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digital presenteism

Presenteeism threatens flexible work gains. Here’s how to beat it.

  • min read
    • The pandemic forced many businesses to make a swift move to enable      remote work. But it's not just the threat of infection that recommends this shift – remote work can often mean reduced costs and improved productivity. Flexible hours have significant benefits too, like improved talent-attraction and employee health. Despite the promised benefits, businesses offering remote work and flexible hours may still see 'presenteeism' – a greater emphasis on being 'at work' than being effective. Qatalog and Gitlab's Killing Time At Work report found workers spend an extra 67 minutes online every day just to show their colleagues and managers they're 'working'. Why does presenteeism happen? Tony Jamous, founder and chief executive officer of Oyster HR, says, "For many years, [we sat] at a screen for eight hours a day with few breaks. Now, because of increased remote work flexibility, employees are adopting 'non-linear' workdays. These empower employees to do the school run, take a gym break or adjust their schedules to find their optimal focus time." Back when manufacturing drove many economies, workers had to be on site to create output. As office-based work grew, output was less tangible, so we started to equate longer hours with productivity. What makes us productive and effective at work? Tariq Rauf, founder and chief executive officer of Qatalog says, "Someone could be visible and present online for 60 hours a week and achieve little. Whereas, the next person might work for half that time, at different times of the day, and be phenomenally productive." Contrary to popular belief, people who work most effectively are not necessarily those most disciplined, but those who speak to themselves with kindness and self-compassion. Georgetown University professor Cal Newport links peak productivity with deep work, meaning "working for extended periods with full concentration on a single task free from distraction." When it comes to distraction, constant app notifications are a big culprit – knowledge workers receive notifications from an average of 6.2 different apps or tools. Productivity's enemies include stress, anxiety and mental and physical fatigue. Psychotherapist Roxy Rhodes told me, "Mental and physical tiredness compound mistakes, which could negatively impact your career progression. Working through illness also means you may need longer to recover, increasing burnout risk." Dr. Wladislaw Rivkin, associate professor in organizational behavior at Trinity College Dublin agrees that working through illness – even digitally – is a bad idea. H     is research found working when unwell "has a knock-on effect for remote workers' performance on the next day as [it] drains employees' psychological energy, which cannot be fully recovered after work." Business impact of presenteeism Presenteeism can be more detrimental than absenteeism. An "always-on" communication expectation can hamper productivity and cause anxiety. Remote work was meant to level the playing field for employees with disabilities, but if workers feel forced to show up for the sake of it, that benefit is lost. Employee digital surveillance further corrodes trust, and brings challenges of its own making by reducing contextual performance and morale and increasing stress. Workers feel drained, fear their employer is 'out to get them' or retaliate using the likes of mouse jigglers – software or devices that simulate      mouse movements to prevent computer sleep mode from activating, giving the impression the employee is working. "Having to prove you're working by using mouse jigglers or clicking the screen every few minutes indicates a toxic culture. When we hire people, we look for candidates who will take ownership of their work. How long it takes them to accomplish a project is up to them, as long as the output is delivered. We don't need employee tracking software to see output," says Bhavya Arora, talent management and culture partner for sales engagement platform Outplay. Young workers and juniors in a team are more susceptible to practicing presenteeism. Some organizations position choosing your own working hours as a privilege earned by those higher up the career ladder, and junior workers worry their work ethic may be seen as lacking even if they're absent even for a few minutes. How to switch off "always on" culture 1.    Measure performance by output not hours "We don't believe someone's commitment to work or their performance should be measured by how many hours they've worked," says Outplay's Arora. Qatalog founder Rauf agrees, "Organizations should implement an output-driven culture that focuses on the work people do, rather than worrying about when they do it and how long they're at their desk." 2.    Use tools that suit asynchronous work Communication tools that send notifications can reinforce an "always on" culture and mean workers find it hard to switch off. Encouraging 'asynchronous' instead means finding ways for colleagues to work together even when not logged in at the same time. Tariq Rauf, founder and chief executive officer of Qatalog says, "Asynchronous work lets people with caregiving responsibilities fit work around their life." Qatalog tries to enable asynchronous working with their platform, which centralizes knowledge, processes and resources in their platform. Asynchronous communication tools, like Loom for video messaging, CloudApp for screen recording, Yac, which claims voice messaging can eliminate meetings, and Hypercontext for meeting management, aim to provide for effective, high-fidelity communication      for asynchronous work. "With the right technology, you can break down silos and provide visibility across an entire organization," says Rauf. "Once you can see what everyone is working on, with decisions made transparently, trust is much easier to build. It's not a silver bullet, but it's a strong foundation." 3.    Build trust and lead by example Asynchronous communication tools must feed into a culture of trust and empathy. Leaders should hire employees they trust to get the work done, so there's no need to be logged in at the same time. Psychotherapist Rhodes says, "You're setting a precedent for what's expected of your employees – if a staff member sees their boss showing up to work sick, they'll likely feel pressure to do the same." Small but thoughtful changes in how you communicate can also build trust: Don't send employees texts or emails outside work hours. Let team members control their availability, honoring 'do not disturb' statuses. Segment communication channels, for example, using Slack for regular communication but mobile messaging apps only for emergencies. Rhodes also recommends, "Having a non-contact way for employees to announce sickness is effective in some companies. Staff feel anxious about "phoning in sick" and having to have a conversation where they feel they have to justify how ill they are." Management consultancy McKinsey's 2022 report found 40 percent of workers value flexibility so much, it drives their decision to stay in a job or look for a new one. If workers can't do their best work, employers will lose them. Productivity is in work delivered, not hours worked or how fast employees respond to messages. No workplace benefits from performed productivity, and presenteeism can strip remote work of its benefits. Businesses must make sure they give employees the tools and freedom to work in the way that best suits them.
hybrid work changes

