--- title: "The Future of the Workplace Is Already Developing" id: "7465" type: "post" slug: "the-future-of-the-workplace-is-already-developing" published_at: "2021-10-12T00:00:00+00:00" modified_at: "2026-03-14T21:57:51+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2021/10/12/the-future-of-the-workplace-is-already-developing/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2021/10/12/the-future-of-the-workplace-is-already-developing.md" excerpt: "It will come as no surprise to anyone that the move to remote work accelerated during the pandemic. Although many jobs did not go remote (opens in a new tab), a large number of office workers, including many association professionals,..." taxonomy_category: - "Organizational Strategy" taxonomy_post_tag: - "ASAE Foundation" - "ASAEcenter" - "Employee Policies" - "Hiring" - "organization strategy" - "remote work" - "Workplace" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Association CEO / Executive Director" - "C-Level" - "Director" - "Executive Team" - "VP" taxonomy_persona: - "Executive Leadership" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » The Future of the Workplace Is Already Developing It will come as no surprise to anyone that the move to remote work accelerated during the pandemic. Although [many jobs did not go remote (opens in a new tab)](https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/09/work-from-home-numbers/620107/) , a large number of office workers, including [many association professionals](https://associationsnow.com/2021/10/a-look-at-the-post-pandemic-association-workplace/) , began working from home in 2020, and many are still remote due to delta variant threats or organizational workplace decisions. Other pressures on workplace and workforce, including changing urban downtowns and the growth of gig work, are shaping where and how people do their jobs. What will be the long-term effects of these shifts? Several driver-of-change action briefs from the latest release of the [ASAE ForesightWorks Complete Collection (opens in a new tab)](https://www.asaecenter.org/publications/109687-asae-foresightworks-action-briefs-complete-collection-and-users-guide-pdf) provide forecasts and strategies. ### **Remote Work Is Here to Stay** The “A World Reshaped by COVID” action brief forecasts that remote work will continue to grow in many fields. Leaders will need to address numerous changes and challenges, including determining who works remotely and by which criteria and answering new questions about flexible schedules, where employees live, and talent acquisition, compensation, and benefits. These changes will raise related questions about equity. Among associations that are [planning a return](https://associationsnow.com/2021/05/research-offers-guidance-employers-plan-workplace-returns/) to shared workspace, many are seeking staff input. According to the ASAE Research Foundation’s [Association Impact and Policy Snapshot](/-/media/ASAE/Files/Resources/issue-roundup/Final_Report_Association_Impact_Policy_Snapshot_January_2021_4-14-2021.ashx?la=en&hash=999AD9E092C881418837049650415EC8BFBF14ED) data, 46.3 percent of survey respondents said that staff comfort with returning to the office was a factor in their office reopening plan, second only to the availability of an effective vaccine. A key consideration is that remote work is popular among workers. As [reported by Vox (opens in a new tab)](https://www.vox.com/recode/22543409/remote-work-from-home-jobs-supply-demand-hiring-platforms) , the share of U.S. jobs on LinkedIn that allow remote work increased fivefold, from less than 2 percent in May 2020 to about 10 percent in May 2021. Those jobs are getting 25 percent of all applications. [Pew research (opens in a new tab)](https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2020/12/09/how-the-coronavirus-outbreak-has-and-hasnt-changed-the-way-americans-work/) found that 54 percent of adults who said that their job could be done remotely would prefer to work from home all or most of the time. It’s not surprising, then, that many associations are [more open to remote work](https://associationsnow.com/2021/04/blueprint-for-the-hybrid-office/) than they were before the pandemic. ### **Cities Are Appealing, but Business Districts May Not Be** If people can work from anywhere, will they choose to move elsewhere? A [Brookings study (opens in a new tab)](https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2021/06/24/remote-work-wont-save-the-heartland/) found that most of the people who moved from major cities during the pandemic did not move very far, to suburbs rather than to new states. If more organizations and companies shift to fully remote work, and if the number of available fully remote jobs grows, that may change. But even a modest change toward partial remote work [will affect city business districts (opens in a new tab)](https://fortune.com/2021/09/13/downtown-businesses-covid-cases-remote-workers-offices/) . The new “Evolving Cities” action brief looks at possible outcomes when the appeal of cities remains, but the shape and density of those cities evolves. The brief forecasts that the growth of remote work may jumpstart a rethink about what city centers can be—or what they may need to be. Instead of centering on office space, downtowns may be redesigned as mixed-use arts and entertainment or lifestyle-centered neighborhoods to attract new residents and consumers. If remote work options continue to grow, cities and organizations may need to consider new incentives to draw workers into downtown offices. On the other hand, existing incentives may disappear if workers aren’t drawn to the cities or locations that offer them. > The updated ‘New Forms of Work’ action brief notes that associations have a role to play as both employers of and networks for gig workers. ### **The Gig Workforce Will Continue to Grow** As workers lost jobs due to the pandemic and as the demand for delivery and other task-based services grew, the gig economy exploded in 2020. [One study (opens in a new tab)](https://www.freightwaves.com/news/covid-didnt-kill-gig-economy-the-pandemic-accelerated-it) found that the gig economy grew 33 percent to $1.6 trillion in 2020. Associations have also turned to gig workers in the last year: Twelve percent of respondents to a series of Association Impact and Policy Snapshot surveys said that they hired temporary or gig workers in response to the pandemic. The updated “New Forms of Work” action brief notes that associations have a role to play as both employers of and networks for gig workers. Economic uncertainly and employment in the post-pandemic economy are key uncertainties for this driver of change, which may make hiring freelance, contract, or temporary employees for project-based work appealing for associations anxious about replacing positions lost during the pandemic. Associations also have the opportunity to support members who have turned to gig-based work, or who have seen their fields turn to gig-based work during the last year and a half. [Jenny Nelson](https://associationsnow.com/author/jenny-nelson/) Jenny Nelson is director, content and knowledge resources, at ASAE. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/jenny-nelson/) Tags: [#ASAE Foundation](https://associationsnow.com/tag/asae-foundation/) [#Employee Policies](https://associationsnow.com/tag/employee-policies/) [#Hiring](https://associationsnow.com/tag/hiring/) [#organization strategy](https://associationsnow.com/tag/organization-strategy/) [#remote work](https://associationsnow.com/tag/remote-work/) [#Workplace](https://associationsnow.com/tag/workplace/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [ArticleThe Overlooked GDPR Obligation That Associations Must Not Miss: Appointing an EU RepresentativeSeptember 16, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/16/the-overlooked-gdpr-obligation-that-associations-must-not-miss-appointing-an-eu-representative/) - [ArticleFrom Accommodation to Architecture: How Associations Have Rebuilt Themselves Around Remote WorkOctober 19, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/10/19/from-accommodation-to-architecture-how-associations-have-rebuilt-themselves-around-remote-work/) - [ArticleStop Hiring Résumés — Start Hiring BehaviorsAugust 18, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/08/18/stop-hiring-resumes-start-hiring-behaviors/) - [ArticleThe Roots of an Effective Return-to-Office PolicyMay 8, 2022](https://associationsnow.com/2022/05/08/the-roots-of-an-effective-return-to-office-policy/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2021%2F10%2F12%2Fthe-future-of-the-workplace-is-already-developing%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !