communication technology that allows its users to send and receive voice information with only a broadband or Wi-Fi internet connection. Recent improvements to internet connectivity speeds often make VoIP phones and other devices more effective than their analog alternatives (such as landlines), which are known for occasionally sending choppy signals and dropping calls.
The global VoIP technologies market is targeted to nearly triple between 2019 and 2024 as more businesses replace their office phones with digital communication services. If anything, this demonstrates the demand for technology to connect the expanding mobile workforce.
Although higher average call quality, reduced monthly expenses, and auto-attendant functions are all factors contributing to this upward trend, there are a number of other benefits attracting remote-friendly work environments specifically. VoIP phones, as one example, work with several Internet-compatible devices—phones, desktops, laptops, tablets and more. Remote employees are therefore able to take their business phones with them wherever they decide to work for the day. With so many businesses catering to the needs of companies and employees outside of their local areas, internet-powered communication tools can also help you speak over long-distance calls without comprises to call quality or service.
3. 5G Speeds
Whether you’re traveling for business or connected through a personal hotspot, 5G technology will allow you to do all of your work without delay to your internet connectivity. Fifth-generation (5G) technology is the successor of 4G and 4G LTE as the next iteration of cellular technology. Real-world applications of 5G already prove that this technology will give mobile devices the power to run many work-related applications from your phone, including cloud software and machine learning automation.
5G networks promise major improvements on previous network architectures in two areas: speed and latency (faster responsiveness and loading times). Compared to current mobile speeds, 5G technology is almost inconceivable. Some estimates project up to 10 Gigabits per second, which is fast enough to download a two-hour movie in just under four seconds.
Currently, 5G is only available in areas of certain countries, but as it rolls out into a wider market in 2020, businesses will quickly begin to see its advantages for their mobile workforce.
Managers will be able to jump on teleconferences, even while halfway across the world, without any reduction to sound or visual quality. Your remote team will have full access to all of your cloud-powered tools without having to use a wired device, and any updates to your data will appear synchronously in a split second across the organization. Widespread connectivity via 5G also will help remove geographical constraints to where your flex workers live and work from so that even rural areas experience the same level of coverage.
What changes will these innovations bring for remote leadership?
As with any alteration to your work processes, these new innovations will quite likely require new tactics and strategies for motivating your teams and keeping them engaged. With greater connectivity comes a greater need for separation of work and personal lives, as employees may feel the need to work from anywhere and at any time.
Many business leaders also anticipate an increase in the number of freelance workers as people make full use of flexible work hours and their ability to communicate with companies from around the world. This will make it more important than ever for you to consider your relationship with freelance vendors, and how you can integrate them into your organization for a more cohesive team.
For leaders in 2020, however, one thing is absolutely certain: it will be just as important as ever before to promote strong relationships between employees and create a virtual company culture where your teams thrive—regardless of whether they work in your office or from the comfort of their home.
This is a guest article by Rosie Furthmont
