< PreviousBy Gavin Gibbon As businesses gradually start to welcome back employees, could the Covid-19 pandemic leave a lasting impression on how companies, and staff members, operate going forward? WORKING FROM HOME – THE NEW NORM?22 Vol. 21/10, May 2020 u Employees are facing a different work environment post the coronavirus pandemic in which remote working becomes the norm S L OCKDO WN RESTRICTIONS gradually ease, the wheels of industry are not so much turning again, but being given a helping hand akin to stabilisers, as the world slowly, very slowly, edges back to normality. Shopping malls have reopened, albeit to a 30 percent capacity limit for now; and restaurants are serv- ing customers again, also within the parameters of social distancing. Coro- navirus hasn’t gone away, for sure, but governments are starting to look beyond Covid-19, picking through the pieces of a shattered global economy. A FEATURE / REMOTE WORKING operating from home. For most, over the last two months, the ‘office’ has been an assembled place in the dining room, a desk in the spare bedroom or a spot at the kitchen table. Suits and ties have given way to shorts and T-shirts; and the commute to work has been replaced by the walk back and forth from the fridge. However, part of the easing of restric- tions includes the potential to go back to work – under strict instructions, including temperature checks, social distancing – desks six-feet apart – and huge, consistent forms of sterilisation. It remains to be seen how many will return to their workplace immediately, A large part of that is the physical return to work. From March 29, government entities moved to a 100 percent remote work system following guidance issued by Dubai Executive Council, while private sector entities were ordered to have at least 80 percent of their workforce 62 million The number of downloads recorded by video conferencing apps in March due to Covid-19arabianbusiness.com 23 / REMOTE WORKING lem or have an important discussion, the default is to get the relevant people together in the same room. The coro- navirus (Covid-19) outbreak has funda- mentally challenged this way of working, from companies imposing travel restric- tions on their employees or limiting the size of meetings, to workers self-isolating after returning from affected regions.” Big companies leading the way Google has become the latest tech giant to allow employees to work from home until the end of 2020, following similar announcements from Google u Jeff Youssef, partner – Public Sector at management consulting fi rm Oliver Wyman but according to Jeff Youssef, part- ner – Public Sector, at Oliver Wyman, remote working could be adopted more widely in the economic recov- ery period and even on a sustained basis, as it provides cost efficiencies to businesses in terms of office space and greater time efficiency, removing the aforementioned commuting time. “These cost benefits will help funda- mentally soften the impact of the pandemic on businesses when the economic upturn begins,” he says. Youssef adds: “When an organisa- tion wants to tackle a complex prob- u Michael Armstrong, FCA and ICAEW regional director for MEASA “The demand for greater fl exibility is on the rise, and it will form a cornerstone of successful future businesses” and Slack, who said regular office work may not return to normal until after the summer months. It was the swift implementation of work-from-home policies by tech companies in Silicon Valley and Seat- tle that has been largely credited with the less severe number of cases unlike across the rest of the United States. According to the 2019 Global Work- space Survey from IWG, 50 percent of global employees work outside their office’s main headquarters for at least two-and-a-half days a week. It also revealed that when faced with two similar employment offers, 80 percent of employees would turn down the one that didn’t offer flexible working. Michael Armstrong, FCA and ICAEW regional director for the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA), says: “The demand for greater flexibility is on the rise, and it will form a corner- stone of successful future businesses. 