Hybrid workplaces need a business culture change to match

  • min read
    • Companies are struggling with how to move to let employees have the choice to work at the office, from home or somewhere else – known as hybrid work. A 2022 study by career consultants Zippia found that 84 percent of companies have implemented or plan to implement remote work. Employees are more than ready for it, with 83 percent saying they prefer hybrid work in Accenture's 2021 Future of Work study. Yet, as the economic outlook worsens, it's possible that employee urgency about hybrid work could wane in favor of job security, benefits and company culture. A 2022 Expectations at Work study by BCW (part of WPP) indicates that a certain "confidence across the different employee groups has been eroding, triggering a change in the core expectations and priorities employees now seek from their employers." In any event, implementing hybrid work well is harder than most leaders think. On top of general post-pandemic fatigue, there are hard questions. How much can you require workers to come into the office or stay home? When and why should we be in either space? Should we change contracts and compensation? Which IT systems will we need? The answers are complex, and there's no one-size-fits-all. Three things to think about Outside in-person roles and sectors like manufacturing, hospitality and medical procedures, many have now experienced remote work. In the US, thirty-five percent worked from home during the pandemic. In the UK, it was as much as thirty-eight percent, and in France, nearly thirty percent. Businesses must decide the future of their work conditions. Allowing office and remote work means adapting your reality, being more flexible and changing how you communicate. When considering hybrid work, leadership should assess three things: How to create a company culture that fosters optimal employee engagement, best serve existing and future clients, and give teams the right oversight and tech. Charting a post-pandemic path Effective change requires knowing where you come from. When a legacy company – one that's existed for decades – wants to make a significant change in how they work, it must understand its existing corporate culture. After years of working one way, principles and work styles become ingrained, including relationships with customers and suppliers. The pandemic created an exceptional moment when companies brushed existing culture aside. There will have been changes, many of which will be invisible. Still, there are also dark clouds on the horizon: Economic uncertainty, consumption habits and expectations changes, and social and political unease. Using empathic leadership to engage Research from the University of California, Berkeley Haas and Stanford University found the pandemic provoked many favorable changes in beliefs, behavior and relationships. They reported, "Organizational cultures in the pandemic era have generally shifted away from a high-performance orientation to one that prizes empathy, understanding and mutual support." Empathy – especially from leaders – has a direct, positive impact in the workplace, according to Catalyst research. With more empathic leaders, 61 percent of employees report being able to be innovative, compared with 13 percent of those with less empathic leaders. Increased uncertainty and the need for dramatic change will make leaders with empathy even more valuable to their companies. Leaders should especially watch employee engagement. In light of high resignation rates post-pandemic and recruitment challenges, HR departments should pay extra attention to onboarding in a hybrid environment. With recruitment and initial training done remotely, new employees struggle to understand the culture and establish trusting relationships with others. When you show up as your whole self, vulnerable and imperfect, it will help you to build trust and foster sincerity. Of course, that doesn't mean you shouldn't strive to be the best version of yourself. Being open, genuine and humble makes your colleagues and employees more likely to speak up and feel engaged. Two-way communication will be your bread and butter to survive the transformation to hybrid work. Focus on customers Since it's harder to manage communication in a hybrid environment, it's tempting to use data, financials and automation to manage customers. But the human element, in all its messiness, is more important. Employees' roles and engagement are critical to good customer experience. The pandemic, social movements (like Black Lives Matter) and global political turmoil have changed how customers feel, interact and buy. As expectations change, staying keenly attuned and finding ways to understand better your past, current and future customers will be essential. You'll also need to work to break down company silos and product-centric orientations, which put the focus a few steps away from the customer. Bill Kanarick of EY explains in MIT Technology Review, "Customer-centricity forces you to take a horizontal view where you're trying to orchestrate across the organization to the benefit of the consumer." In other words, customer experience relies on people in different departments across the company, often without a common line of command. While it may be challenging, winners know how to take risks, move fast and focus on a few key levers and performance indicators rather than trying to meet all needs and clunky dashboards. Support systems that facilitate your goals Systems support internal operations, so how you facilitate communications aligned with your business goals and leadership style should be a top priority. There are many communication tools, like Slack, Adobe Cloud and Microsoft Outlook, and great add-ons for hybrid work like Mural and Miro for brainstorming and workshops, Rally and Doodle for meeting management and Monday.com and Trello for project management. Another important aspect is configuring cybersecurity, especially for sensitive data. Your systems will need security tailored to changing locations, moving pieces and the varied tech found in homes and remote offices. Security responsibility in hybrid work falls more on employees, says Leonid Grustniy: "Transporting your work – laptop, files, flash drives – between the office and home can place corporate data in danger from carelessness or even theft." Regardless of tools, leadership must focus on human matters: Empathy, doing what you say and saying what you do, being fair and firm in how you treat employees, and most importantly, modeling the behavior you wish to see. The move to hybrid work will take much trial and error, and flexibility. Larger tech companies like Amazon, Apple and Google will likely pave the way in how we manage hybrid and remote conditions, but applying other organizations' ideas isn't enough. Every sector and different company culture will need its own solutions. Good luck on your journey.
going remote

Going fully remote? Here’s why trust will matter to your success.

