Software Development Trends for 2022: Remote Work Goes Mainstream

See what happens next year.

March 2020 saw a sea change in the world of work. By April 2020, about half of companies reported that more than 80% of their employees were working from home due to the coronavirus. Most never return to the office -- remote work is here to stay.

Forced to live online, technology has become critical. Digital transformation is now an essential requirement for any organization that wants to keep pace. Tech workers, previously in high demand, are now even more sought after to help build a world where we all rely on technology for our most basic activities.

How technology will support remote work in 2022

According to a Gartner survey, 69% of boards have accelerated their digital transformation due to the coronavirus. This trend will continue, with organizations focusing on touchless services (60.1%), migration to the cloud (52.25%), and DevOps activities (51.75%).

Based on the data, we predict some software trends for 2022:

1. Cloud will become more important

The cloud will play an increasingly important role in technology in 2022 and beyond. Everything that can be moved to the cloud will be moved to the cloud.

Take, for example, the onboarding of new developers at a company. They usually spend weeks trying to get everything running on their local machine. This is time-consuming, not only for new hires, but also for seasoned engineers who need help with the process.

So far, most automated builds, simulation environments, and running production applications have moved to the cloud. The next step is the local development environment.

Microsoft and Amazon are already working on this, and in 2021 have both released solutions (Microsoft's GitHub Codespaces and Amazon's AWS Cloud9) that provide browser-accessible development in seconds environment.

2. DevOps will play a big role

Research conducted by Google's DORA shows that "excellent executive engineering organizations are twice as likely to achieve their organizational goals and achieve high growth rates of 50 percent over three years".

To speed up pipelines and deliver new features quickly, teams need to ensure their processes and tools are as good as possible, removing roadblocks and bottlenecks. Therefore, the practice of DevOps and implementing continuous delivery is critical.

3. AI-assisted development

In 2021, we have already seen artificial intelligence begin to enter development tools. GitHub Copilot, IBM AI for Code, and Oracle's new query language generator are some of the innovations that point in the direction of AI-assisted development.

In 2022, Forrester "expects AI bots to appear in nearly every development tool, adding natural language and other capabilities to developers' toolboxes."

4. The rise of the low-code platform

In 2017, Forbes classified low-code platforms as "extremely disruptive," and the trend is accelerating. Gartner predicts: "Through 2022, low-code application platforms are expected to remain the largest component of the low-code development technology market, growing nearly 30% from 2020 to reach $5.8 billion in 2021". It added that "low-code app development will account for more than 65% of app development activity by 2024."

How does company support remote workers?

The "new normal" is here to stay. But what does this mean for employers and employees?

Research shows that remote employees with positive experiences are 28% more productive and 46% more engaged. There's a clear benefit for companies: Those that provide a premium remote employee experience can increase profits by 25% and reduce churn by 37%.

These numbers look optimistic, but they are true only for the remote work employee experience and as a priority for the company. But how can this be done?

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Remote work presents many challenges and exacerbates the struggles employers and employees have faced before. Research shows that in 2020, 71% of employees experienced burnout and 87% had to work overtime.

Burnout is far from a personal issue. In the United States alone, the mental and physical problems of burnout workers cost $12.5 to $190 billion in healthcare costs annually. Add to that a drop in productivity, high turnover and the loss of talent from your organization. And, the most important cost is the well-being of employees.

To address this, companies need to master workload management. But it's not just about making sure your employees aren't overworked. Rather, it's about distributing work strategically across teams to achieve the highest possible level of productivity, leveraging individual strengths, and acknowledging the weaknesses of each member. Here are some tips for putting it into practice:

1. defines priority

If employees don't know which tasks are urgent and which aren't, they can't manage themselves or make informed decisions about prioritizing work. Try to set deadlines for each task, as this will provide guidance for people to know if they are on track.

2. Make a shift schedule

The 9-to-5 work schedule is outdated. Most companies now allow employees to manage their hours, providing flexibility for people to integrate work into their lives, not the other way around.

But this creates stress and workload imbalances among team members. For example, not having enough team members working at a certain time may mean that others have more work to do.

Analyze company needs and organize people's schedules while allowing flexibility to ensure flexibility doesn't disrupt a healthy balance of productivity and team members.

3. people informed

Especially in remote environments, it is important to keep information available. Remember, remote workers aren't casually chatting over coffee machines or meeting in hallways. Actively work to make sure everyone knows what they need to know.

4. maintain continuous and open communication

Building on the previous point, make sure people get the information they need. When they do, everything runs faster and smoother. Consider holding regular meetings where people can share relevant information with their team or the entire organization.

On the other hand, keep the lines of communication open in the other direction. Make your employees feel like they can express their feelings and opinions. The study showed that 74% of employees said they were more productive when they felt heard.

By promoting healthy workload management, you can make your employees and teams happier, more productive and willing to contribute to your company's success.

employees can promote work-life

Companies play an important role in employee benefits, but employees must also play their part. The American Psychiatric Association conducted an online survey of remote workers in early 2021. The findings are concerning: "The majority of employees working from home said they experienced negative mental health effects, including isolation, loneliness, and difficulty leaving work at the end of the day."

If you're working remotely, or even a hybrid, you need to be mindful of your physical and mental health. The advice that was widespread at the beginning of the pandemic is still valid and crucial, especially when you're tired from months or even years of working remotely. Here are some tips to keep in mind when working from home:

1. Create a suitable home office environment

Don't work in bed or on the sofa. Designate a specific space in the house as your home office and treat it as such. Make sure you have a suitable table, a comfortable chair and natural light.

2. uses quality technology

With the adoption of remote work, many companies are offering employees funding to equip their home workspaces. Take advantage of this and purchase the necessary equipment to guarantee the best possible workspace. If your company doesn't offer support, it might be worth raising this topic with HR.

3. keep consistent working hours

While remote work often has the benefits of flexible hours, be aware of its downsides: If you don't have a schedule, work will take up your entire day.

Take advantage of the flexibility to schedule some activities: like sending your kids to school or seeing the doctor, but don't let everything else get into your work hours or you'll feel like you're always on duty.

4. Eat well and sleep

Give your body proper rest and nutrition at all times. When working from home, it's easy to develop unhealthy habits, such as staying up late or snacking throughout the day. Be careful as these can affect your productivity and overall happiness.

5. move your body

Especially during a pandemic, it's easy to sit at the same desk in your spare time and watch a screen get work done.

The human body does not sit all day. It is used to move, feel stimuli, and interact with others. Make sure you take breaks during work hours and have a proper lunch time, you can even go for a walk there. When the work is done, get your body moving. Get out, do some exercise, or try yoga to stretch your muscles and relieve pain from poor sitting.

in conclusion

According to GitHub's 2021 State of the Octoverse report, while 41% of respondents had been in the same office before the pandemic, only 10.7% of respondents are expected to remain in the office after the pandemic is over. Additionally, companies that fully embrace remote work are expected to increase by 46% compared to pre-pandemic levels.

These trends show that digital transformation is the key to survival. However, 70% of digital transformation initiatives fail to achieve their goals.

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[Note] This article is translated from: Software Development Trends for 2022 - DZone Agile