Quitting not just their regular jobs, but also the inconveniences they face, Millennials are increasingly opting for ‘work from home’ careers. Instead of worrying about running to their boring office cubicles, they’re letting their work come to them.
The model of working from 9 to 5 under the same roof as a bunch of other people is a practice that is increasingly being abandoned. It’s a habit that was followed in the industrial era, when men used to work while the women stayed home. The work culture has not only experienced a change in gender participation over the years, but also in the way people are working.
Remote careers emerged as a flexible way of working that allows employees to work from any location. Employees in these jobs aren’t bound to the four walls of their offices or houses. They can work from a beach, in the balcony of their hotel room with a view of the hills, from a coffee house, or even in co-working spaces.
The option of working from home is not just desirable, but it’s also economical. For jobs that are knowledge-based, Millennials prefer to avoid the regular commute to offices. The availability of high-speed Internet, cloud computing, and collaboration tools enables people cut loose from the monotonous way of working. Escaping the fatigue of the daily trek, employees are more efficiently working from their ideal locations.
Advanced technology and increasing popularity of work from home jobs led to the addition of multiple companies in the sector. Making their contributions to the remote revolution, Indian companies – including Working Solutions, Connecting All India (CAI), CACTUS, and Searchline Database, among others – created jobs for people who demanded flexibility.
In addition, established companies, including Facebook, Xerox, Intel, Symantec, Dotdash, and others, started to incorporate one of the concepts of remote work, known as flexi-work. This is a process where businesses internalize the flexibility and offer their employees an opportunity to work from home. It’s typically practiced to retain employees.
The major benefit that a remote career offeres is the elimination of commuting on a regular basis. A research by Regus showed that around 27% of workers consider commuting a waste of time. On an average, workers in India commute for 38 minutes each way. Whereas, workers globally travel for 33 minutes. Hence, a number of workers started opting for remote jobs for a greater work-life balance.
Statistics of a global research company IPSOS show that 57% of Indian employees telecommute on a frequent basis, 32% work from home every day, and 25% are consistent remote workers, who work in the evenings and on weekends.
By 2020, India is expected to have the youngest workforce across the world. A survey by PwC revealed that only 9 per cent young people prefer to work in a traditional environment. This indicates that the Indian workforce will be inspired and innovative. A body of research established that a creative workforce thrives when they have autonomy.
An expert from Working Solutions highlighted that a workplace shouldn’t necessarily be a physical space. Rather, it’s where an employee feels comfortable, confident, and productive. Another expert from Connecting All India stated that remote working is not an occasional thing but is a way of life.
According to a report, India is still behind the curve on flexible work globally. However, Indian employees are increasingly seeking autonomy and choosing to work from home. Sooner or later, the age-old work culture is bound to change.
About the Author
Neha Verma works in Regional Business – HR for Hero FinCorp. She holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in human resources management from the Indian Institute of Management.