  • min read
    • After many learned fast to work from home during the pandemic, organizations now face a more deliberate choice on how to conduct business. How much do we really need to be in the office – if at all? The quest has provoked high-profile battles between employees and management. Apple employees petitioned to keep their flexible work arrangements. It may be complex to offer employees the choice to come into the office or work remotely – often called 'hybrid work' – tempting businesses to impose a set schedule for all. Big tech companies such as Google and Tesla are driving hard to get their employees in the office more often. Twitter offers full-time remote work if employees want it, but such arrangements are usually limited to techy start-ups. Why and how might other kinds of businesses go fully remote? At the heart of this question is trust between employees and management. I wrote in my book, You lead: How being yourself makes you a better leader, "Building trust is the critical glue to keep workflow and outputs effective." The intention to go fully remote must address three elements – in order of importance: Employee engagement, customer benefit and business results. Remote work upsides and downsides A Capgemini Research Institute study in 2020 showed remote work may reduce overheads by up to 48 percent. The remote option may be obvious for tech companies like pure ecommerce businesses or software-as-a-service (SaaS) providers, especially if they're already interacting with all clients digitally. But there will always be industries where fully remote just doesn't work – even desk-based businesses like legal may need central secure storage for documents. Even for a techy workforce, fully remote isn't easy and needs careful consideration. For example, work from anywhere (WFA) is different than work from home (WFH) or work from a specific geographic region. A Flexjobs study showed 95 percent of remote jobs still require a location. It's also easy to get lured into remote work because of the savings or because employees want it. Some companies, including Google, Twitter and Facebook, want to pay remote workers less, and some employees are willing to accept lower pay for remote work's convenience and flexibility. But different pay for remote and in-office workers will introduce a challenging variable in optimizing performance and recognizing contributions. Office-based workers already get greater recognition and credit than those who work from home. Productivity impacts A two-year Stanford study on remote work released in 2017 showed a 13 percent productivity gain and reduced turnover in employees working remotely, compared with their in-office counterparts. But the study didn't consider customer success or long-term employee satisfaction, and over half the remote workers felt isolated and wanted to return to the office at least sometimes. Productivity gains can also be elusive, depending on existing culture, sector and processes. The report Killing Time at Work '22 testifies to many companies' poor practice in trying to make working remotely function well. Study author Tariq Rauf, CEO of team software provider Qatalog, wrote, "Digital presenteeism is pervasive, with employees working an extra hour each day to show they're still online and contributing, due to fear colleagues and bosses will think they aren't working hard enough." Who's going fully remote? Few well-known companies have opted for fully remote. In Flexjobs' top 30 companies with the most work-from-anywhere job postings, recognizable names include Wikimedia and Airbnb. Then there are less well-known tech brands like open-source research and development provider Protocol Labs, services like content moderators ModSquad and naturally remote companies like Study.com for online learning. None are traditional businesses, suggesting legacy companies are staunchly anchored to their offices. So, leaders considering moving their whole organization or a team to fully remote work should consider these elements. 1.  Build trust and improve communication First, above all else, answer honestly: How much do you trust your team or workforce, and how much do they trust you and other leaders? Establishing trust and rapport is always important in business, but in remote conditions, you must be more attentive and intentional in fostering and retaining trust. Communications are particularly important, especially informal exchanges and channels. For example, when will you have a casual check-in to talk about more personal affairs and less official work? Tyree D. Mitchell, author of Searching for trust in the global economy with Jeanne M. Brett, says, "To unite a team, create a team charter representing how the team works as partners. Explain your objective, role and how people should communicate and be accountable." He also suggests taking into account cultural norms and differences around building trust when dealing with an international team. 2.  Make your intentions clear If going 100 percent remote is a radical departure from the past, be honest about the company's intention. Will it help achieve strategic goals? How does it relate to the company's overall purpose? Does it help your environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals? If your motivation is largely cutting cost through less or no office space, or improving efficiencies and productivity (for example, by eliminating commuting,) double-down on employee engagement and customer satisfaction. There are many reasons offices appeal to some people, like teamwork, socializing and status. Being transparent and including your team in your decision-making process will help the transformation succeed. Your action plan In constructing your action plan to go fully remote, there are five key considerations. First, take an honest look at your existing culture – how you communicate and behave, workflows and levels of trust. What should you keep and what needs changing? Second, involve your team in your decision-making around the transition. Third, consider carefully how to best serve your customers, including how to gain and onboard new ones. Fourth, embrace the messiness! Ensure constant feedback and stay flexible to work through challenges. Finally, ensure you have the right technologies to facilitate workflows and teamwork needed for customer success. Prioritise cybersecurity when choosing your tech and give your staff regular training in how to keep your business cyber safe.
green tech improving business

