Remote work jobs see a spike on Indeed platform

The spread of COVID-19 has led several companies to ask their employees to work from home. More companies will follow suit as we continue to see the effects of the virus. While it can seem like a simple transition, working from home can be challenging, especially when it comes to productivity, communication, and motivation.

COVID19 has forced many of us to change the way we work, powering a huge shift towards remote working that is expected to continue. According to recent data job seekers across the country are showing greater interest in working remotely amid the COVID-19 crisis. Job seekers are increasingly searching for terms like ‘remote’, ‘work from home’, and related phrases. Searches for remote work have also increased by over 377% as a share of all searches on Indeed India from February 2020 - May 2020.

Job postings for remote work and work from home have also seen an increase of 168% from Feb 2020 - May 2020. In terms of roles, ‘online tutor’, ‘customer care representatives’ and ‘tech roles’ are seeing increased traction.

Businesses are adapting by leveraging collaboration technology to ensure uninterrupted work and developing new policies as the situation evolves to make remote working effective and efficient. The gig economy is best prepared, a recent survey by Indeed says that 83% of businesses emphasizing their contingency plan includes frequent communication protocols and technological infrastructure to ensure seamless remote working.

Even as the world is grappling with the pandemic, resilience is being displayed by many employers who are exploring new ways to ensure their workforce is able to function seamlessly and continue the business. Indeed’s data shows that remote working and work from home searches have been steadily increasing also, indicating jobseeker expectation mirrors these measures.

Previous data from Indeed also showed that, 83% of job seekers consider a remote work policy an important factor when searching for a job, so much so that 53% of employees would consider taking a pay cut in order to have access to remote working options. 56% of employees and 83% of employers concur that offering flexibility in working can help boost productivity. Searches for remote work increased by over 261% as a share of all searches on Indeed India since February 2020 - March 2020. 

One of the bigger conversations that is happening as a result of the Covid-19 situation is focused on the future of how we work. This has created a new opportunity to see how workforces can have more work from home flexibility or could even allow for more remote work options in the future especially if employers see benefits.

Disclaimer: The views, suggestions and opinions expressed here are the sole responsibility of the experts. No Forbes India journalist was involved in the writing and production of this article.