Feature

Remote working: The new normal?

In March 2020, I joined the team at DPA as Assistant Editor. I had just two weeks in the office before, like many others, I was informed that I would need to work remotely for the next few months. Little did I know that, a year later, I would still be working from home with no immediate plans to return to the office!

24/03/2021 17:07:32

An article from Alex Darby, Head of People at EU Automation, recently passed my desk which provided useful insight into what can we learn from the disruption triggered by COVID-19, and how we can apply it to our future working environment.

If this pandemic had taken place twenty, or even ten years ago, it is hard to imagine that the majority of people would have had the ability, or the resources, to work from home successfully. Yet, thanks to modern technology – including video conferencing platforms and webinars – the number of employees able to work remotely has risen exponentially. As Darby reports, back in 2015, a survey of business owners by Virgin Media Business predicted that 60 percent of office-based employees would regularly work from home by 2022. This year, global disruption saw us prematurely exceed this figure, as businesses were forced to adapt rapidly to new work practices to maintain productivity and their continued survival in this tumultuous climate.

So, could remote working become ‘the new normal’?

Read the full article in the March issue of DPA.

Written By Sophia Bell

Sophia Bell is the Group Editor of DPA, Connectivity, and PBSI. She joined the team in 2020 as Assistant Editor after achieving a First-Class Honours BA in English Literature and Film Studies from the University of East Anglia. In her current role, she leads the editorial strategy, driving digital growth and ensuring each title continues to deliver trusted, relevant insight for engineering and manufacturing professionals.