The digital workplace is rapidly evolving. With new tools, greater demand from users, and a focus on productivity and efficiency, technology is changing the way we work for the better. As we look ahead to the trends that are shaping the modern workplace, we notice that flexible work and the availability of the right digital tools will continue to become more and more important.
Cloud-based Unified Communications and Collaboration (UCC) platforms have become increasingly more popular for businesses of all sizes. Enterprise spending on UCC tools grew to a $45 billion industry this past year, according to Synergy Research Group, with an average annual growth of 16 percent year-over-year.
Half of the global workforce currently holds a position that is compatible with remote work and 40 percent does work remotely at least part of the time, according to Global Workplace Analytics. While this trend has many benefits, Buffer’s State of Remote Work report found that nearly 20 percent of these remote workers felt lonely.
The remote workforce has gone global. Seventy percent of workers telecommute at least once per week, while 53 percent of employees work in the office at most half the week, according to a recent study from IWG. Even more fascinating, a Citrix study estimates that 50 percent of the workforce will be completely remote by the end of 2020. Such numbers shape the remote work trends for the next period.
The frequency of remote work options have grown exponentially in the past decade, with an estimated 3.6 million Americans working from home in at least some capacity, based on State of the Remote Job Marketplace.
The remote work trend has notable perks for both employees and employers – no commute, time flexibility and minimal office costs. What’s more, a study of 500 employees from Stanford University reports that working from home can lead to a boost in productivity. For example, traditional office workers in the study lost time due to traffic on their commutes, periodic water-cooler breaks and other daily interruptions, while remote employees did not.
