A year of change: How 2021 reshaped the workplace

Some of us are back at the conference table, while others are going on year three of working from the kitchen table.

In 2021, as the COVID-19 pandemic waned and waxed, workplaces as we know them changed—some for good. And as with any major transition, there were some growing pains.

For BBC’s Worklife section, Meredith Turits covered the major takeaways for the world of work from the past year:

1. Hybrid work—in some form—is here to stay.

For many, working from home is a dream come true. A flexible schedule, proximity to the coffee pot and the opportunity to wear sweatpants every day of the year is hard to resist. Once workers got a taste of remote work, company leaders realized it would be difficult to return to the traditional in-person work environment. So, concessions have been made. And many companies are now allowing employees to work from home at least a couple of days a week.

Now, with the rise of the omicron variant, many organizations—such as Apple, Nike and various colleges and universities—are pushing back their return-to-work plans.

2. Employees have increasing influence in the workplace.