24 Vol. 21/10, May 2020 FEATURE / REMOTE WORKING lenging work, interesting work, they want fulfilling work. “I don’t think people want the routine and I don’t think you retain your people when you give them that kind of work. They just leave and go somewhere else. And if you’re in a competitive market and a war for talent, you lose. You lose if you’re not offering people a different working experience.” One aspect which has certainly helped those working from home has been the technology available. In March, the UAE lifted restric- tions on some programmes that allow voice calls over the internet, includ- ing Microsoft Skype for Business and Google Hang Out, to help people work- ing from home. While UAE telco, Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC) – also known as Du – revealed a 200 percent increase in its video streaming services, including video communica- tions app Zoom, since the onset of the coronavirus outbreak. CEO John Dennelind tells Arabian Business: “It’s [Zoom] one of the plat- forms that’s included in our collabora- tion tools and it’s also used by some of the schools. Some use the others that we have on the network that are now open and they are all contributing to an effective way of distance learning and distant collaboration. “I think we have a lot of choices out there and we cover a big need for the industry and the initiatives around distance learning.” However, while the benefits of remote working are obvious, and initially there was very little choice on whether to work from home or not, there are concerns over potential isolation and resultant mental health issues. Millicent Clarke, regional head of human resources, Standard Char- tered AME, says: “In times of change u Several companies around the world have urged their staff to work from home due to the pandemic, including those operating in the GCC Getting it right can transform company culture, breeding high-trust relation- ships and high-performing employees, which ultimately translates into a posi- tive impact on the bottom line.” Working from home is nothing new for global outfit PwC, which has employed the new way of working for several years as part of a shift in atti- tudes towards daily working routines. Flexible working is seen as a way of empowering staff and retaining the best talent. Hani Ashkar, PwC Middle East terri- tory senior partner, tells Arabian Busi- ness: “I think most people in the region are starting to realise that the old way of doing things isn’t going to be the way of doing things going forward. “People want to work in a different way. They don’t want to work in exactly the same way. I think people want to work more flexibly and I think they want to work in a more digital way, in a more efficient way. They want to use the latest tools and technologies. They want to work in teams, they want to work in diverse teams, they want chal- 300 million The estimated number of daily users of Zoom meeting app worldwide “In times of change and uncertainty, your staff’s safety and wellbeing should continuously be taken into consideration”arabianbusiness.com 25 u Experts suggest employers should seriously start to consider the post Covid-19 reality and plan for successful adaptation / REMOTE WORKING and uncertainty, your staff’s safety and wellbeing should continuously be taken into consideration. For some employees, remote working, as well as the uncertainty of the situation, may bring about feelings of stress, anxiety and unease. “Besides the negative impact this will have on your business, this may take a lasting toll on your staff’s emotional wellbeing. In turn, it is crucial to prior- itise empathetic thinking when deal- ing with employees and aiding in the combat of their mental health issues.” Nuno Gomes, head of career at Mercer MENAT, adds: “Although work- ing from home allows for employees to spend more time with their families, it often becomes difficult to differentiate between working hours and personal time when an employee is spending the entire day in the same location. “For those who live alone, feelings of isolation may arise – often times resulting in reduced creativity and disengagement from the wider team.” As a result, she believes most will welcome a return to the office, when allowed to do so. “The human touch is still vital to many businesses and functions, particularly in the Middle East, which is why I do not see this becoming the norm,” he says. “There will be an increased appre- ciation for the merits and benefits of remote working, augmenting the effectiveness of humans at work. However, it will not completely replace the need and efficiency of human inter- action. The future is human, digitally empowered.” As many cautiously make the transi- tion back to the workplace, it may not be time to dust off the suit and tie just yet. u (From left) Hani Ashkar, PwC Middle East partner; Millicent Clarke, HR regional head at Standard Chartered and Nuno Gomes from Mercer MENAT “For those who live alone, feelings of isolation may arise – often times resulting in reduced creativity and disengagement from the wider team”By Bernd Debusmann Jr In the age of Covid-19 and lockdown restrictions, bored residents are turning to video games for entertainment - and company Pandemic players28 Vol. 21/10, May 2020 were already playing games with one person in Brazil and another in Tunisia. It’s not only not been affected – it’s done very well.” A golden opportunity A spike in gaming has in turn created a surge in demand for gaming-related products, ranging from consoles and laptops to headsets and controllers. In North America alone, video