Will working online/working from home eventually become a majority over "conventional" jobs?

[tgoode119]

With the continuous growth of the internet and ways to make money with it, will people one day be working online more than offline jobs such as construction, etc? That's not to say that these jobs will disappear because, of course, we will always need them. I'm curious if they'll ever fall behind in numbers in comparison to internet jobs.

[rikemich823]

Being from San Francisco, I feel like I am beginning to see this as a growing trend. However, it doesn't really work for me personally. Also, I think that you may see things get closer to 50/50 in some of the larger tech hubs, but more rural areas (or even just smaller cities) could struggle to get to this point. There is also no replacement for in-person interaction - even with more video conferencing platforms coming out - so sales positions will likely continue to be in-office

[SarahLGlover]

Honestly? I hope so.

I’m a stay at home mom, so I’m speaking from that community. I know there are a large number of us who are conflicted over what we feel is what we need or want to do with our children, and the fact that life sometimes require two incomes, or even one if it’s a single parent household. So if there were more options for work at home jobs, we would be able to solve our issue and earn from home, without worrying about being caught in a scam.

[bluemoon]

The internet is changing how many of us work.

The company I work for has allowed employees to work remotely for several years now. We are only required to be on site for meetings and client visits.  

I don’t know if online/remote working will ever outpace jobs requiring working on site (conventional jobs). There are many jobs that cannot be done remotely: medical professionals, auto mechanics, construction works, store clerks, hair stylists, and many more.

While a good number of people like working on computers and/or online, there are a lot of people who do not and would prefer jobs that require working at the office or jobsite.

It’s good that people have different ambitions, talents and likes. If we all worked online, our society would fall apart.

[mesi.asf]

Considering the global response on COVID-19, I am partially convinced that one day, remote working will leave conventional jobs far behind. Five months pf pandemic and quarantine, and what do you see? All the schooling systems have been shifted to Google Meet and Zoom. Almost every brick and mortar store has switched to online store now. Net banking has taken over the cash flow. An obvious example can be seen in China where people use WeChat Pay and AliBaba more than cash. Machines and modern technologies have decreased the demand of labor. Foreseeing the growing technologies, soon robots will outpace labor force. 

Yet 2020 is welcoming 5G (Fifth Generation Technology)...

[Claraviolet_Sama]

I have been working from home for close to seven months now. Usually this is not allowed as I belong to a ODC center and even the entry and exit is noted strictly, for my ODC. Due to this pandemic, everything had come down to remote connectivity. Still, I believe working in an office environment is better and it just can't be compared to connecting remotely.

You will be able to interact with others easily and you don't see that in WFH(working from home). Anyway, I am sure in my IT field WFH will be prevalent in the near future.

[MrWiggins]

While it is a possibility, I do not think that remote/work from home jobs will become a majority over conventional jobs. Why? Simply because conventional jobs tend to be more stable and more of a necessity. While this may be the case, work from home jobs will increase in popularity as time passes and be a great supplement to conventional employment.

[NMNKING]

I am an educator and just returned to work in the building today for the first time in 352 days.  I hope that we stay in session.  I find it really difficult to work from home.  There are so many things pulling at me.  I find it difficult to stay on task when there is laundry to do, dishes to wash and pets to take care of.  While I did enjoy my time off with my children and I know I will complain soon about being back at work I am thankful to have a reason to get dressed and do my hair again.

[larswriter]

It's possible. But, I think the transition will be slow since most businesses prefer having their employees in a place where they can personally see and supervise them. If more employers will consider the expenses they can save--rent, electricity, internet, transportation allowances, and so on, more employees will have the opportunity to enjoy working from home.