[COVID-19 Transformation] Office Computer Off, Home Computer On... The Barrier of Work Systems Has Been Broken

Impact of COVID-19, Increase in Remote and Work-from-Home
Companies Analyze Pros and Cons to Find Solutions
Saving Commute Time, Improving Efficiency
Integration with 4th Industrial Revolution... Into Daily Life
Homeconomy and Untact Industries Also on the Rise

Futurist Alvin Toffler predicted a new future in his 1980 book "The Third Wave." He stated, "In the information age, the household will strengthen its economic, medical, educational, and social functions, becoming the central unit in future society and securing astonishing new importance." Forty years later, in 2020, Toffler's prediction became reality. The COVID-19 pandemic completely transformed our lives. Companies, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, introduced telecommuting and remote work to accommodate untact (contactless) practices. The telecommuting triggered by COVID-19 has shown the possibility of becoming a permanent work system. It is still difficult to predict the world that telecommuting will create. However, it is clear that corporate culture has experienced a massive wave of change ahead of the post-COVID era.

[Asia Economy Reporters Yoo In-ho and Moon Je-won] Mr. A, an employee at a large corporation, marked his 100th day of telecommuting at the end of last month. His daily routine has changed 180 degrees compared to before. He wakes up at 8 a.m., enjoys a cup of coffee, and opens his laptop at 8:30 a.m., the start of his work hours. Meetings are held via webcam video calls. He receives major work instructions from his team leader and begins his tasks. Working alone in his study has improved his concentration. He honestly feels it would be hard to go back to the way things were 100 days ago. Mr. A said, "The 100 days of telecommuting was a good experience. I was able to improve work-life balance by saving unnecessary commuting time and increase efficiency by reducing unnecessary tasks." The company is also considering adopting telecommuting as a permanent work system based on this experience.

Domestic companies are undergoing a major transformation of work systems such as telecommuting and remote work to prepare for the post-COVID era. Telecommuting, which started unexpectedly due to COVID-19, has become established as a permanent work system. Companies are attempting a radical transformation of corporate culture and systems, including recruitment, personnel evaluation systems, and cloud capabilities. Additionally, companies are promoting changes in industrial structures such as the 'homeconomy' (economic consumption activities conducted at home) due to the establishment of untact culture in society.

◆Telecommuting Becomes Routine= One of the changes brought by COVID-19 is the spread of telecommuting. When the strict response of "workplace closure upon confirmed cases" was implemented, companies quickly began choosing telecommuting and remote work. However, since it was an involuntary situation, most companies struggled with changes in work methods without much preparation. The use of video conferencing and collaboration tools has greatly increased, and companies have experienced trial and error in applying related technologies such as virtual private networks (VPN) and desktop virtualization (VDI).

Companies are reviewing the pros and cons gained from 100 days of involuntary telecommuting from various angles and are preparing detailed policies to promote regular telecommuting. Various plans suited to work characteristics, such as rotational telecommuting, are being discussed. Companies plan to activate remote meetings, video conferences, and mobile offices immediately.

Experts also agree that companies will choose telecommuting if there are no significant problems with productivity and costs. Professor Lim Chae-woon of Sogang University's Department of Business Administration said, "COVID-19 broke down the wall of uniform work systems. Previously, telecommuting was only done in very exceptional cases. After this experiment, there seems to be a perception that it is acceptable." He added, "Since we cannot go back to the old ways, we will move toward a hybrid system that combines telecommuting."

◆Homeconomy and Untact Industries Rise= Companies are focusing on products and services with rapidly increasing demand due to the spread of telecommuting and are quickly developing products and services that can respond to market conditions. Social distancing emphasized by COVID-19 has made the 'home' the center of all life. People do everything at home?work, study, play, and consume. The so-called 'homeconomy,' where economic activities take place inside the home, is booming. The Federation of Korean Industries surveyed 36 securities research center heads and venture capitalists about promising industries in the post-COVID era and found that the bio-healthcare sector (including telemedicine) and other telecommuting-related industries were viewed as the most promising (31.9%).

Education and office sectors (remote education, untact offices, etc.) were also seen as promising at 19.4%. The Federation particularly highlighted the rise of 'TECHNOLOGY' in the post-COVID era. The keyword 'TECHNOLOGY' refers to Transport & Mobility, Edu-tech, Cloud, Healthcare, Network, O2O (online-to-offline), Logistics, Operational Tech (manufacturing technology), Green Industry, and YOLO Biz (content).

Yoo Hwan-ik, head of corporate policy at the Federation of Korean Industries, said, "After COVID-19, the Fourth Industrial Revolution is naturally permeating industries and daily life," adding, "Companies must innovate the industrial structure in response to the spread of telecommuting."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.