March 2019

In the latest work from home news is the heartwarming finding that freelancers are happier, new gig economy platforms, benefits of coworking and more.

THE LATEST WORK FROM HOME NEWS

According to research newly compiled by ReportLinker, what has become known as the “gig economy” is slowly but surely becoming more and more attractive to traditional workers.

In this new survey, 76% of American professionals declared being convinced that freelancers are happier than traditional workers.

This feeling of happiness is much more shared than it was in the 2017 version of the research (+11 pts), which shows that this alternative working life may be more and more attractive.

Top reasons for being a freelance worker are still the same compared to 2017:

being one’s’ own boss (27%)
having flexible working hours (21%) and
having a better balance between work and personal life (15%)

On the other side, aspects such as the lack of financial security (23%), or job security (21%) are part of what drive freelance workers back. Saving for one’s retirement is also worrying for them (23%).

The consulting firm, PwC, has launched a gig economy platform that allows people to offer their skills for hire without working traditional hours. The Flexible Talent Network allows interested parties to list their skills and preferred work pattern when they apply.

They can state a preference to work shorter weekly working hours or work for a few months a year on a project basis. The company will then match recruits to relevant projects rather than specific roles.

More than 2,000 people have registered with the network so far in the two weeks since it was launched. PwC decided to launch the platform after almost half of respondents to a survey said they would prioritise flexible working hours and work-life balance when choosing a job.

Workplace scenarios and trends are constantly changing. In such a dynamic environment, naturally one needs to adapt and imbibe newer and more relevant skills. From technology-related to people-oriented skills, here are the top skills you must acquire to up your career game this year.

The on-demand talent networks that aggregate communities of gig workers tell us that up to 70% or more of their engagement with companies happens at the director level or lower, rather than as a top-down directive from the C-Suite.

This is a missed opportunity for company leadership, and something worth looking into. It could be smart business to formalize the process of working with the gig economy if this is happening within your organization.

With many jobs disappearing, workers might have to accept stultifying, underpaid “clickwork”, or employment that is managed by surveillance technologies or manipulative software.

The traditional workplace of 9-5 stability might disappear, replaced by a “gig economy” in which workers, at the mercy of apps, jump at every opportunity to earn some money. And social life as we know it might be disrupted by unpredictable schedules and fractured colleague networks.

Flexible working arrangements can be key to acquiring talent and boosting morale as long as remote-based working arrangements are managed properly.

But managing people from afar is completely different from managing face-to-face, raising significant concerns over the success of flexible working unless new principles are adopted.

Workers expect conference calls and virtual meetings to become more common over the coming five years, with face-to-face meetings being the only form of business interaction that respondents expect to become less frequent.

Coworking continues to rise in popularity worldwide, but when it comes to gender, it’s become clear that the spaces aren’t always so balanced. The majority of coworking spaces have a masculine tech-focused culture – some have even dubbed it “broworking” – that many women do not find engaging or inclusive.

Technology will kill the 9-to-5 work week, says Richard Branson. The 40-hour work week stems from labour laws created in the early 20th century, and many have said this model is becoming increasingly obsolete. The billionaire entrepreneur predicts the rise of technology will soon force society to rethink the modern work week.

Working from home may be more economical, but it does have its downsides like disturbance from the family, the lure of getting laid back and the non-professional ambience in case a client wants to drop in etc.

Coworking seems to be a perfect blend of togetherness as well as independence. It saves on cost and is a great place to network.

Working in shared offices also gives you the advantage of having wide access to knowledge from other professionals. You can thus get help when you face any challenges along the way.

This knowledge also opens up a range of opportunities for you to explore as you get ideas from other professionals who are experienced in other areas. It is also a good choice for freelancers and those who work while travelling.

Bangladesh supplies 16% of the world’s online freelance labour – second only to India (Oxford Internet Institute, 2017). As more individuals turn to freelancing, global conversations and key policies are needed to ensure that the gig economy works for everyone and overcomes digital divides associated with gender, age, ethnicity and geographic location.

