Working From Home… Forever?

It is without question that Covid-19 has brought an enormous change to the way we live our lives. The world as we know it has been flipped on it’s head, relying on us to obey new rules, help flatten the curve and wait for some form of normality to resume. Alongside the two metre distance, non-essential travel and housebound living, came another inevitable change, working from home (WFH).

For those of us working from home, it’s not only a luxury in terms of comfortable, safe surroundings but a privilege to even retain employment in such difficult times. Every day, headlines remind us of the organisations that thrived, adapted and failed to stay afloat. One of those thriving being social media giant, Twitter.

On Tuesday 12th May, Twitter’s Lead of People, Jennifer Christie, released a statement which sent shock-waves through the working world as we know it;

“…if our employees are in a role and situation that enables them to work from home and they want to continue to do so forever, we will make that happen”

There is a particular word in their statement which resonates, ‘forever’. ‘Forever’ promises a real, long-term change due to this unpredictable virus and a beginning of the “new normal” whether we like it or not. Amongst the business worry, redundancies and furloughing, we can agree that Covid-19 hasn’t exactly invited a healthy season for recruitment. But, if we try to remain positive, what opportunities could this remote way of working bring?

A Remote Opportunity

Apart from the most obvious opportunities like saving money on commuting or spending more time with family, recruitment opportunities exist too. Although it may seem unbelievable and somewhat ignorant at the moment, given the amount of redundancies and furloughing all around us, long-term remote working is very opportunistic. For those small-town graduates with big dreams or village-dwelling residents seeking a career change, this new ‘forever’ suggests a quieter life in smaller towns, escaping the towering city cost of living and yet still benefiting from those world-class positions in large organisations, like Twitter. Although dependent on our job type, a remote position may offer the excitement, experience and undeniably, the salary of a city-job which is an offer many of us can’t deny.

Undeniably, a remote working lifestyle isn’t for all; many of us crave that office interaction or the big city rush. Yet for those limited by their location, wealth or status, remote working may certainly open doors. So, as we adapt and learn from the benefits of home working, keep an eye on those remote job vacancies. You may just find your dream digital job working from a remote village in the North East of England.

Discover more Covid-19 stories from women journalists across the country here.

Laura Buckle

Image credit: Pixabay, ID-932926.