Gallup reported that the percentage of employed adults working from home because of the coronavirus went from 31% in mid-March to 49% a few days later, peaking at 62% in mid-April. That’s a lot of people suddenly forced to accept drastic new circumstances. How is working from home, which the COVID-19 pandemic made a necessity in many sectors, affecting business productivity? Problems made worse? Some workers weren’t fully enthusiastic about the work-from-home concept even before the pandemic. About 29% of respondents to a poll of full-time U.S. employees taken in 2019 by outsourcing marketplace platform Airtasker said they experienced difficulty maintaining a healthy work-life balance; 23% of office workers reported the same problem. Remote workers also reported higher levels of stress, anxiety and procrastination. (Telecommuting respondents did appreciate eliminating their commutes and reported putting in longer workdays than their office-based counterparts.) The initial stages of the pandemic amplified those issues. “The scale and scope of what we’re seeing, with organizations of 5,000 or 10,000 employees asking people to work from home very quickly, is unprecedented. So, no, organizations are not set up for this,” Tsedal Neeley, a professor at Harvard Business School, said in March, citing concerns about ensuring employee access to hardware, software and other resources. Neeley also addressed the social aspects of work: “People lose the unplanned watercooler or cappuccino conversations with colleagues in remote work. These are actually big and important parts of the workday that have a direct impact on performance.” She wasn’t the only one bemoaning the loss of in-person collaboration. “I fear this collapse in office face time will lead to a slump in innovation,” says Nicholas Bloom, a senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy and Research. “The new ideas we are losing today could show...

Shelter in place practices have driven most organizations to explore remote work environments in greater depths. This new terrain presents unique challenges and opportunities. A common challenge is promoting unity and engagement amongst employees during an undetermined period of isolation. Below are six tips to drive employee engagement and productivity among remote workforces during COVID-19. Connect with tech There are numerous tools that make remote communication an effortless part of any workflow. Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Slack are popular options for keeping employees connected. Each offers chat, voice, and video services suitable for duos and small groups. Yardi uses Microsoft Teams and GoToMeeting to promote engagement for groups of all sizes. When employees must share documents, graphics and other media, Robohead facilitates team and inter-departmental project planning. Reach out regularly Encourage consistent connection between team members and leadership. While managers and executive staff may not attend every meeting, weekly or bi-weekly meetings with leadership can help employees feel better connected to the health and vision of the company. Since taking 80% of its employees remote, Yardi has shifted from annual executive meetings to weekly “Global Town Hall” meetings. Some of these virtual gatherings are live, and others are pre-recorded. Each offers employees an opportunity to learn from leadership, explore the company’s response to COVID-19, understand client feedback, and connect with other teams. Find time for fun Attempt to replicate the ambiance of the “water cooler” or staff lounge. This is a space where employees share non-work-related news, participate in fun team-building activities, and relieve stress. Yardi client Lincoln Property Company features several remote work tips on its blog. A recent post on long distance activities to enjoy at home offers suggestions on ways to promote employee camaraderie at a distance. For example, consider hosting...

Born between 1981 and 1998, Millennials currently make up a third of the US workforce, but those numbers will need to rise exponentially in order to meet demand. According to the United Nations, the world’s advanced economies are experiencing a rapid decline in working-age population. The UN projects the available workforce to decrease by 5% within the next three years. That decrease is due primarily to aging of the current labor force, which creates an additional burden for country’s with wage-based entitlement programs like social security. As the number of recipients for these programs increase, the workforce contributions struggle to bridge the gap. In 1945, the ratio of workers to retirees was 41.9 to one. By 2010, that number had dropped to 2.9, with the number expected to drop to 2-to-1 by 2030. Ebbs and Flows As the Baby Boomer juggernaut moved from childhood to young adulthood, lower birthrates followed in their shadow. For years, there’s been growing concern over what would happen once the boomer generation hit retirement. The smaller Gen X demographic averaged a mere 3.4 million births per year – or 65 million total – not enough to supplement the 76 million boomers born between 1946 and 1964. Now it appears the tides are shifting. Sometime in April of last year, the U.S. population reached a significant milestone. For the first time in over fifty years, Baby Boomers no longer claimed the biggest portion of the country’s population. Hitting a high of 75.4 million, Millennials edged out the estimated 74.9 boomers to seize the crown. The Millennial population is expected to peak at 81.1 million by 2036 while the Boomers will shrink to 16.6 million by 2050. Shrinking Workforce With 83 million potential workers, the Millennials appear to be just what...

To woo the next generation of workers, employers need to think beyond the standard  benefits package and embrace a new era of employee perks. Once upon a time, job seekers placed salary above all else when on the hunt for employment. These days, a new generation of millennial employees is putting less and less emphasis on wages. Instead, they are seeking out opportunities with the potential for career growth and the ability to positively contribute to the world around them. They are also increasingly focusing on a range of nontraditional benefits designed to make the workday more enjoyable and enhance the work-life balance. “Landing a dream job isn’t always just about the actual work,” writes Fast Company’s Lydia Dishman. “Among the best companies to work for, employee review platform Glassdoor found that personnel were just as jazzed about mission-driven company cultures, great career advancement opportunities, and amazing benefits and perks.” While the pendulum hasn’t quite swung far enough to allow applicants to call all the shots, certain industries are struggling to find the right fit for increasingly niche, technology driven positions. In this environment, salary and basic benefits – like medical coverage and 401k options – are relatively standard offerings. In order to stand out in today’s employment marketplace, businesses must offer something different, including new and unique rewards that go beyond extended time off and free-pizza Fridays. Why Perks Matter According to Glassdoor, more than half of all job seekers admit perks are tremendously important. Now that potential recruits can quickly research potential employers online through sites like Glassdoor, companies are pitching themselves as more responsive and flexible. As a result, more and more businesses are offering adaptable work schedules and unlimited family leave. The modern office space now comes outfitted with hammocks, sandboxes and...

The world is facing a worker shortage. For the last few years, the World Economic Forum and others have been sounding the alarm on what they call “skills instability,” and many industries are scrambling to find qualified applicants. With women currently making up less than half of the global workforce, tapping into the gender gap could be the solution for the tech industry’s talent shortages. The best way to close the gap? Digital fluency. A new study by Accenture reinforces this idea, declaring, “Because women are underrepresented in the workforce in most countries, they are a significant source of untapped talent.” Digital Fluency Accenture’s study makes it clear that increased access to learning and using digital media results in a smaller gender gap, in both opportunity and advancement. “Our analysis highlights the importance of digital fluency in helping countries progress toward equality in the workplace,” explain the report’s authors. “Higher rates of digital fluency among women have higher rates of gender equality in the workplace.” Defining the Gap Accenture surveyed almost 5,000 women and men in 31 countries to measure their access to digital technologies, including smartphones, wearables, and other devices. Information gleaned from those surveys was cross-checked with data on internet usage gathered from the International Telecommunication Union (the United Nations agency for information and communication technologies). Accenture researchers also looked at three specific areas when creating their template for gender equality. They investigated how women use education in preparation of finding work, how they go about actually looking for a job, and how they advance in their careers. This information was then compared with data from the World Bank and the OECD. The numbers revealed ample evidence that digital fluency can “act as an accelerant in every stage of a person’s career.”...