It's pretty clear that the work-from-home movement is here to stay: globally, 70% of professionals work remotely at least some of the time and, according to a recent study, 30% of U.S. workers work remotely full time!
Given that remote work benefits women, and boosts employees' productivity, happiness, and engagement, it's easy to see why it's caught on.
What's less clear is what remote work will look like 5 years from now.
At present, remote work is associated with coffee shops, Slack messages, and Zoom Calls, but that image may soon be replaced with a much more Star-Wars-esque one: holograms. Lots of holograms.
Why?
5G is coming. (Actually it's already here, just in limited locations.)
As authors Omar Abbosh and Paul Nunes explain in their recent Quartz article, "Fifth-generation (5G) communications networks, with their exponentially faster connection speeds, capacity, and communication response times (known as latency), will make possible an astonishing range of innovative new products and services."
5G will make virtual reality (VR) an indispensable part of our day-to-day realities, as Extended Reality (or XR) becomes the status quo.
What does this all mean? And why does it matter?
If you're as tech-challenged as I am, it might be hard to imagine why this is such a big deal. But the speed of fifth-generation communications means that our physical and digital worlds will merge in ways most of us can't fathom.
Picture working from home and being able to interact with an exact digital replica of everything that exists in your physical office. You could attend meetings all over the world, even visit store locations to not just see, but feel products.
As Abbosh and Nunes explain, "Doctors can even assist with surgeries in faraway hospitals, operating remotely using immersive 3D holograms beamed right into their homes or offices."
Woking from home will no longer be restricted to jobs that rely solely on brain power and an internet connection. 5G and XR will enable jobs that require a physical presence to be done remotely as well.
Abbosh and Nunes said it best:
"In other words: While basic internet access allowed work to be done remotely, XR and 5G will allow work to be done truly virtually."
To learn more about how 5G technology will impact the future of work, read the full article here.
And if you're ready to join the remote workforce at present, be sure to check out these open roles.
