Introduction
Ever since the 2020 pandemic, working virtually has increased drastically and is becoming increasingly common. This intrigues me because before the pandemic, it was pretty much unheard of for the most part, depending on the job. Some jobs were more flexible than others, where someone can stay home and work virtually, depending on the reason. But now, when looking at job listings online, remote jobs are much more common than they’ve ever been.
Body
The World Economic Forum says that by 2030, remote jobs are expected to rise to 25 percent to 92 million. This is not surprising, considering that remote jobs offer tons of flexibility: People can log in to work from anywhere they want, whether that be their living room, bedroom, or even another country. People save time because they’re not sitting in traffic or in a car on a long commute to the workplace. While working from home, people can also make room in their day for other events, such as spending time with friends or trying a new restaurant. This impacts individuals because people who work remotely are 20 percent happier, according to Forbes. Companies are also able to hire people from anywhere they want if the job is virtual — they don’t have to worry about relocation, travel, and housing.
The same can be said for me. Although I don’t have a fully virtual job, taking online classes helps me have more time in my day to work at my part-time job at Chick-fil-A and participate in extracurricular activities, like The Daily Targum, which I am the head sports editor of. In that role, I also work remotely sometimes, editing writers’ articles and publishing them to the site wherever I am when the article is sent in. Of course, I don’t cover games virtually because being there in the press box is much cooler and helpful, but I love how I’m able to work virtually when I’m not at a stadium covering a game.
Conclusion
Remote work is not going anywhere. With the rise of the internet, more jobs are switching to at least a hybrid work model, where workers split time between the workplace and home. Some people say this lowers face-to-face interaction, but many jobs meet on Zoom and other platforms to meet virtually and catch up on work. I believe that society will adapt in a way that makes working remotely another normal, which we’ve already started seeing. With digital technology improving, this lifestyle change is only going to get more common as time goes on.
