Originally published in India Today

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the way we work and it looks like the changes are here to stay. The Talent Tech Outlook 2022 study by job site SCIKEY shows that remote working has now become the new normal with 82% employees preferring to work from home than going back to office as they have developed new habits in the two years of the pandemic.

"It is interesting to observe how the fast-evolving 'Future of Work' is getting past the world of conventional HR and transforming into an ecosystem that now involves people beyond the confines of company payroll and office boundaries,” SCIKEY founder and CEO Karunjit Kumar Dhir said as per PTI.

“Welcome to the world of remote work, the gig economy, and the power of the crowd that is waiting to be explored before it explodes," Dhir said.

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Highlights from the study showing work-from-home is the new normal

Here are the main findings from the study that shows remote working is now the new normal:

• 64 per cent employees said they are more productive working from home and feel less stressed.
• For HR personnel, engaging with employees remotely rather than face-to-face has become the new norm
• More than 80 percent of the HR managers and more than 67 percent companies said that it was becoming more difficult to hire employees for full-time office presence ad office-only presence respectively
• Tech employees now expect remote working as the norm and not just a choice; employers who are unwilling to adapt will face challenges in hiring good talent and retaining the ones already employees
• Tech employees have found new freedom and productivity while working from home and this needs the HR to be more trusting
• Employees who are unengaged or underutilised will find alternatives quicker and leave jobs faster than pre-pandemic times
• Technology has changed a lot over the pandemic and so has the way companies are engaging with employees so that it’s more meaningful and to everyone’s advantage
• Only 18 percent of tech hiring managers are looking at using psychological assessment as a part of the hiring process in 2022, down from 68 percent in 2019.
• Office spaces will become more occasional meeting places and alternate workplaces
• The new flexibility that has come from the two years of the pandemic has benefitted both employers and employees
• More than 70 percent HR and tech team managers said that giving on-the-spot or quick awards for a job well done was important to retain employees who are scattered and needed regular motivation
• Over 36 percent of the study respondents have initiated quick rewards as their model to engage and retain their talented workforce

Study methodology

The Talent Tech Outlook 2022 study is an analysis of inputs from 100 plus C-suite and human capital leaders across four continents, done by SCIKEY through surveys, social media inputs, interviews and panel discussions.