During the pandemic, the explosion of information technology has fueled a new migration from the office to work from home (WFH).
While the rest of the world partially bemoans working from home, most IT professionals have been reveling in it. For years, they have known that they could adjust staff computers from their desk, do their job uninterrupted, and make more progress if they worked from home. Now, most of them have the track record to prove it.
The truth is that nobody really likes the office, but especially not the IT staff. If you were interrupted 15 times a day by someone who hadn’t plugged in their PC, you’d be kind of frustrated, too. Staying at home is the obvious solution for those who crave peace of work. It’s convincing them to come back to the office. That’s the hard part.
IT Staff Are Taking Pay Cuts to Work from Home
It’s true. One of the world leaders in IT employment, Google, has suggested giving staff who work from home a pay cut as much as a quarter of their salary. A 25% pay cut seems harsh, but the amount of work they can do is more minor. Why? Because you can’t go and plug Karen’s computer in for her. If you’re not physically present, you can’t try to fix broken laptops or machinery. You can only do the parts of the job that can be done remotely.
What do they get in return? They can work from anywhere. They cut out the commute and the commute costs. They can enjoy their own home and surroundings while working, and there is less pressure to have close management.
In another opinion, the Financial Times says that cutting pay is a risky move. Employees that work remotely are already disengaged by comparison to their in-office fellows. If you push them any farther away, they will seek remote work elsewhere.
What do the workers themselves have to say about this? They feel that cutting their pay because they work from home is the same as telling them that they are less valuable. It might be that you are disabled, infirm, or injured, and WFH lets you still take part in an otherwise tricky role – and now you are being paid less for it? You can understand the frustration.
Where to Find Remote IT Jobs?
If you are looking for work, be sure to check a niche technology job board like icrunchdata, one of the best IT job boards. They can give you a good overview of remote work near you. On the other hand, remote work doesn’t have to be near you, as long as you log in.
Some other employers besides Google who are offering minor roles include:
- Shopify
- Coinbase
- Amazon
- Adobe
- Nationwide Insurance
- Quora
- Slack
- Siemens
- Spotify
And plenty of others.
What’s Next for the Future of the Workplace?
As more of us are now used to working from home, we can expect two things to happen. It could become normal now for certain companies to do so, or it could be generational. It might be that by the time Gen Z are grandparents, WFH has dissolved into the past.
