CW+ Premium Content/MicroScope

Businesses have accepted that the workplace will never be the same again. In November 2020, McKinsey assessed the state of remote working and reported that hybrid models of remote work are likely to persist in the wake of the pandemic, mostly for a highly educated, well-paid minority of the workforce. According to the authors of the McKinsey paper, more than 20% of the workforce could work remotely three to five days a week as effectively as they could if they were working from an office. And the UK appears to be leading the way. McKinsey reported that in the UK, between 33% and 46% of work time could be spent working remotely. The challenge that industry leaders see is: how can employees collaborate effectively and engage with their employer if they are only spending a proportion of their time in the office environment? When they are at home, how do they collaborate with people in the office or front-line staff? Although video conferencing has taken off since the pandemic began, the people Computer Weekly spoke to felt that ...