Six ways green tech can benefit your business

  • min read
    • Two-thirds of customers place importance on a brand's sustainable or eco-friendly image. Buoyed by this growing consumer awareness, business investment in becoming more sustainable is at record highs. Staff are concerned too – 97 percent of executives say their company has been negatively affected by climate change. IT and enterprise leaders must get involved in this new age of corporate social responsibility (CSR.) But these new environmentally conscious ways of doing business can benefit your company in other ways. Here are six ways green tech is improving business while reducing its environmental footprint. 1.   Saving on energy bills Oxford Economics says data-driven tools like smart meters, smart plugs and self-regulating energy systems can cut energy costs by up to 5 percent. It may not sound like much, but will add up to billions by 2030, with the biggest savings likely in small-to-medium businesses. These smart solutions are an easy way for businesses to predict better, optimize and conserve energy, meaning cost savings while reducing climate impacts of energy production, which across the world, is still mostly done by burning fossil fuels. 2.   Gaining more organizational insight These smart devices don't just help save energy and resources. They give businesses improved insight into process efficiencies. There's been huge uptake of 'internet of things' (IoT) devices in industry and manufacturing, largely driven by their ability to predict maintenance needs, maximize productivity and reduce factory downtime. Over 55 billion devices will be connected and talking to one another by 2025, according to market researcher IDC. One example is modular house-building factories –robots are better than humans at arranging patterns to get the most cuts from a piece of wood. 3.   Improving employees' working lives According to international consulting firm McKinsey, remote, digital, and hybrid technologies will define the future of work. Many employers are using online tools to book on-demand flexible office space, vehicles and virtual desktops, cutting resource consumption and travel-related greenhouse gas emissions. Employees relish more opportunity to work flexibly, widespread since the pandemic – whether working from home or across hours that better suit family life. Commuting is no small contributor to climate change. In the US, 75 percent use driving as their main means of getting to work. 4.   Saving on carbon costs With many countries operating internal carbon markets, reducing carbon emissions can, on its own, reduce operating expenses. These schemes require companies to buy carbon credits for emissions they produce, while those that create carbon sinks, like forestry, can make money by selling credits. Renewable energy microgrids are one way to cut carbon emissions. Other companies are replacing fossil fuel-powered vehicle fleets with electric and hybrid vehicles. These can also have health benefits for staff through reduced air pollution, vibration and noise. 5.   Reducing eWaste Our growing mountains of electronic waste are not easy or cheap to recycle, but practice is improving. Green tech can also help here, like using cloud-based file storage and backups, where multiple businesses share the same IT infrastructure. (This, in turn, makes strong, automated cloud security indispensable.) Virtual desktops also mean you needn't constantly equip and re-equip staff with dedicated laptops and PCs, meaning less waste to landfill. Choose your data center wisely for minimum environmental impact – they can use much electricity and water, and create a lot of heat. Doing your research will reveal the most low-impact options, like using data centers in countries where most electricity is generated renewably. 6.   Increasing productivity One UCLA study found employees at companies that voluntarily adopt high environmental standards were 16 percent more productive than peers at less eco-friendly organizations. Reasons might include distance learning, telecommuting and real-time collaboration tech. Artificially-intelligent software personalities and automated helpers may also help employees work without needing to travel while taking over repetitive tasks that reduce focus. Green tech for business will mean many operational benefits alongside all-important protection for our resources, climate and atmosphere. Companies should aim to stay ahead of customers' expectations and move more quickly than regulation requires. The coming years will only bring more environmental scrutiny and awareness, so it will pay to invest in greener tech today.
social media hybrid work