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All our work from home articles are now part of our Work From Anywhere Library that you can access for free below.

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In the latest work from home news is the future of jobs, a new AI course, and creating a better experience for remote workers through both, technology and legislation.

THE LATEST WORK FROM HOME NEWS

Here are 4 remote work predictions for 2019:

Communication will diversify and organizations will bring together multiple tools and technologies, offering them both to in-house workers and remote employees.
In 2019, a number of remote working solutions will come into play even at the centralized office space.
Even as AI continues to make deeper inroads into the way we work and communicate with each other, remote workers will be managed and monitored by AI-driven platforms.
Augmented and virtual reality will help transform how projects are envisioned, planned, and prototyped – given its life-like simulation capabilities.

The workforce of the future will be almost unrecognizable. If your job can be replaced by AI, it will — and you’ll need a new career.

Doctors won’t be spared, as sophisticated robotics will take away some of the surgeons’ operating responsibilities. An older doctor with shaky hands will be dispensed with and replaced by a robot that does not need breaks or sleep.

Reading x-rays to detect cancerous cells and other diseases will be viewed by AI that could spot things much better than the human eye. Driverless vehicles, kiosks in fast food restaurants and self-help quick-phone scans at stores will eliminate minimum wage and low-skilled jobs.

Since people will live to their 90s and beyond, people will be forced to work longer into their late 70s. Many will be healthy enough, but most need the income. You will have many different careers in your lifetime due to the rapid-shifting work landscape. The gig economy will become the standard for most people.

Those who care for the elderly and seniors in all facets of their lives will greatly benefit. General practitioner and age-related specialist doctors, nurses, financial advisors, hospices, old-age homes, physical therapists and surgical enhancement specialists will thrive as the ageing will be in dire need of their services.

Coders and computer engineers will be the great beneficiary of this trend — until AI can learn to code as well as or better than humans. But AI is not only for engineers.

A brand new course, Andrew Ng’s AI for Everyone is the AI training course for business professionals. Though this course is largely non-technical, engineers can also take this course to learn the business aspects of AI.

Since setting up shop as a content creator on the freelance marketplace Upwork in 2009, Ayman Sarosh, who is also a mom, has been able to work from her home in Islamabad, Pakistan while taking care of her household responsibilities, too.

She’s enjoyed her work so much she’s provided training to her local community in how to freelance – finding that it inspires others to go into business for themselves, too.

It’s still early days, but employers are beginning to roll out programs aimed at helping older workers move into a different phase of their careers without clocking out altogether.

Nearly half of respondents allow their retired employees who are collecting benefits to work as consultants or contingent workers, and that’s expected to reach 60% by 2020.

New Belgian legislation has clarified and improved protection for teleworkers who are the victim of a workplace accident or an accident on the way to work. In spite of the increasing popularity of remote or ‘teleworking’, until recently, Belgian work‑related accident legislation had not been adjusted to reflect this.

A parenting room at coworking space, WeWork, allowed Andi Chatterton to be in two places at once. She could attend meetings and oversee product development with her team while sporadically using the dimly-lit room to breastfeed her newborn.

In the future, employers will be able to monitor our work by seeing how many keystrokes or phone calls we make. Your future world of work might be much more self-directed. Workers will solve problems and change things themselves, which potentially means there is a need for fewer managers and flatter hierarchies.

Do you ever wonder how to create a human workplace in an increasingly freelance, remote, contingent, and gigged-out world? The last surgeon general study found that the biggest health risk is not smoking, second-hand smoke, or even sitting. It’s loneliness and isolation.

Companies need to leverage all that’s great about technology, but also make sure that employees put technology in its “place” to develop real, human connections.

Kristen Brown stressed three key factors for women to build a “personal brand” through experience, exposure and excellence. Every working professional should maintain an updated LinkedIn profile and professional social media presence. Appearance, both online and in public, is vital to maintaining personal presentation she said.

WORK FROM HOME LIBRARY