It seems Covid-19 may have changed the way people operate for good, ending the trend of our workforce being tethered to their desks.
Last week’s report headed by overseas property expert Simon Conn appeared to suggest as such.
It focused on young professionals looking to work remotely for UK companies from Europe before Brexit potentially makes that harder to achieve, but many could also look to work from North America, Asia and beyond depending on the job.
If there’s a positive to be had from the pandemic, and there haven’t been many, it has at least highlighted that many of us are capable of working productively without needing to cohabit in the same room.
I think this trend was slowly starting to happen anyway, but the pandemic has hastened the growth of the remote workforce, while it will get into more of a swing once more countries open their borders.
Of course, the growth of remote working is also relevant when looking domestically.
For years it seemed people have tripped over one another trying to live in and around London, looking to take advantage of job prospects in the city – and house prices and rents have both swelled significantly as a result.
Now you wonder whether the UK’s housing market will start to balance out, as more people look to live away from London while still retaining their city jobs.
If that happens it could have a dampening effect on prices and rents in the city, which – though it may be painful for those already invested in that market – could result in there being more of an equilibrium in terms of cost of living between the capital and the rest of the UK.
Last week’s research from HomeLet suggested rents are growing outside of London and falling within, so perhaps that trend is already happening – though it’s early days to be too conclusive about this trend.
Working remotely isn’t for everyone. Some people are missing the banter of the office, and it can certainly sow something of a team ethic when everyone works in the same building.
But there’s a sizable majority who like to do things differently, and with the technology we have at our fingertips there’s no reason why the nature of the workforce can’t change for good in the years ahead.
More of us could work from the beach, the mountains, or whoever we choose – and the pandemic seems to have hastened this process.
Ryan Bembridge, Editor, PropertyWire