How social media can build trust and productivity in hybrid teams

  • min read
    • Offices may be re-opening, but professionals aren't racing back to their desks. A recent survey by professional services firm PwC survey found more than half of employees want to keep working remotely for at least three days a week. 37 percent of workers surveyed for Kaspersky's Securing the Future of Work report said they wanted to work mostly from home with regular office time. This part in-office, part at-home workstyle is known as hybrid working. To get all the benefits, employees need ways to stay connected with colleagues while working remotely. Colleague connection is important for job satisfaction, company culture and effective collaboration. I believe social media has a lot to offer in building colleague connections and unlocking greater productivity. Social media can add the crucial 'trust factor' When a research team looked at 52 studies of trust and teamwork, they found trust is even more important for remote-working teams to function well. If organizations work harder to build trust among employees spending most of their time apart, the potential gains are large. Collaboration platforms like Microsoft Teams, Slack and Zoom and project tools to manage tech projects are a valuable part of keeping team members connected. But because they're also where much of your work gets done, employees need other ways to connect too. That's where social media comes in. LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and others can be great ways to improve trust and camaraderie in your team, but they can also undermine the relationships you hope to foster. With the right strategy and guidelines for using social media, you can help employees benefit from interactions while reducing risk. Here are some of the keys to social media success I've seen successful workplaces use to good effect. 1.     Reframe leadership views of social media use Many leaders have developed the view that using social media during work hours is time wasted. I've already mentioned how social media can help build the trust that's important to productivity. Research also suggests workplace behavior seen as 'slacking off' could, in fact, boost productivity and creativity. A recent review of studies found both positive and negative impacts from 'cyberloafing,' with researchers concluding "a little cyberloafing is important for healthy communication, innovation and productivity." Trusting employees to manage their focus helps them function at their best. 2.     Openly endorse connecting on social media The best way to get employees connecting on social media is easy: Explicitly encourage them to do just that. There's much to recommend it. When I ran my own social media agency, all our employees (voluntarily) connected on Facebook and Twitter. While it's been ten years since we last worked together, we're in regular social media contact, exchanging recipes, parenting stories and work opportunities. 3.     Have written social media guidelines Ideally, your organization's HR team should develop social media guidelines with advice from your legal and social media teams. If you don't have organization-wide policies, you can still send a thoughtful email to direct reports outlining your perspective. Start by looking at other organizations' smart, effective social media policies. Your policy should make clear that invitations to connect with colleagues are optional and colleagues may have different preferences about connecting online. Take the opportunity to remind people to follow security best practices on networks like Twitter and LinkedIn. 4.     