These days, the technology is going through a crisis like never before, caused by virus
COVID–19, widely known as novel (new) coronavirus. We don't understand much about how is this going to play out but we can talk about what it means from the perspective of a tech company representative!
On March 11 th , 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared coronavirus a pandemic. This caused shock, fear, and as the numbers of people who are infected and those who lost the battle with the infection continued to rise, we started seeing a lot of changes.
Governments all over the world began introducing social distancing, closing restaurants, bars, companies, and finally, the borders. They are imposing a state of emergency and restricting movements, among other measures taken.
Some people went in a state of complete panic about their lives and the lives of their loved ones. Others — about the idea to never be able to travel for some weeks or even months. Couples in long-distance relationships are panicking about not seeing their lovers for a long time. And some people started to worry about their jobs seriously.
There are many open questions and many things we could discuss, but we are going to focus on one, and that is how all this can impact the labor market.
A lot of companies, including tech company representatives, were forced to reorganize their work and to switch to WFH tech. Wait, what is it? You may ask. Guess – we are talking about Work From Home technology that now even has the acronym WFH.
Changes that we have to go through are the least unusual and, for many, quite challenging. However, people now have to adjust to new ways of living and rely on the role of technology to make transitions smooth. And we can hope that this will pass as quickly as it occurred.
Experts are saying that we will need to wait longer for the vaccine, up to 18 months. But while we are waiting for them to find some solution for the crisis and life to come back to normal, we need different kinds of distractions. For example, some people like to play online casino games like a treasure hunt to feel more relaxed.
List of WFH Technology Companies
1. Singapore FinTech Association is one of the first to introduce this model. In February this year, the Ministry of Health in Singapore was insisting on the importance of canceling all significant meetings and events. At the same time, this association was planning to hold a large conference with about 300 participants. They felt that the work could be postponed and was thinking of how to solve the situation – conduct the meeting while following health and safety regulations.
The decision was to move everything to Zoom. They made it despite worries that the platform isn´t designed for so many people. They managed to organize it flawlessly and received excellent reviews.
2. Facebook has also advised thousands of its employees to work from home. This especially counts for those whose immune system is weakened or are living with someone who is at risk: pregnant women, older adults, etc.
3. Apple did the same thing and instructed people to stay and work from home.
4. Google also ordered its staff, mainly working in the San Francisco Bay Area, to work from home.
Most of their workers are based in the USA, Mexico, and Canada.
5. Another tech company that applied the same measures is Microsoft.
Surveys show that as much as about 70% of people working for Apple and approximately 30% of Google employees have been working strictly from home since last week. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) advises these measures in an attempt to stop spreading the contagion.
Tech companies, and particularly those somehow connected to internet technology, are surely better equipped and prepared for this kind of situation. Nevertheless, many other organizations are following the same examples and instructing
the staff to stay at home.
Conclusion
Times we are living in are like that – there is always some adjustment you have to make. A lot of things are uncertain to a lesser or more significant extent, and we have to find ways to deal with situations that arrive. This is one of those periods. Hopefully, doctors and researchers will find a sustainable solution for this situation caused by COVID–19, and things come back to normal sooner rather than later. Do you know any organization, not a tech company, that advised employees to work from home?
