What does remote work mean for compulsory in-person staff?

As more companies embrace the remote work model, some employees face uncertainties around their roles.

*Karima is an office assistant at a lending startup in Lagos who earns about ₦80,000 monthly. Her responsibilities include providing managers and other staff with hands-on support, such as making a cup of coffee, welcoming guests or receiving and storing packages. Some days are busier for her than others, depending on the number of staff who come in. The startup runs a hybrid work arrangement, which sometimes reduces her workload. However, Karima worries about what could happen if the company decides to go fully remote.

“I’m working on getting some tech skills for myself so that I can easily upskill and switch roles. Most startups are going remote, and if my startup fully goes remote, I might not have a job,” Karima shared.

Karima occasionally offers some assistance to remote workers as well, but she argues that it’s work that can be outsourced. “I carry out tasks like overseeing the shipment of work materials to remote workers, but that’s not enough responsibility to keep me on a company’s payroll.”

Karima is one of many compulsory in-person workers who are uncertain about the future of their jobs. In the middle of a funding winter, startups are doing all they can to cut costs and stay afloat: brutal layoffs, chopping down marketing budgets and embracing remote work as an operations cost-saving method.

While most employees are happy to work remotely as it saves them the stress and time of a daily commute, not everyone can enjoy those benefits, as there is a category of employees whose roles are threatened by remote work. Compulsory in-person roles—administrative staff, office assistants, office managers, and janitors—whose jobs typically require their physical presence are the first to be affected by a shift to remote work. Not only do these employees stand to lose their jobs, it’s more difficult for them to find decent-paying jobs elsewhere.

According to Karima who’s currently studying for a diploma at the Lagos cooperative college, the tech industry pays some of the most competitive rates for someone like her, who does not have a university degree.

“For this my role and qualification, I’ll probably just earn slightly above the minimum wage. In my first job, before I came here, I was paid ₦25,000 for the same set of responsibilities—and I even had to do more work. I earn a decent amount of money here because it is a tech company and they have more money to an extent. If this company and other tech companies decide to fully go remote, it’s going to be very difficult for me to find another job that’s as good as my current one. This is why I’m doing my best to pick up new skills so that it will be easier for me to find something in the future.”

Taiwo Ajaga is an admin manager at Big Cabal Media, which has a widely distributed staff. From a management perspective, Ajaga explains that remote workers indeed save the company money in terms of office space and utilities, and are ultimately easier to deal with.

While his role requires him to be at work every day, Ajaga is well acquainted with digital tools that can facilitate his responsibilities in the case of a full shift to remote work. He also believes that a totally remote office should not be too difficult to circumvent for some compulsory in-person staff like office assistants and managers, as they can leverage digital tools to do their jobs well.

“Transitioning to a fully remote setup can require adjustments, but with the right support, tools, and processes, admin roles can be managed effectively,” he shared with TechCabal.

While there’s truth in Ajaga’s views, the considerably large digital divide in Nigeria must be taken into consideration. Only about 38% of the country’s population has consistent access to the internet due to factors like a lack of devices and poor internet connectivity. These factors, in addition to widespread digital illiteracy, undoubtedly obstruct the ability of staff to adapt to a fully remote work system. Additionally, a lot of compulsory in-person roles are lower-level, and do not pay well enough for staff to acquire the appropriate devices and stable internet connectivity.

Is the hybrid work model a saving grace?

Joseph*, a tech recruiter, believes that some compulsory in-person workers do not have adequate transferable skills and will eventually lose their jobs in the case of fully remote workforces. According to him, adopting a hybrid work model can mitigate these possible outcomes.

“Considering the fact that a number of roles will be made redundant with a fully remote work arrangement, I think a hybrid work arrangement will cushion that effect. You won’t have these people just be without jobs, because to be honest, just a few of them have transferable skills. As a cleaner or office assistant, what skill do you want to transfer to a different role that will make you still relevant in the career space? So I always advocate for the hybrid work model,” he said.

Abdul*, who also works as a tech recruiter, agrees with Joseph. He also believes that Nigerian companies won’t be going fully remote anytime soon as a large number of people aren’t equipped with sufficient digital skills to manage this.

“I think the market is still largely hybrid and will remain so for the foreseeable future. While some startups might choose to go that route, I still think that office settings will still exist for a long time and that way, there will always be room for physical staff at other companies,” he shared with TechCabal.

While the hybrid work model may serve as a middle ground, allowing for a combination of remote and in-person work, the challenges posed by limited literacy, inadequate internet access, and a lack of transferable skills create significant barriers for employees in compulsory in-person roles to adapt to a fully remote workforce.

As companies navigate the changing landscape of work, it is crucial to address these obstacles and provide support to ensure a more inclusive and equitable transition to remote work.