Model friendly connection Your social media habits will cue the rest of your team. Think about how you'd like team members to connect, then model that behavior. If you want them to follow one another on Twitter and amplify or engage with each other's posts, follow your direct reports and put them on a Twitter list you review regularly, so you see all their updates. Once employees see you responding to their and their colleagues' tweets, they'll see this as an extension of workplace relationships and another way to bring interesting ideas or information to your attention. Don't intrude on employees' privacy by commenting on their high school reunion photos or latest parenting rant. If you're hoping they'll start to connect with you more personally, share posts that represent the kind of thing you hope they'll share: Photos from your latest hike, novel recommendations or recipes. If team members comment, reply – it establishes a connection without intruding. 5.     Recognize different boundaries In the same way some people are up for after-work drinks and others like to (or have to) go straight home, some employees like to keep their online interactions strictly professional while others don't mind mixing business and personal. Employees who prefer to keep relationships professional may wish to confine colleague connections to business-first platforms like LinkedIn. Advise employees of features that make it easier to draw a line between work and personal lives. For example, Twitter profiles can be made private so only people you explicitly allow can see posts. On Facebook, they could put colleagues on their 'restricted' list so they only see posts you make public. Kaspersky's privacy checker gives platform-specific tips for protecting your privacy on apps like TikTok and WhatsApp too. 6.     What happens on Facebook stays on Facebook That lesson has stayed with me: Not everyone wants their online life to follow them to the office. While it's appropriate to pick up the thread of a LinkedIn conversation where you and a colleague discussed industry news, it's best to avoid asking your coworker about her new kitchen in the boardroom. 7.     Designate one work-free zone Even if you're encouraging employees to connect on social media, make clear and model that it's ok to keep at least one social media presence work-free. It's healthy to have parts of life private from colleagues, even though employees must understand anything they post online could become public or known to coworkers and clients. Preserving one colleague-free zone means social media enthusiasts have a place to share kid photos or other personal interests without feeling like everything is on the record at the office. 8.     Talk openly about risk Online relationships are fraught with risk. If your coworker posts a picture of their new boat, you may wonder if they got a big raise or feel envious in a way that undermines the work relationship. Colleagues friendly in the office may find themselves suspicious if online interactions reveal political differences. If one employee spots a coworker posting misleading, offensive or ill-judged content, she may find herself caught between respecting her colleague's privacy and compromising her employer's reputation. Avert these risks by encouraging team members to think about the face they show to colleagues – and the world. Posts that would undermine coworker connection are posts that can pose reputation risks for your firm. You're not just helping your team build stronger relationships, you're helping them become more thoughtful, effective social media users. The other kind of risk is online security. Ensure your team knows and practices basic cyber hygiene, including using secure passwords and being aware of the many ways secret information may become exposed at work. A new frontier for colleague connection By avoiding the pitfalls of social media and harnessing its potential for conversation and connection, you can establish a new frontier for building relationships among your workforce. Many have already turned to social media to replace the sociability they've missed from the office: A third of us miss face-to-face interaction more than anything else we miss about our workplace. Including our colleagues in that circle of sociability is a great way to reinforce connections frayed during time apart. Social media can be a valuable part of company culture if used well. The sense of connection it fosters lets colleagues trust each other and work effectively as a team, making them happier in their hybrid working lives.
cities of future

