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The typical office environment has remained basically unchanged for decades — until now. As a result of the cataclysmic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the office environment of the future will now undergo a series of drastic changes. Many are guessing what those changes will entail, but nothing is guaranteed. What is certain is that some form of hybrid office structure will become the new normal. 

Prior to the pandemic, some companies allowed employees to work remotely. Now, an increasing number of companies have found numerous benefits in remote work arrangements, and many plan to keep this form of teleworking in place. Remote tools have allowed work to continue during the health crisis, but they cannot replace human interaction to solve problems, develop relationships, perform training, and create ideas. 

What will this hybrid office structure look like moving forward? We believe it will combine the traditional office environment with the remote workforce. Accordingly, companies will face some of the challenges below. 

Having a hard time staying productive? We found some effective ways to help you through these times.

Reopening your company's IT operations after the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns will be anything but business as usual. As the director of IT for your company, it is up to you to formulate a reopening strategy that re-establishes operations and re-instills confidence in your workforce. Here’s a detailed checklist to help you get started. 

While the COVID-19 pandemic has had numerous detrimental effects on people and the economy, there have been some positive results as well. One of these is that many people have been afforded the chance to work from home. This has turned out to be a boon for businesses as well as employees. 

The Brookings Institute reports that, “Up to half of American workers are currently working from home, more than double the fraction who worked from home (at least occasionally) in 2017-18.” Furthermore, Forbes reported a Gartner survey about this phenomenon, known as ‘telecommuting,’ that indicated as much as 20% of the workforce of those surveyed will continue telecommuting long-term. 

But even for those growing accustomed to working from home, a steady routine is vital to keep you on track. Here are some vital factors to maintaining a steady, productive routine as you work from home. 

Many people throughout the global workforce are adjusting to working from home, especially since it seems to be the new normal for the foreseeable future. As we all adapt and utilize tools, manage usage with others, and do our best to maintain security, many have encountered some issues.

These can include: 

• Home Internet services are not typically built for the type of workload that may be needed. 
• They also don’t have the security protocols that office work environments enjoy. 
• Video streaming and conferencing is way up, and these are big taxes on bandwidth. 
• Additionally, there may be many people doin
  g these types of streams at the same time in one household now (both spouses working from home, plus kids at home doing educational or recreational activities online). 

What are some best practices to ensure your remote workforce stays connected to the Internet and your business network? As the new normal continues to become our reality, here are some practical steps you can take to enhance your work-from-home arrangement.