By Tom Wozniak, Head of Marketing – published on Forbes.com on 5/27/20
This year, a large number of people have had to adapt to, what is for many, an entirely new work atmosphere: working from home. A lot of articles have been written about the impacts sudden remote work is having on individuals, the companies they work for and our society in general. However, I haven’t seen as many discussions about how this changing work environment is affecting consumer behavior and how marketers should adapt their strategies and messaging to compensate in both the near and long term.
While we don’t know how much longer many of us will continue working from home, even after restrictions are lifted, it is safe to assume that some companies may adopt a more open-minded approach to having people work from home in the future. So, for some people, this may indeed be the new normal for the long term.
Here are a few work-from-home impacts for marketers to consider when thinking about strategy and messaging now and in the future.
Work Vs. Personal Time
People’s daily commute to and from work has tended to reinforce the concept of the 8-to-5 workday. While many people spend more time than this at work, it has still held up as a good rule of thumb for the hours people tend to spend at work each day. Add in some time for that physical commute before and after work, and marketers had a general idea of where their audience was located during the workweek.
With so many people working from home, those routines have been completely changed in many cases. That commute to work is now the time it takes to walk from the kitchen to the home “office,” whether it is an actual office, the dining table or living room couch. Once people get to their home workspace, the transition to and from work and personal time can be fluid throughout the day.
Read the rest at Forbes.com.