Remote work is the practice of working outside of a central office location, such as from home, a co-working space or even a coffee shop. Some employees work 100% remotely, whereas others may live close to the central office and visit the office occasionally for employee training, onboarding or meetings. Other employees have a hybrid work arrangement that allows them to work from home a few days per week, with an in-office presence the rest of the time.
Any complete answer to the question, “What is remote work?” must acknowledge the fact that remote work is not a new phenomenon. In fact, through much of human history, people would customarily work out of their homes. In medieval England, it was common for the working class to live and work in the same one-room home, where they might engage in artisan trades such as tanning leather or weaving.
You may have heard the term “cottage industry.” This refers to the practice of producing goods on a small scale within the home. The Industrial Revolution was instrumental in shifting the majority of workers to central locations like factories and away from the in-home workplaces of cottage industry.
In the early to mid-90s, when internet access gradually became widely available in private homes, it once again became feasible for workers to perform their jobs at home. However, the practice didn’t become mainstream until the COVID-19 pandemic.
When the demands of public health necessitated the closing of non-essential workplaces, many organizations shifted to remote work arrangements. This allowed them to keep their businesses running and their employees working in a safe way that minimized transmission of the virus.
After vaccines became widely available in the developed world and precautions were eased, some workers carried on in their remote work arrangements. Similarly, some companies have announced plans to continue with remote work arrangements indefinitely, even after the pandemic eventually subsides. And as new variants emerge and COVID cases rise with the fluctuations of the pandemic, some workers who had returned to the office are once again working remotely.