It should be obvious that what matters for businesses are outcomes, not inputs and activities: the financial bottom line (despite other stakeholder interests). Jobs, highly-desired quality products, sustainable environmental operations, employee benefits, contributions to economic vitality and other desirable outcomes cannot be obtained unless firms are sustainable financially.
Also, some firms have a business model that benefits from remote work. Cloud services providers, PC manufacturers, connectivity companies generally and software firms whose products enhance remote work provide examples.
So maybe we should not be surprised that Dell Technologies argues “COVID-19 has made one thing clear to us: work is something you do, an outcome, not a place or a time,” says Jeff Clarke, Dell Technologies COO.
While the pandemic didn't start the remote work trend--it has been growing for 40 years, Covid-19 has shown its value, and almost certainly accelerates the trend.
“Here at Dell, we expect, on an ongoing basis, that 60 percent of our workforce will stay remote or have a hybrid schedule where they work from home mostly and come into the office one or two days a week,” says Clarke.
Such proclamations tend to convince observers that demand for other products, ranging from airline tickets to hotel stays, must inevitably suffer. And, to be sure, some period of lower demand likely will occur.
But high tech drives high touch. virtual also drives more demand for face-to-face interactions. That is a 40-year trend. This perhaps matters most for business-to-business sales professionals, who must establish trust with potential new clients. Eventually, when there is no medical bar to doing so, a renewed push for face-to-face contact will reassert itself, even if--and because of--high tech virtual replacements.
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