How working from home is changing the future of cities

  • min read
    • The switch to working from home that accompanied the pandemic is accelerating underlying trends in urban living and improving quality of life in cities. The pandemic isn't over, and no one knows what's next, but trend-spotters in marketing, research and other disciplines are noting change in how we live. I agree with them: Our environment is changing thanks to the influence of remote work, new technology and interacting physical and virtual worlds. Here are some of the big shifts to watch out for. How homes will change Never before have people around the world found themselves living in such similar ways at the same time. For the second year running, we're seeing remote working en masse. The change has boosted some sectors. E-commerce has thrived as visiting bricks-and-mortar stores became more complicated. We've seen higher shipping parcel volumes and evidence of expansion in delivery services. People are getting used to spending more time at home, so in commerce 'dark stores' (local stores being converted into fulfilment houses for online orders,) food delivery and digitalization will keep growing. Contactless payments will be the norm. COVID-19 has accelerated intelligent buildings and smart home technologies already being implemented. Keyless entry, voice-activated elevators and digital room service have become more valuable as consumers embrace hands-off technology at home. For smart homes, essential security includes correctly configuring Wi-Fi networks and protecting devices and control panels with strong, unique passwords. But consumers have a way to come to adopt good security practices widely. Kaspersky's recent research found only 48 percent protect their Wi-Fi network with a password, and just 58 percent use security software beyond what their devices have as standard with their operating system. There's encouraging news in emerging 'cyber immune' technologies bringing greater security by design to the new fusion of digital and physical worlds. How the office will change Millions of employees working from home have felt the need for a virtual office. The hybrid work model is coming to the fore for many businesses, which means heading to the office just two or three days a week. This 'pop-up' workspace paradigm means virtual work will become more widely available. The need to organize IT support adds a burden for employees. Simple advice: Always use a virtual private network (VPN) at home or on public Wi-Fi – it will protect your data, hide your IP address and ensure no one intercepts your online communications. How urban living will change Demographers and sociologists have trotted out the 'death of the suburbs' narrative many times over the years. COVID-19 caused a return to suburban and country life: Millions changed out downtown apartments for green places with less human contact. "First there were boom towns. Now there are Zoom towns," said Lilly Smith in Fast Company, describing vacation destinations turning into real estate hot spots. My study of economic sociology tells me people will find a middle ground between Zoom towns and big cities. The pandemic has blurred the boundaries between suburban living and metropolitan life. Improved rural infrastructure means country living is an option for people who have never considered it before. More than ever, people can choose their lifestyle, mixing and matching living arrangements according to family and seasons. I think Zoom towns are here to stay, but the way people use them will evolve. But another thing the pandemic has taught us is, we want to meet face to face. It's human nature to communicate and live together. People want to go to bars and restaurants, and they need eye contact in meetings and to feel connected to teammates to be productive. All this is why we'll always want to live in cities. Urban trends triggered in 2020 include 15-minute cities, where citizens can get daily needs within a short walk or fresh air while teleworking. Malls have made way for local grocery stores, and we're favoring getting around on bicycles rather than driving or by public transport. In Fast Forward audio series episode Cities of the Future, filmmaker and vice-chair of Women in Architecture Sarah Akigbogun predicts the flight from downtown to suburbia may be good for tackling inequality. It might empower talented people in marginalized communities recently shut out by inner-city gentrification. These may be long-lasting urban tendencies. Post-pandemic habits will shape the look of future neighborhoods, providing a more family-friendly environment for those who enjoy city living. When planning a living environment, developers must create opportunities for communication and leisure, enhance sense of community and prioritize health. Technologies that sanitize public spaces, allow contactless entry or enable stay-at-home virtual and augmented reality tourism will bring us closer to a future of smart and secure homes and cities. In the past, cities grew through planning decisions and municipal visions of the future, but we're entering a time when technology is giving many the flexibility to choose where and how they live and work. As global challenges like pandemics and climate change demand fast, decisive change, this growing flexibility in our lives could be a valuable asset.
by Innovating leaders.
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Secure Futures magazine is your go-to business guide for opinions, trends and insight into the world of technology and cybersecurity. We help your business to bring on the future. Brought to you by Kaspersky, the global cybersecurity experts.

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