Let’s see what happens next year.
In March 2020, the world of work changed dramatically. By April 2020, approximately half of all companies reported that more than 80% of their employees were working from home due to Novel Coronavirus. Most never returned to the office — remote working is here to stay.
Forced to live online, technology becomes critical. Digital transformation is now a basic requirement for any organization that wants to keep pace. Technology workers, previously in demand, are now even more sought after to help build a world in which we all rely on technology for our most basic activities.
How will technology support remote working in 2022
Thanks to Novel Coronavirus, 69% of boards have accelerated digital transformation, according to a Gartner survey. This trend will continue with organizations focusing on contactless services (60.1%), migration to the cloud (52.25%), and DevOps activities (51.75%).
Based on the data, we predict some software trends for 2022:
1. The cloud will become more and more important
The cloud will play an increasingly important role in technology in 2022 and years to come. Everything that can be moved to the cloud will be moved to the cloud.
Take the introduction of a new developer to a company. They often spend weeks trying to get everything to run on a local machine. This is very time consuming, not only for new employees, but also for experienced engineers who need to help in the process.
By now, most automated builds, simulation environments, and running production applications have been moved to the cloud. The next step is the local development environment.
Microsoft and Amazon are already working on this, and both released solutions in 2021 (Microsoft’s GitHub Codespaces and Amazon’s AWS Cloud9) that provide browser-accessible development environments in seconds.
2. DevOps will play an important role
Research conducted by Google’s DORA showed that “excellent executive engineering organizations are twice as likely as average organizations to achieve their organizational goals and achieve a high growth rate of 50% over three years”.
To speed up the pipeline and deliver new features quickly, teams need to make sure their processes and tools are as good as possible, removing barriers and bottlenecks. Therefore, DevOps and the practice of implementing continuous delivery are critical.
3. Ai aided development
In 2021, we’ve already seen artificial intelligence start to make its way into development tools. GitHub Copilot, IBM AI for Code, and Oracle’s new query language generator are some of the innovations that point in the direction of AI-assisted development.
In 2022, Forrester “expects AI robots to appear in almost all development tools, adding natural language and other capabilities to developers’ toolboxes.”
4. The rise of low-code platforms
In 2017, Forbes classified low-code platforms as “highly disruptive,” and the trend is accelerating. “Low-code application platforms are expected to remain the largest segment of the low-code development technology market by 2022, growing by nearly 30% from 2020 to $5.8 billion by 2021,” Gartner predicts. It adds that “by 2024, low-code app development will account for more than 65% of app development activity.”
How can companies support remote workers?
The “new normal” will continue. But what does this mean for employers and employees?
Studies show that remote workers with positive experiences are 28% more productive and 46% more engaged. There is one clear benefit for companies: those that provide a superior remote employee experience can increase profits by 25% and reduce attrition by 37%.
These numbers seem optimistic, but they only apply to the telecommuting employee experience and are true as a company priority. But how can this be done?
Tips for managing your team’s workload
Telecommuting poses many challenges and intensifies battles that employers and employees already face. Studies show that in 2020, 71 percent of employees experienced burnout and 87 percent had to work overtime.
Burnout is far from a personal problem. In the United States alone, mental and physical problems among burned out employees cost between $12.5 billion and $190 billion annually in health care costs. Add to that declining productivity, high turnover and the loss of talent in the organization. And the most important cost is employee well-being.
To solve this problem, companies need to master workload management. But it’s not just about making sure your employees aren’t overworked. Rather, it’s about strategically allocating work across teams to achieve the highest possible level of productivity, exploiting individual strengths, and acknowledging each member’s weaknesses. Here are some tips for putting it into practice:
1. Define priorities
If employees don’t know which tasks are urgent and which aren’t, they can’t self-manage and make informed decisions about prioritizing their work. Try to set deadlines for each task, as this will provide guidance to people to see if they are on track.
2. Make shift schedules
The nine-to-five work schedule is long out of date. Most companies now allow employees to manage their working hours, providing flexibility and allowing people to integrate work into their lives, rather than the other way around.
But this can create stress and workload imbalances among team members. For example, not having enough team members working at one time could mean that others are working more.
Analyze company needs and organize people’s schedules while allowing flexibility to ensure that flexibility does not disrupt a healthy balance between productivity and team members.
3. Keep people informed
Especially in remote environments, it is important to keep information available. Remember, remote workers don’t casually chat at the coffee machine or bump into each other in the hallway. Be proactive in making sure everyone knows what they need to know.
4. Maintain continuous and open communication
Build on the previous point and make sure people get the information they need. When they do, everything runs faster and more smoothly. Consider holding regular meetings where people can share relevant information with their teams or the entire organization.
On the other hand, keep the lines of communication open in the other direction. Make your employees feel they can express their feelings and opinions. The study showed that 74 percent of employees say they are more productive when they feel heard.
By promoting healthy workload management, you can make your employees and teams happier, more productive and willing to contribute to your company’s success.
How can employees promote work-life balance
Companies play an important role in employee welfare, but employees must also play their part. The American Psychiatric Association conducted an online survey of remote workers in early 2021. The findings were alarming: “The majority of employees who work from home say they experience negative mental health effects, including isolation, loneliness, and difficulty leaving work at the end of the day.”
If you work remotely, or even in a hybrid environment, you need to take care of your physical and mental health. The advice that was widely disseminated at the beginning of the pandemic is still valid and vital, especially if you’re tired from months or even years of working remotely. Here are some tips to keep in mind when working from home:
1. Create a proper home office environment
Don’t work from your bed or couch. Designate a specific space in the house as your home office and treat it that way. Make sure you have a proper table, a comfortable chair and natural light.
2. Use of quality techniques
With the adoption of remote working, many companies are offering employees money to equip their home work Spaces. Take advantage of this and purchase the necessary equipment to ensure the best possible workspace. If your company does not provide support, it may be worth broaching the topic with HR.
3. Work consistent hours
While remote working often has the benefits of flexible work hours, be aware of the downside: if you don’t have a schedule, work can take up your entire day.
Take advantage of the flexibility to schedule some activities, such as taking the kids to school or doctor’s appointments, but don’t let everything else fall into your work schedule or you’ll feel like you’re on duty all the time.
4. Eat well sleep well
Give your body proper rest and nutrition at all times. When working from home, it’s easy to fall into unhealthy habits, such as staying up late or snacking all day. Be careful, as these can affect your productivity and overall happiness.
5. Move your body
Especially during the pandemic, it’s easy to sit at the same desk in your spare time, looking at screens and getting things done.
The human body is not made to sit around all day. It is used to move, feel stimulation and interact with others. Make sure you take breaks during work hours and have a proper lunch break, you might even go for a walk there. When you’re done, get your body moving. Get outside, do some exercise, or try yoga to stretch your muscles and relieve the pain caused by poor posture.
conclusion
GitHub’s 2021 Octoverse status Report shows that while 41% of respondents worked in the same office before the pandemic, only 10.7% are expected to stay in the office after the pandemic ends. In addition, the number of companies fully embracing remote working is expected to increase by 46% compared to pre-pandemic levels.
These trends show that digital transformation is key to survival. However, 70% of digital transformation initiatives fail to achieve their goals.
Software Development Trends for 2022-DZONE Agile