As 2020 rolled around, rumors that people in Wuhan, China were getting sick and dying from some sort of new infectious disease was spreading as fast as the virus itself. Before the worldwide pandemic began to fizzle, almost 107 million Americans had contracted Covid-19 and and 1.2 million, sadly, lost their lives. 

The American workforce also lost something…the will to commute to the office. According to one economist, even though the pandemic is officially over the USA, ¼ of workers have no desire to continue working remotely from home. Period. They want the tools and teamwork, are better able to focus on work without the distractions of home life, and really love being in-person. 

This is good news for the bosses and owners who understand that workplace dynamics encourage socialization and community building, which in turn builds better teams and produces higher output. Plus there are the considerations of the investment in millions of square feet of office space in downtowns and office centers in places like Cincinnati, and the complication of measuring productivity and ROI of remote workers.

Small businesses, like those we service, for the most part, have returned to pre-pandemic work routines earlier than the large corporations. The New York Times reported that in March of 2023, 12 percent of U.S. workers were still fully remote, about 60 percent were fully in office, and 28 percent were in a hybrid custom arrangement.

Remote workers are especially valuable in technology, marketing, accounting/finance, project management, medical/health, recruiting, and customer service. If you or someone you know is looking for a “remote worker” position in the Cincinnati area, check out Built In, the online community for startups and tech companies.