COVID-19 upended the way we work, and many of us are still adjusting. According to NCCI, in May 2020, “48.7 million people, about 35% of the employed workforce, reported that they had worked from home in the prior four weeks because of COVID-19.” Of that number, 57% were workers in management and professional occupations.

Despite hopes of returning to pre-pandemic “normal” work environments, it appears that remote and hybrid environments are here to stay.

According to Glassdoor, job searches for remote work are up 460% in the two years through June 2021. While the majority of those are in IT jobs, the bump is spread across a host of different jobs.

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff recently told CNBC “that globally, 15% of employees have come back to the office, but that between 50% and 60% of workers could remain working from home.

A national QuestionPro survey found that “working from home” was rated the second highest attribute in an “ideal work environment.”

There are two major impacts for fleet owners and managers. One focuses on your customers, the other on your employees.

First, let’s look at your customer. If the disruption to the physical workplace remains even close to its peak during Covid, it’s clear that the types of trips for fleet vehicles will be change. The visits to corporate campuses might be switched to one-on-one meetings at coffee shops. Delivery times may be compressed due to smaller on-site staffs. Pickups may similarly be impacted.

All of these changes mean smart logistics and accurate fleet intelligence is more important than ever. Ensuring you have the right fleet vehicle mix, the right availability and the flexibility to redirect resources in short order will be critical in meeting the changes resulting from a hybrid work environment.

Now, let’s look at your workplace. The data reveals that workers value the flexibility that comes from remote work. Whether it’s the ability to take a child to and from school, care for a pet or a parent, or simply avoid the distractions of the workplace, workers appreciate the ability to be self-directed.

For fleet owners, this is good news. For one, people who drive for a living, or who live in their car during the work week, they are already “remote” workers.

But for the knowledge workers, technology like Motorq’s offers fleet owners a way to ensure remote workers have the ability to be just as productive from their home as they are in the office. Our secure, cloud-based platform provides fleet operators real-time data and analytics regardless of where they are — whether that’s at a cafe or home-office using a laptop or at the company headquarters using a desktop. As data that is crucial to everyday operations becomes cloud-based, workers become more mobile because that data is more accessible.

Covid-19 tested the ingenuity, resiliency and innovation of most companies. As we head into a new future, we can draw upon those lessons learned and continue to adapt with the right tools.