The COVID-19 pandemic abruptly changed how the world does business. Work shifted, where possible, into people’s homes and online in accordance with social distancing guidelines. As a result, businesses’ longstanding resistance to remote employees dissolved, and the lines between work and family life, long blurred, blended overnight. Even when life returns to some form of normal, some of these changes will stick, according to tech journalist Mark Sullivan's interviews with CEOs and business leaders from a cross-section of industries.
During the COVID-19 lockdowns, companies shifted the way they do business to accommodate employees working at home. These shifts may become permanent.
Workers and their school-aged children rely more now on cloud-based internet technologies than ever before. Businesses are working more flexibly with employees. Normalizing remote work is a big win in the tech sector, says the CEO of HackerRank, Vivek Ravisankar. Companies can hire quickly from a larger pool of talent, without geographic limits.
Venture capitalist Jeff Richards travels 200,000 miles for work every year, but – like everyone else – during the shutdown, he had to conduct critical meetings over video chat. Business travel will bounce back, but it’s clear that many more meetings will take place over video in the future.
Analyst Tim Barjarin of Creative Strategies says COVID-19 is a death knell for open office environments. Corporate CIOs have told him they’re willing to allow up to 25% of their staff to work remotely, which will significantly reduce the need for office space.
Trend Micro CEO Eva Chen foresees a return to the “small-town model...
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