The differing styles of work in 2024

Necessitated by the pandemic, the world of work has undergone a seismic shift over the past four years. Gone are the days of a regular 9-to-5 office job being the norm. With the rise of remote and hybrid working, independent contractors, and alternative working models, it’s easy to lose track of the various types of professional talent at work today.

Let’s take a look at the various worker profiles active across the professional landscape in 2024.

The remote worker

A now common form of worker, the remote employee conducts all of their working hours from home, participating in meetings virtually via video conferencing software. During the pandemic, many workers were forced to transition to the work from home (WFH) model.

However, despite a general return to normality on a societal level, remote working remains popular among workers, if less so among employers – with 90% of workers citing greater work-life balance, flexibility, and freedom as benefits of the WFH model.

The commuting worker

Yes, they still exist! Their numbers dwindled significantly as a result of lockdown. But they are steadily growing once more, partly due to many high-profile employers - including Goldman Sachs, Google, Amazon, and TikTok - demanding company-wide returns to in-person working; with several implementing monitoring systems and/or disciplinary action to ensure workers comply.

Though they may never return to their pre-pandemic heights, the number of commuting workers is going to rise in 2024, as more and more companies move away from fully remote working and toward onsite working.

The diversified remote worker

A diversified remote worker, or a hybrid worker, is a worker who splits their time between working onsite and remotely. They are a full-time, permanent employee who spends time working both in the office and at home.

Diversified or hybrid working models have been praised as the best of both worlds, allowing workers flexibility and work-life balance, while still ensuring the benefits of in-person working - such as connection, communication, and teamwork - are not lost.

The independent contractor

Independent contractors are classified as workers who provide services on an ad-hoc basis, meaning for limited periods of time. Companies will hire independent contractors to complete fixed-term projects and the contractor will invoice their employer for payment, rather than be paid via payroll.

Independen t contractors, therefore, handle their own taxes, and are not entitled to benefits and annual leave allocation as full-time employees are.

The digital nomad

Digital nomads are another form of remote worker. However, digital nomads don’t work from home; rather they travel while working remotely. Working from various locations around the world, the successful digital nomad ensures they adhere to visa and immigration regulations in their chosen countries, and that they do not overstay and are legally permitted to work remotely in these regions. If done properly, this can be a great way to see the world without using up all of your annual leave!

The world is smaller than ever, and with today’s global workforce comprising so many different types of workers in varying locations, you may be looking for support with hiring the correct types of workers compliantly. At Mauve, we have over 27 years of experience in the area of global expansion and global HR services. Contact our team of experts today, to see how we can support you.