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.

Different Scams Impact Different Audiences, Which Means You Need to Prepare for All of Them

Back during the holiday season, the Federal Trade Commission shared some data that showed that members of Generation X, Millennials, and Generation Z are all more likely to fall for online shopping scams than those over the age of 60…and not by a little, either. Those under that age are apparently 86 percent more likely to fall for these scams.

January 24, 2023

The Right Collaboration Tech Makes for a More Efficient Business

There is so much about business that has changed over the last decade. What are the biggest gauges that we've seen is the inflation of cost affecting businesses and the need to scale back without affecting their workforce too dramatically. This has led to a culture of collaboration that has popped up over the last few years. Let's look at three ways that any business is (or should be) using collaboration nowadays.

January 23, 2023

Who is Handling These Critical IT Tasks In Your Organization?

Your business might have a full-time IT person, but it also might not have one, and in cases like this, you might find yourself waiting to call your go-to person until you are experiencing a full-blown problem. The reality is that your internal, non-IT staff should not be responsible for the job of your IT department, and if you are relying on someone externally to handle your technology help, then you’ll want to make sure they tick all of the following boxes.

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