Remote work arrangements likely to stay —LinkedIn study

Remote work arrangements will likely be adopted by companies in one way or another moving forward from the COVID-19 pandemic, a study commissioned by professional network portal LinkedIn revealed.

According to the Future of Talent report released by LinkedIn, organizations see a permanent shift in the traditional workforce structure after remote work arrangements were accommodated since last year amid the virus spread that kept people in their homes.

"Companies have not only grown accustomed to remote working but have also started warming up to the idea of relying on a remote workforce well into the future -- particularly large organizations," it said.

It noted, however, that organizations across all markets still feel there are barriers to overcome to ensure that employees can work remotely successfully.

"As a result, the majority of companies are not confident allowing their employees to work from home completely," according to the study.

Some 76% of companies seek to maintain certain days for remote work and certain days for in-office work, while 73% still wish to retain some physical office spaces.

Almost half of the companies involved in the study believe that the ideal split of work-from-home and office workers should be 59% employees in the office, and 41% of employees working remotely.

Traditional certifications out, skills in

The same study found that 79% of companies now look for skills when hiring, while only 21% still look for experience and education.

Companies are now seeking to hire candidates with specialized skill sets instead of paper qualifications, a trend seen before the pandemic but has become more evident amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Among the top skills sought are involved in communication, strategic thinking, ability to work in teams, and problem solving. Likewise, the top skills required for newly created roles due to COVID-19 are adaptability, problem solving, and the ability to work in teams.

"These days, it matters less that the talent has the traditional qualifications or industry experience," LinkedIn Vice President Feon Ang said in a separate statement.

"Going forward, we can expect to see a skills-based economy take shape, with skills becoming the new currency for workers in the future of work. I encourage all individuals to adopt a growth mindset and keep learning to stay relevant," added Ang.

The LinkedIn-commissioned study took into consideration a 20-minute online survey conducted with over 3,500 respondents from small, medium, and large enterprises across the Asia Pacific region. Respondents came from Australia, China, India, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore.

Responses were sought from HR personnel, senior-level hiring managers, or top management from industries such as software and IT services, corporate services, manufacturing, consumer goods, construction, finance, education, retail, healthcare, transportation and logistics, agriculture, recreation and travel, public administration, hardware, and networking.

According to the latest data available from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), there were 4.2 million jobless Filipinos as of February.—LDF, GMA News