• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

My TechDecisions

  • Best of Tech Decisions
  • Topics
    • Video
    • Audio
    • Mobility
    • Unified Communications
    • IT Infrastructure
    • Network Security
    • Physical Security
    • Facility
    • Compliance
  • RFP Resources
  • Resources
  • Podcasts
  • Project of the Week
  • About Us
    SEARCH
Mobility, News

COVID-19 Will Change the Workplace Forever

With so many employees experiencing the benefits of working from home, and companies finding no drop in productivity but savings in utilities, the workplace will fundamentally change as a result of COVID-19.

December 30, 2020 Jonathan Blackwood Leave a Comment

COVID-19 has changed everything forever.

That’s not my opinion alone. In the past two months I have spoken with countless integrators, manufacturers, service providers, consultants – almost every one of them mirrors the same line of thinking.

The workplace can’t go back to what it was, even when a vaccine for COVID-19 is found.

While the economy took a significant hit at the onset of mass quarantines and shutdowns, it has held steady and even grown slightly since.

There are, of course, millions of positions where working from home is not possible. There are, however, millions more where working from home is totally viable.

The United States is currently engaged in the largest work-from-home experiment in history. While this experiment was thrust upon us, I’m willing to wager that the result will be overwhelmingly positive.

Studies conducted well before COVID-19 hit showed added productivity and longer working hours for remote workers compared to their in-office counterparts. Millennials and Gen Z have shown a clear preference for work-life balance over higher salaries.

Remote work and the four-day work week have become the new bastions of the labor force, the way workers had to fight for eight-hour, five-day work weeks years ago.

The debate will ultimately come down to talent, as it so often does. Talent will win. When faced with the option of working for a company with flexible work-from-home options versus no work-from-home option, talent will choose the former over the latter the majority of time.

That’ll be especially true after COVID-19, when all employees who are able to work from home and still do their jobs will have experienced that benefit.

It is an outdated, old-school way of thinking to believe employees don’t get as much work done at home as they do in the office. The same outdated, old-school way of thinking that was once convinced business only happens in person, not over videoconferencing sessions.

In the same way that businesses saw benefits in significant drops in travel expenses thanks to videoconferencing, businesses will see similar operating expense benefits in allowing remote work: less cost for utilities, smaller workplaces, fewer workstations, and so on.

The result will be a hybrid. Imagine you have 100 employees. An office for 100 employees might cost $10,000/month to rent. However, businesses will stagger office days into groups. Every employee will come into the office three days each week, and work from home two.

They’ll still see everyone they work with in the office at some point, but only 50 employees will be in the office on any given day. Now the company pays $5,000/month in rent for a 50-employee space, as well as half the utilities they paid before.

That’s an oversimplified economic breakdown, but the logic is unquestionable.

The company loses no productivity, there is still the ability for work to be done in person, and employees get the flexibility of choosing to do certain tasks in-office collaboratively, and certain others at home free of distraction.

Companies save money and employees are happier. Win-win.

There will be some organizations that must have all of their employees in the office five days each week. There will be far more that claim that they do.

They will experience higher operating costs, and they’ll lose their top talent to organizations that evolve to the new hybrid model. They’ll either go out of business or be forced to adapt.

Eventually, it will become the norm, and economists will point to COVID-19 as the catalyst that brought about the new age of the workplace.

This article was originally posted on May 28, 2020

If you enjoyed this article and want to receive more valuable industry content like this, click here to sign up for our digital newsletters!

Jonathan Blackwood
Jonathan Blackwood

Jonathan Blackwood is the Editor-in-Chief of TechDecisions. Jonathan joined TechDecisions in 2014 and writes about technologies that help to innovate and improve practices for companies of all sizes, K-12 and higher education, government, healthcare, hospitality, retail and large venue spaces. He is especially interested in the future of work and education and the Internet of Things. Follow him @BlackwoodTweets.

Tagged With: Remote Work, Workplace

Related Content:

  • Cloud, SASE, Aryaka How the Cloud is Redefining Media Production and…
  • Singlewire Software mass notification interview Singlewire Software on Mass Notification Solutions
  • URI catchbox 1 Catchbox Plus: The Mic Solution That Finally Gave…
  • Engaging virtual meeting with diverse participants discussing creative ideas in a bright office space during daylight hours Diversified Survey: Workplace AV Tech is Falling Short,…

Free downloadable guide you may like:

  • ChatGPT, generative AI, enterprise, workplaceBlueprint Series: ChatGPT and Generative AI in the Workplace

    This latest release of the TechDecisions Blueprint Series explores the new phenomenon of tools such as ChatGPT and how IT leaders should go about deploying generative AI in their organizations.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest Downloads

Practical Design Guide for Office Spaces
Practical Design Guide for Office Spaces

Recent Gartner research shows that workers prefer to return to the office for in-person meetings for relevant milestones, as well as for face-to-fa...

New Camera Can Transform Your Live Production Workflow
New Camera System Can Transform Your Live Production Workflow

Sony's HXC-FZ90 studio camera system combines flexibility and exceptional image quality with entry-level pricing.

Creating Great User Experience and Ultimate Flexibility with Clickshare

Working and collaborating in any office environment today should be meaningful, as workers today go to office for very specific reasons. When desig...

View All Downloads

Would you like your latest project featured on TechDecisions as Project of the Week?

Apply Today!

More from Our Sister Publications

Get the latest news about AV integrators and Security installers from our sister publications:

Commercial IntegratorSecurity Sales

AV-iQ

Footer

TechDecisions

  • Home
  • Welcome to TechDecisions
  • Contact Us
  • Comment Guidelines
  • RSS Feeds
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Linkedin

Free Technology Guides

FREE Downloadable resources from TechDecisions provide timely insight into the issues that IT, A/V, and Security end-users, managers, and decision makers are facing in commercial, corporate, education, institutional, and other vertical markets

View all Guides
TD Project of the Week

Get your latest project featured on TechDecisions Project of the Week. Submit your work once and it will be eligible for all upcoming weeks.

Enter Today!
Emerald Logo
ABOUTCAREERSAUTHORIZED SERVICE PROVIDERSYour Privacy ChoicesTERMS OF USEPRIVACY POLICY

© 2025 Emerald X, LLC. All rights reserved.