Work from home revolution has begun thanks to coronavirus, as remote staff maintain productivity and efficiency

The coronavirus pandemic has forced a trial run of remote working, and employers and their staff have found it doesn’t have the downsides some expected

Many companies could continue to have some staff work from home after the health crisis, allowing them to cut costs and spend less on renting office space

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Millions are working from home because of the coronavirus, and fears of a drop in productivity haven’t been realised. Photo: Getty Images

Published: 7:15am, 20 Apr 2020Updated: 4:35pm, 12 Jan 2021

Around the world, as people yearn for a “return to normal”, many are already recognising that some things will never be the same – and that might be a good thing.

Hong Kong was in the first wave of cities shifting to working from home to curb the spread of Covid-19. Employees were thrown in the deep end, left struggling with technology and how to carve out a quiet workspace at home. Many companies were concerned about maintaining productivity and efficiency: would staff be slacking off?

The thing about being thrown in the deep end is that most of the time people learn how to swim pretty quickly. With half of the world in lockdown, we are experiencing a trial run of a remote workforce on a grand scale. There have been plenty of teething problems, but just as many creative solutions.

“Covid-19 has been the catalyst to prove that working from home is an effective option. The outbreak shows that changes can be made to the traditional model of working,” says Kirti Lad, executive director of Meraki Executive Search & Consulting, based in Hong Kong.

Kirti Lad is executive director of Meraki Executive Search & Consulting.

Companies can take inspiration not only from others in their industry, but also from everyone around them. The closure of schools in Hong Kong at the end of January has seen teachers come up with innovative ways of engaging students online. Social distancing has pushed friends into devising inventive ways of using technology to stay close.

“We can learn from this in how we do our meetings and bring to life our slides and presentations,” says Lad.

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