Bill Gates previously foreshadowed the employee policy which is now adopted as the standard for a guaranteed happy workforce.
Between 2019 and March 2020, remote work began to gain a wider acceptance by global businesses as a consequence of the Covid pandemic. There was also a resurgence of previous studies which underscored the benefits and convenience of flexible remote work.
The world economy of today is mostly employee driven and the times are reinforcing the fact that what employees need the most at their jobs is flexibility to maximize their potentials. Strangely enough, the covid pandemic did not entrench the employee driven system, this shift emerged much earlier, and visionary individuals saw the signs.
The trendy workspace observable in this present day especially the hybrid and remote work environment was predicted several decades ago by Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates. The renowned billionaire businessman had suggested that as the competition to recruit the best hands gets intense in the future, only companies which afforded their staff a level of flexibility will attract the best employees.
There is no doubt that the switch to remote work has ushered in more convenience and has seriously reduced the financial burden of many employees. The conventional system most likely involves expensive housing/rents in densely populated metro areas, long commutes, childcare onsite, bus/train fares etc. Therefore, switching to the remote work system has given the needed flexibility and convenience to employees.
The wide acceptance of remote work predates the pandemic
The autonomy associated with remote work is one reason why job flexibility is the priority of those seeking employment or quitting one. It has become clear now more than ever that granting employees flexibility over their work schedule and private lives will produce a work-life balance that promotes productivity. Employers who ignore this reality will continue to loose out in the marketplace.
When it comes to workforce productivity and employee retention, the place of autonomy and flexibility cannot be overemphasized. This has been the reality way before the pandemic and there are ample research studies that support this assertion.
A two year study carried out by Stanford University which conducted a comparison of 500 remote and onsite workers discovered an increase in the productivity of remote workers. The study concluded that the typical remote worker’s productivity was the equivalent of a full day’s work per week.
On the same vein findings from Gallup’s “State of the Global Workplace” study carried out in 2017 showed that remote workers notched four extra hours of work every week more than onsite workers.
The Deloitte Global Millennial Survey 2019, discovered that Millennials and Gen Z may retain a job for over five years so long as their employers guarantee flexibility regarding where and when they work. This type of retention ultimately guarantees job satisfaction on the long run.
According to a 2019 Staples study, about 90% of workers admitted that work flexibility will boost morale and increase job satisfaction. Job satisfaction remains the deciding factor for employee recruitment and retention.
Any company operating in the prevailing ecosystem which refuses to articulate a flexible working policy will undoubtedly keep loosing the best talents considering the Great Resignation plaguing the market. The Staples study confirmed that roughly 67% of employees would be willing to quit their jobs if there was no more flexibility.
The predictions of visionaries like Bill Gate about remote work being the future and the workforce hustling for flexible work arrangements has fully been established. The numbers are evidently high globally. For employers who have yet to make this adjustment, tapping into this generation of highly skilled job seekers who prioritize remote work and work flexibility they will continue to miss out from the best the marketplace offers.
As originally reported in (https://incafrica.com/library/marcel-shwantes-bill-gates-leadership-lesson-managers)
