How remote working is made possible due to tech

Graphic showing the title, 'How remote work is made possible due to tech' CREDIT: FSU PUBLICATIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT

One of the most lasting outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic was the increase in technologies designed to support remote work and online learning. As someone who works remotely and who studied remotely during the pandemic, I’ve found that there are a number of software options and platforms that can help make online working a breeze.

Video conferencing

There are a few different video conferencing platforms that can be utilized to hold meetings, webinars, training, and much more over the computer or telephone. A very well-known video conferencing platform is Zoom as this was highly used during the height of the pandemic. While Zoom is very user friendly, it does limit its free usage to 40-minutes per call, which can be frustrating for small business owners who don’t have the budget to upgrade their account. Google Meet is probably my favourite video conferencing software because most businesses use G-Suite for emails, cloud storage, calendar, video conferencing, and more. With Google Meet, it’s extremely easy to schedule a video conference, as it’s just a click away on the Google calendar. Google Meet also sends out invitations to participants with the meeting link. Users of Google Meet can access 1:1 calls with no time limit, and with a party of 100 up to 60 minutes.

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Video conferencing is probably one of the biggest tools that allows remote working to function seamlessly as it can often feel as though you are in-person.

Cloud storage

As technology changes with the times, we slowly started to see companies incorporate digital use in their systems and processes as opposed to strictly hard copies that needed to be kept in a filing cabinet. Pre-pandemic it would be more common to see companies using a hard and soft copy of documentation. Today, almost everyone has adapted to the idea of an online database. Google has a great cloud storage option, but Apple users may prefer to use their iCloud.

Industry-specific technologies

In addition to having a cloud service incorporated to companies using remote-working, there are also industry-specific technologies that can help boost the efficiency of a business’ operations. For example, companies that need to have an e-commerce system will need to incorporate an e-commerce platform to their website or any other ways payment methods are offered. Similarly, there are companies that either specialize in digital marketing or use social media as a tool for their business, and tools such as Timely, Hootsuite, Later, and many others. A lot of industries require specific needs in their businesses and technology has superseded in its offerings.

Social media

Using social media is pretty much a requirement for any business nowadays. This transition from traditional marketing to digital marketing created the need for positions that are often offered as remote positions. Without the inception of Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and other websites increasing sales for businesses, this industry might have looked very different. The topic of social media as a remote-working job is quite vast as there could be remote digital marketing employees for companies and organizations or there could be social media influencers who aren’t tied to one company but make their money from marketing many companies often referred to as brand deals.

Remote-working environments

Although this is less of a technological factor, there has also been the creation of co-working spaces designed for remote workers to have a space that gives them the feeling of being in an office. This is great for individuals who work remotely but crave the social aspect of the office or require a more structured space for focus. Those who work for companies far away from their office may utilize features such as co-working spaces. A well-known company for co-working spaces is Regus, which can be found in many different countries and even offers mail handling.

There are of course many jobs that still require an in-person presence. Some occupations that allow remote working include virtual assistant/receptionist, digital marketer, journalist, graphic designer, online teacher, recruiter, social media influencer, therapist, and more. Some people enjoy working in the office and some people don’t. Giving employees the option to work in an environment where they are happiest can help boost their productivity and lower turnover rate, amongst many other benefits. There is also the option of hybrid work environments that some employers offer, and again this has all been made possible due to the rise in technology in remote workplaces.