The Covid-19 pandemic and the shift to remote work

From remote work to widespread job losses, the Covid-19 pandemic dramatically changed the way people work. These interruptions are likely to have a significant impact on the labour market well into the future. In a briefing from June 2021, the UN said that many emerging markets in particular were experiencing a “full-blown unemployment crisis” that was exacerbating existing economic disparities.

Rise of Remote Work

One of the most prominent changes to come out of the pandemic was the shift to remote work. Before the pandemic it was estimated that around 10% of the global workforce worked remotely, a figure that rose to as much as two-thirds in some regions after the onset of Covid-19. While remote work was initially necessary to comply with government measures, the loosening of restrictions raised important questions about optimal practices for companies and staff alike.

Many employees experienced the benefits of flexible work arrangements, particularly with regards to shorter or eliminated commute times, the ability to meet family commitments and other general lifestyle factors. Although some companies have sought to bring their staff back into traditional office settings, others have been looking to implement alternative models on a permanent basis. For example, in June 2021 global consultancy Deloitte gave its UK workforce the option to work from home permanently, while multinational tech giants such as Airbnb and Spotify have announced “work from anywhere” policies in the wake of the pandemic. Other companies – like Ford, Google and Microsoft – have begun implementing hybrid models featuring a combination of office-based and remote work.

Challenges

While such options are popular in developed economies, there are specific challenges in emerging markets. In countries like Oman, for example, where an average household consists of eight people, many may not have access to adequate workspace at home, and others have to deal with infrastructure limitations, such as slow internet speeds, that make working remotely difficult.

Gulf Context

All GCC countries went through enforced work-from-home periods during the pandemic, as governments imposed restrictions on business operations and public mobility in an effort to curb the spread of the virus. Prior to the pandemic remote work was not a common practice: indeed, 12% of businesses in the region had some sort of work-from-home policy in place prior to the outbreak of Covid-19. In early March 2020 – shortly before the global pandemic was declared – a survey by regional employment portal GulfTalent of 1600 executives across the GCC found Bahraini companies were the most prepared for remote work, with 38% of business leaders in the kingdom reporting that they had or were planning remote-work strategies amid the rising health threat.

In a sign of how significantly the pandemic-related disruption altered workplace dynamics and employee preferences in the region, approximately 90% of 1050 workers in the UAE surveyed by US-based tech giant Cisco in May 2022 said that they preferred either in a hybrid or fully remote working model in the future, while 83% of companies said they were supportive of hybrid work practices.

Since the start of the pandemic the UAE has taken regulatory steps to attract remote workers from overseas. In March 2021 the country launched a remote work visa that allows foreigners to enter the UAE under self-sponsorship for up to one year and work remotely for employers based outside the country. Moves such as this underline how the trend towards remote work is opening up new opportunities to attract international talent to emerging markets, while also providing greater levels of flexibility to workers seeking opportunities that are not necessarily limited by geographic boundaries.