‘Businesses Need to Boost Hybrid Working’ Following UK Strikes – GoTo

Remote work has become a business imperative, and people need to be able to work from anywhere, according to Paul Carolan, AVP of Sales EMEA, GoTo.

• GoTo Aims to Drive Productivity with Connect Updates

• GoTo says ‘Flexibility is Integral’ to How Businesses Should Operate.

• GoTo Unveils ‘The Essentials’ Bundle

Carolan made the comments on what was dubbed in the UK media as ‘Tragic Thursday’ due to an estimated 10 per cent of trains running across the country.

The lack of running trains was caused by ongoing strike action within the UK’s rail industry, meaning millions of commuters struggled to get to work.

As a result, GoTo states that businesses must provide IT support to boost hybrid working within their organisations.

Carolan commented:

“The cost-of-living crisis, economic volatility, and ongoing train strike action all go to show just how unpredictable the world can be.

“To accommodate this, remote work has become a business imperative: people need to be able to work from anywhere.

“However, while the flexibility of remote and hybrid work models offers a range of benefits, it does also pose some new challenges.

“For instance, employees scattered around the country and even the world can no longer swing by the IT desk when they encounter a technology problem.

“This can cause delays in business operations which ultimately impacts the bottom line. ”

GoTo says that because of the likelihood of future industrial action, businesses will need to prepare their IT departments to help remote employees should they have any technical problems.

Carolan added: “IT departments have had to evolve to meet the new demands of IT management and support in a scattered workforce.

“In many cases, that means investing in a consolidated platform capable of remotely supporting help desk requests, device management, and camera-sharing capabilities so IT teams can troubleshoot technology problems in the physical world that would otherwise be impossible when working remotely.

“With more disruptions like this week’s strike no doubt on the horizon, access to consolidated remote support and guidance on IT issues is becoming a vital tool in the work-from-anywhere world.”

In September last year, GoTo stated that the UK would see the rise of the ‘work from anywhere trend’ as the cost-of-living crisis develops.

The comments were made by Sion Lewis, GM EMEA at GoTo, following reports in The Telegraph that “employees would need to earn £900 more a year to afford working from home” as the cap on gas and electricity bills rose.

Lewis said: “The cost-of-living crisis in the UK is forcing people to weigh the pros and cons of working from home versus spending more time in the office.

“Many are expecting a mass return to the office, with predictions that home working could increase bills by a staggering £2,500.”

GoTo also highlighted that employees might not return to the office, but instead of working from home, they may choose to work in other locations, such as libraries or coffee shops.