Are You Working More at Night Now? You Are Not Alone

How are you adjusting to the new normal? 

With 95% of the U.S. population under a “stay at home” order, everything is far from what normal used to be. Along with the move to work at home when possible and curb side food pickup is the shift in how we are getting work done. 

According to some recent COVID working habits data from CloudApp, a visual collaboration company that lets you capture and share videos, screenshots, and GIFs instantly on your computer, the ol’ 9-5 is now a lot more complicated. 

Video communication and collaboration is up 

Office workers are looking to video and visuals to replace the face to face time they were accustomed to. Video usage by businesses has grown nearly 3x since COVID-19 orders started rolling out in Mid-March. 

Real time and asynchronous video was already rising along with the remote work population, but forcing everyone into it has poured gas on the fire. Other collaboration tools like Slack and Zoom have also seen a boost. 

Data released by Quora shows an 844% increase in engagement with video conferencing tools, questions on its site. The shift to virtual work will lead to stronger playbooks from businesses and create an ability to get work done more asynchronous and with less meetings. 

Work has replaced the morning commute

It doesn’t seem feasible that only a month ago every metro area in the world had a problem with traffic and long commutes. According to a recent study, the average New Yorker commuted 57 minutes a day. What are people doing with this new found time?

The report from CloudApp shows that a bunch of these people are working. Since March 13th, there has been a more than 2x increase in communication and collaboration during the typical morning commute.

This shift could also be a way for people to compensate for increased attention needed for homeschooling kids, taking care of pets, or working around roommates. 

Office workers are also burning the midnight oil more with a more than 2x increase in collaboration after business hours. Lack of entertainment has led to a focus on doing work while watching the latest episode of Tiger King. 

Videos are longer 

Along with more videos being created, people are also making longer videos. A nearly 1.5x increase in length shows people are trying to communicate more clearly and connect visually.  

Meetings may also be on the decline as people have less flexibility in their days causing the need to produce asynchronous content other than a long email. 

Implications

The Quarantine of 2020 has forced people to stay home and stay safe to prevent the spread of COVID-19. This has led to a need to innovate or die when it comes to businesses. We know that remote was already growing, with >50% of younger generations choosing the remote life. The quarantine has pushed businesses to find ways to support remote workers and connect the company through external means. 

Could we see more people choosing to work remote after all of this? 

The current circumstances are far from normal for even seasoned remote workers. However, the flexibility it provides could be enticing. Office workers all over the world have found ways to build remote skills and connection playbooks over the last month. With the old normal appearing to be pretty far from now, those skills will only increase. 

This event could change how both workers and businesses look at remote. Small companies may decide to eliminate large monthly rent payments. Office workers may choose to skip the stress of a commute and traffic for the comfort of home. 

Companies forced into remote work

On the surface we see Zoom lunches, engaging virtual events , team happy hours, but behind the scenes if may be a bit different. 

Companies who were not remote first or comfortable with video conferencing or messaging may be having a hard time keeping the culture together. Its a steep learning curve teaching a company how to Zoom or communicate with Slack, manage Calendars with Calendar.com, or create asynchronous videos with CloudApp, but its one that everyone is figuring out on the job. 

The world we live in has completely changed in a matter of weeks. We are working odd hours, being forced into combining our home and work lives, and looking for new ways to connect with each other. It may not be an easy course, but as we stay home and stay safe its one that will make everyone a stronger remote worker and supporter when it’s all over. 

John Rampton is an entrepreneur, investor, and startup enthusiast. He is a founder of the calendar productivity tool Calendar. You can sign up for early access to Calendar here!

This article originally appeared on Thrive Global.