The tumultuous and unpredictable events of the past year – the global pandemic, followed by strict government restrictions – have had a profound impact on the way many of us work. Social distancing rules changed the nature of customer-facing roles, while the traditional office workplace underwent rapid change. Offices became deserted, and remote working quickly became the norm. For many organisations, this is still the case.
This year, we expect to see even more companies and more individuals embrace flexible working. Indeed, the continued COVID restrictions leave them with no choice. 2020 was the practice run – now that we know flexible working works, we expect to see the world of work embrace flexibility even more in 2021 as we continue to adjust to life amidst a global pandemic. 2021 will be the year of the flexible workforce.
The Impact of COVID on the Workplace
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic changed the world. In the UK, the High Street and non-essential stores suffered considerably, as did the hospitality industry. We are now in an economic recession, one that experts believe will be worse than the 2008 financial crisis.
Amidst the worst global pandemic in over a century, flexibility has become a necessary tool for survival for many organisations. Last year tested the limits of flexibility for many companies. Parents had to juggle work with home-schooling, while others had to care for sick family members. Even before the outbreak, flexibility in the workplace had been trending upward in importance over the past few years, aided by new technologies and a growing awareness of both gender inequities for working parents and the long commutes faced by employees who cannot afford to live near their workplace. COVID-19 accelerated this trend, serving as a catalyst for major changes in how many people work.
The outcome is that flexible working hasn’t negatively affected organisations. If anything, it has had some unexpected positive results. Employees are happier and more productive, which in turn equals more successful businesses. Employees have been given the gift of time: more time to spend with their children, more time to eat a healthier lunch, and more time to exercise. This has led to an increase in the quality of work, and managers are beginning to see how flexibility leads to better results.
When the time comes where we are allowed to return to normal, the expectation is that few people will want to. The way we work due to COVID works so much better than the old way. We have an opportunity to keep the best parts of office culture while freeing ourselves from bad habits and inefficient processes, from ineffective meetings to unnecessary bureaucracy. Every leader believes they can do better: this is their chance to do so.
"People today really value workplace flexibility and remote work because it allows them to focus their energies on work and life as opposed to commuting or other complications due to geography."
- Ken Matos, Vice President of Research, Life Meets Work.
The Rise of the Gig Economy
There is another form of flexible working, one that is arguably even more versatile than remote working, and that is gig economy work. The gig economy refers to the growing number of people going their own way through freelance, temporary and contract work – any situation where the worker is paid per job, or ‘gig’.
Over the past few years, the number of people who have shunned a traditional 9-5 work pattern in favour of a more flexible work-life balance as part of the gig economy has soared.
This surge is partly due to the development of technology; the combination of the internet with versatile smartphone apps that facilitate flexible working. It is also down to the shifting needs of workers. In recent years, it feels as if there’s been a revolution in regard to the world of work. People want more freedom, more flexibility, and a better work-life balance. Companies such as Airbnb, TaskRabbit, and Upwork understand this, so they made it a reality.
In the past few years, the size of the gig economy in the UK has increased substantially. It doubled in size between 2016 and 2019, and now comprises almost 5 million workers. As COVID-19 and government restrictions continue to wreak havoc upon livelihoods and the economy, it is expected that more people will turn to gig economy work out of sheer necessity (because they have lost their main source of income), but there will also be some individuals who will be looking to take on a side hustle to bolster their income and cement their financial position in these difficult and uncertain times.
The type of work already available is vast; jobs include couriers, ride-hailing drivers and video producers. Here at RMS, we are big supporters of flexible work: members of our field staff set their availability on our myflex app, and they are in complete control of when and where they work and can be notified and accept shifts through the app.
In 2021, it is expected that gig economy work will become even more popular, because it allows workers to juggle jobs with other priorities in their lives, such as childcare commitments, home-schooling, and looking after sick members of their family.
Flexibility to Equal Normality
In the workplace, there is an opportunity to build on what the pandemic has taught us, and create a world where people enjoy more opportunities to choose how, where, and when they work. These choices allow people the freedom to acknowledge that they have non-work responsibilities and interests, which will lead to a more equitable, responsive workplace for all.
This past year of remote, and more flexible working has taught us that humans possess the ability to adapt and change, even if it initially seems difficult. Within the next decade we expect that flexible work practices will be the norm.
RMS is one of the leading providers of retail support services in the UK and Ireland. By utilising a nationwide workforce of skilled, flexible merchandisers, supported by flex, our state-of-the-art resource management system, we deploy teams of staff to support retailers across the country.
