Is Mobile Working the New Norm?

More and more people are shunning the typical nine to five job in favor of working away from the office. Gone are the days where sitting at a desk was the only way to get work done efficiently; the introduction of new technology and people’s need for flexible hours has made mobile working increasingly more popular. As we step away from the traditional framework of a career, it’s worth asking: is mobile working becoming the new norm? We explore statistics and the benefits of mobile working to find the answer.

Interesting data from UpWork’s 2018 Future Workforce Report show a significant boost in the popularity of mobile working – and it predicts that these numbers will only go up. In fact, a notable 63 percent of departments in this study said they had someone in their team who works a significant amount of time out of the office. The same report showed that 55 percent of hiring managers agree that remote work has become more commonplace compared with three years ago, revealing that more people are favoring mobile staff as time goes on. This study reveals that the popularity of this type of work is on the rise, making way for a more flexible environment.

With the introduction of new technology, it’s never been easier to offer flexible mobile working to employees. While businesses previously relied on emails and phone calls to keep track of their mobile workers, there are apps that include all the required information to get a job done. Everything that was previously done in an office can now be done anywhere at a touch of a button.

When a phone and computer essentially become your office, the physical location doesn’t seem to matter too much anymore. This may lead to offices becoming almost redundant as workers can get on with their jobs at any location, which further helps businesses cut costs on rent and maintenance.

Statistics and a clear focus on mobile management show a solid increase of this type of work. It begs the question: why is mobile working becoming so popular? There’s plenty of benefits to mobile working, especially for those with young children due to the typically flexible hours.

This allows the employee to work around childcare, as well as any other personal commitments they may have. Those who may not have previously been able to work due to these commitments are able to get back into a career thanks to the flexibility of mobile workers. Flexibility is key to a happy workplace in modern society, with a research from Timewise revealing that 87 percent of full-time workers work flexibly – or wish they could.

There are plenty of other benefits worth considering when changing up the way you work. According to the NHS, long commutes have a detrimental effect on our health and emotional wellbeing. Although they may have to drive as part of the job, mobile workers usually get to skip a long commute to the office every morning as they can start working from any location. In fact, the NHS even recommends that employers consider adopting a flexible work policy that allows staff to work from home in order to reduce stress levels and improve health.

Having a mobile workforce can be incredibly useful to the employer, too. This type of work opens up a wider world of potential employees as it allows you to search in areas that would be too far of a commute to the office. Doing so creates a team made up of people across the country, which is a must for industries that need to reach clients outside of their office location, such as sales. Employing a mobile team is a great way of expanding the business without having to rent multiple offices, helping to save money and get the company name out there.

It’s clear that mobile working is becoming an increasingly popular choice in the workplace. In fact, a 2017 report from the Work Foundation at Lancaster University predicts that we’re at a ‘tipping point’ in which this type of work becomes more regularly available by 2020.

With major benefits for both the staff and the employer, it’s not all that difficult to see why. While the nine to five office job still has its place for some businesses, mobile working is undeniably causing a major shift in the way we work and what employees want from their job.