Half of work force to work remotely by 2020: academics

With more than half of the workforce to work remotely by 2020, 'out of office' will soon become a normal affair, according to a group of academics.
The group including executives, entrepreneurs and business academics who attended a London Business School Global Leadership Summit organised in collaboration with a private professional services firm debated the impact of technology on each stream from the creation of a 'new teenager' to the office pecking order.
During the debate 34 per cent responded that their company's full-time workforce would be working remotely by 2020 and 25 per cent said more than three-quarters would not work in a traditional office.

"Technology and some fundamental shifts in management thinking are behind this response," said Adam Kingl, Director of Learning Solutions of London Business School .
"Leaders are learning how to enable their teams to flourish, and there is a recognition that the notion of a traditional 9-5, Monday-Friday, commute-to-the-office job is quickly eroding. There is though, an equally strong case for bringing teams together on a regular basis to inspire and to share," Kingl said.
Innovation is held to be a critical factor for success in business and the Summit included thought on how technology promotes fresh ideas and new approaches.

In a reaction to a question on the biggest threat to innovation in the corporate world, nearly half of the members responded that career structures that failed to encourage innovators were the biggest block and the second biggest threat was regulatory burden and bureaucracy.

They also said their company should spend 5 per cent or less of annual profits on big data analysis.
London Business School Professor Julian Birkinshaw said, "This is a surprising finding. I think it reflects a lack of clear understanding of what exactly "big data" analysis offers to companies".
"The implication is that there is still a lot of scope for progressive companies to gain competitive advantage from capturing and making sense of data about their customers and their buying habits," he added.