Remote work and labor shortages: they seem to be the hot topics in today\u2019s workplace.\u00a0 March of 2020 brought about the perfect storm of necessity and the technological ability to test if remote work was viable.\u00a0 There was no trial run. \u00a0Remote work was instantly thrust into action by a virus.\u00a0 In-person meetings were replaced with virtual.\u00a0 The classroom was replaced with video calls.\u00a0 Zoom stock was up over 800% from January to October 2020.\u00a0 Many offices were closed for as long as two years. \u00a0COVID-19 changed the landscape of the workplace seemingly overnight. \u00a0The office, commercial space and the commute were now ancient relics.\u00a0 Dinosaurs, gone forever, right? \u00a0Well not exactly.<\/p>\n
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Before March of 2020, a measly 1.5% of US jobs were remote. \u00a0Two years later about 10% of the US workforce is fully remote and about 35% are hybrid remote (some days in office and some days remote). \u00a0It sounds great right? \u00a0Roll out of bed and begin the long commute to your basement desk in your pajamas.\u00a0\u00a0 What could be better?\u00a0 Many employees agree and are seeking the remote option in a big way.\u00a0 While there are several advantages to be gained in your personal life from remote work, it\u2019s not all roses.\u00a0 Because it is more difficult to effectively communicate remotely, (whether Zoom, email, or calls) the number of meetings is increasing.\u00a0 Not only that, but anyone starting a new job has a much bigger learning curve being in isolation.\u00a0 Many remote and hybrid workers feel like they are in some sort of work purgatory. \u00a0People in hybrid situations find themselves making a commute to a half-empty office, just to sit on a Zoom call.\u00a0 Many complain of simply missing the daily human interaction and others claim that it is negatively impacting mental health.<\/p>\n
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While remote work continues to grow, many executives are pushing back.\u00a0 JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon calls it \u201cmanagement by Hollywood Squares.\u201d\u00a0 He argues that remote work creates a working environment that is less honest and is much more prone to procrastination.\u00a0 America\u2019s most famous CEO, Elon Musk, sent a memo to Tesla employees threatening, \u201cWork from the office for at least 40 hours a week or go home permanently.\u201d \u00a0Many companies are struggling to bind teams together and encourage collaboration in a remote environment.<\/p>\n
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Some companies see the value of remote work, however, especially hybrid models.\u00a0 Thousands of companies have sold or downsized office space and saved millions.\u00a0 One study showed that hybrid employees are 22% happier than those working full-time in person.\u00a0 Happiness has a direct impact on productivity.<\/p>\n
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Industry is a major driver when it comes to remote work feasibility.\u00a0 Retail, hospitality, and logistics industries require in-person activity as that is their core business. \u00a0Customer support, banking, legal, tech, and healthcare are seeing huge shifts into the remote work world.\u00a0 What does all of this mean to the agriculture industry?\u00a0 Agronomists have been working from their trucks for years, but someone still needs to drive the semi to the elevator, right? \u00a0How is the co-op going to spray my soybeans over a wi-fi connection? \u00a0These tasks aren\u2019t doable from your beanbag chair today, but automation could be on its way to save the day.\u00a0 It is difficult to imagine a world where all<\/u> operational jobs are replaced by automation, but many of them likely will be.\u00a0 Drones are already replacing spray rig operators, and Tesla and others are dumping billions into self-driving vehicles.<\/p>\n
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LinkedIn says that remote jobs get three times<\/u> as many applicants when compared to in-person positions.\u00a0 Our experience in agriculture is similar to LinkedIn\u2019s research: there are many more remote work seekers than there are remote positions.\u00a0 The agriculture industry has historically lagged other industry trends, and remote work seems to be no exception. \u00a0Automation will continue to eat up operational jobs but will never fully replace them fully.\u00a0 More white-collar jobs are becoming remote, but some will always require in-person.<\/p>\n
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Is remote and hybrid work the silver bullet to solve the labor crisis? \u00a0The stock market isn\u2019t so sure.\u00a0 Zoom stock is down 80% off its highs, but still well above January 2020 levels.\u00a0 While the ratio will likely continue to swing towards more remote work, it will not solve the problem on its own. \u00a0\u00a0Like satisfying world energy needs, it will take a combination of several solutions.\u00a0 A mix of remote \/ hybrid work, automation and consolidation seem to be the way forward to help the agriculture industry find and retain the talent that will continue to grow, innovate and feed the world.<\/p>\n
By Brad Jansen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Remote work and labor shortages: they seem to be the hot topics in today\u2019s workplace.\u00a0 March of 2020 brought about the perfect storm of necessity and the technological ability to test if remote work was viable.\u00a0 There was no trial run. \u00a0Remote work was instantly thrust into action by a virus.\u00a0 In-person meetings were replaced […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n