game sales were up 34 percent in March compared to the same month in 2019, while hardware sales were up 63 percent, according to American research firm NPD Group. form simultaneously on March 30. In the US alone, according to telecom giant Verizon, gaming usage has gone up a whopping 75 percent during peak hours. Similarly, esports has seen a dramatic spike in view- ers, with Amazon’s Twitch streaming platform seeing a 60 percent jump in viewer- ship in March compared to the previous year. “Gaming has proved to be a non-pandemic industry. It can’t be affected. It was already online,” explains Habib Chams, head of digi- tal games conference at ITP Gaming [ITP is Arabian Busi- ness’ parent company]. “We u Gaming companies operating in the Gulf region have seen a spike in sales as a result of Covid-19 restrictions T’S FRIDAY NIGHT, AND – like the rest of us – 24-year-old Abhinav Kanungo is sitting at home. Just a few months ago, he’d have been out on the town. But in the age of Covid-19, Kanungo’s favourite restaurants are operating at minimal capac- ity, his choice bars silent, his potential Tinder dates quar- antined safely at home. His limited options, he tells us through the grainy screen of a Zoom call, don’t mean that he’s bored. Like millions around the region and the world, he’s turned to video games for enter- tainment – and company. “A lot more people are gaming now. Lots of games have picked up in terms of the number of people play- ing since the quarantine began,” he says, the boom- ing sounds of a ferocious digital gun battle audible in the background. “Games also kind of fill the void of that social life that we’re not getting. It’s a way to over- come that social distance.” Statistics show that Kanungo is far from alone. PC gaming service Steam, for example, has seen users skyrocket to record levels amid the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns, with 23.5 million gamers on the plat- I FEATURE / G AMING arabianbusiness.com 29 / G AMING Although figures for the Gulf and Middle East markets are not readily available, firms operating in the region have reported seeing similarly profitable increases in demand since lockdown restrictions were first introduced. A prime example is Taiwan- headquartered Acer, a tech- nology firm that specialises in PCs and laptops favoured by gamers. According to Paul Collins, the firm’s Middle East general manager, the firm has seen a sizeable increase in orders since the Covid-19 crisis erupted. “As people battle to fill their time, gaming has become a very valid and quite important pastime. We’ve definitely seen an upsurge in gaming moni- tors, and we’ve seen a move in product demand for more entry level line products for gaming,” he tells Arabian Busi- ness. “We’ve seen as much as 20 percent [rises] in some key territories in terms of short- term demand. That implies that people are either improv- ing their set-ups, or maybe even getting into new gaming.” Like many firms in the gaming sphere, Collins says he’s “cautiously optimistic” that demand for gaming products will remain elevated for the next 12 to 18 months. “A lot of it is because of the suddenness of this, and lack of preparation,” he adds. “People thought they had the right equipment [for gaming] but now realise that they don’t, now that they’ve been stress tested. There are a lot of new entrants, as well as exiting players that are upgrading. I anticipate that this will be sustained.” Matthew Pickering, the managing director of Power League Gaming, said that some titles are seeing engagement spikes of as high as 100 to 150 percent as a result of the pandemic. “[That] is quite incredible when you look at those titles even pre-Covid,” he adds. “The bottom line is that we are all at home, now more than ever. The demand for entertainment and collabo- ration is high and the abil- ity to compete with one another in traditional sports or physical formats is at an all-time low.” u Video games are gaining ground in the Gulf region Gaming for good In late April, the Saudi Arabian Federation for Electronic and Intellectual Sports (SAFEIS) announced the ‘Gamers without Borders’ esports champion- ship. The event – which is supported by UNICEF and other charitable organisa- tions – has a total prize of $10m. All proceeds will go to UNICEF and other similar organisations. The event began on April 24 and will run through June 7. “A lot more people are gaming now. Lots of games have picked up in terms of the number of people playing since the quarantine began” u Sony Interactive Entertainment, the makers of the popular PlayStation game console, is among leading companies in the gaming industry $10m The total prize of the ongoing Gamers without Borders esports championship u Paul Collins serves as Acer’s general manager for the Middle East $821m The estimated value of the e-gaming market in the GCC by 2021, according to Strategy&Next >