Remote Work Might Be Here to Stay

While jobs in specialty chemicals and manufacturing won’t stay completely remote after the coronavirus subsides, the pandemic could transform the future of the industry as companies, manufacturers, and other institutions experience the benefits of remote work firsthand. Below are some ways in which remote work might be here to stay.

The Open Office

The open office blueprint has been one of the biggest workspace trends in recent history. Often praised for its ability to facilitate collaboration, but COVID-19 has exposed some of the weaknesses of open floor plans in the workplace. When a company has an open office, employees are in close contact with each other and end up constantly touching the same surfaces. Not only does this promote the spread of germs, but, when there is a pandemic, these spaces become unusable. The open office isn’t going to go away overnight, but you can expect employees to have more health and safety concerns in the future, while employers will want to be more prepared in case there is ever another health crisis of this magnitude.

Technology Has Made Remote Work More Viable

In the past, the biggest downside of remote work was that it made it harder for teams to collaborate and communicate. Employee engagement has also been a major concern. Technology such as Zoom and Slack have made it much easier for teams to work together and hold conversation with each other virtually. This technology has also helped remote workers to feel less isolated. The pandemic has showed companies that employees can stay focused, motivated, and engaged when they are working from home.

Attracting Talent

Professionals right now value flexibility almost as much as they value compensation, especially professionals who are a part of the millennial and Gen X generations. After things settle back down, the ability to work remotely will be seen as an even bigger perk than before. Remote positions allow employees to have much more flexibility when it comes to location and work hours. After experiencing a nationwide shutdown, employees will like the idea of working for organizations that value remote workers because they are going to want to have jobs that they know they can do from home in case there is ever another quarantine. So many people lost jobs because of COVID-19, job security is going to become a top priority.

The current global health crisis has pushed remote work into the forefront of employer’s minds. The companies and organizations that already had remote work as part of their infrastructure had a much easier time adapting to stay at home orders. Meanwhile, companies who hadn’t experimented with remote jobs will want to incorporate this type of work into their operations as a precaution. While the coronavirus will disappear eventually, remote work is here to stay.

Are you looking for top talent in the Specialty Chemical, Plastics, or Animal Health industry?

Contact us to discuss how we can bring top leadership talent to your team. Boaz Partners is a premier executive search firm focused on the direct recruitment of executives and professionals for the specialty chemicals and plastics space. We are your partner, and our focus is on custom recruiting solutions.