A recent Forbes article by Jack Kelly really serves to reinforce the global changes that are taking place as a result of the adaptations that were forced on companies in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The fact that Siemens are flexing their work location policy for approximately 35% of its workforce, allowing 140,000 employees to spend 50-75% of their time working outside of the normal office environment, sends a clear message that work is what you do, not where you go, or where you are. A number of other large companies are following suit, the most telling only mentioned briefly in the article is Google. A company famed for its engaging and employee friendly office space (or more accurately described as a 'campus') recognising the importance of, and providing the flexibility for, their employees to work from home, should serve as a sign post to other office-based work environments that this is the direction we all should be moving in.
Work is what you do, not where you go, or where you are.
Such change will inevitably present various challenges. Practical considerations include the provision of equipment to allow people to work from home, and health and safety compliance, whereas culturally companies have to look at ways to engage a workforce that comes together less often, and maintain motivation and drive across the business.
But potentially the greatest challenge in adopting a more permanent working from home strategy will be in maintaining the security of commercial networks, IT Infrastructure and data. As more and more companies set themselves up to tackle this challenge, we may see the re-emergence of the BYOD policy debate - whether or not a company should allow employees to use their own devices - a policy that’s long been popular amongst start-ups.