The Big Change

The smart home of the future is no longer simply an AI-powered machine that anticipates our every need. The way we live, work and play has been upended by COVID-19, and nowhere is it more apparent than within our private sanctuaries. We dissect the future of the home.

- Cheryl Chan

When Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter, announced in March this year that he was implementing a policy to allow employees to work from home (WFH) forever – even post-pandemic – the technology giant was lauded as one of the first companies in the world to employ the WFH model on a permanent basis. Shortly afterwards, other MNCs became part of the stay-home revolution, with companies such as Facebook, Shopify, Upwork and more following his lead. According to a survey done by Global Workplace Analytics, 74 per cent of the global workforce wants to continue this arrangement at least weekly when the pandemic is over. It is estimated that by the end of 2021, 25 to 30 per cent of the workforce will be working from home on several days of the week.

But while the ease of WFH eliminates long commutes to the office and glorifies remote collaboration, shaky infrastructures in our home systems leave us vulnerable to cybersecurity attacks. In April, videoconferencing platform Zoom was hijacked in Singapore, with hackers interrupting a stream with lewd photos – a dire warning sign that private data protection and cybersecurity are just as important as physical safety.

This situation has taken a heavy toll on our mental health, too. In a policy brief on COVID-19 and mental health, the World Health Organization released statistics that around 35 to 60 per cent of the world’s population display a high prevalence of distress during the pandemic. As we incorporate ways in which to make our homes more conducive for work, it’s also essential to cultivate a space that is holistic and acts as a refuge from the stressors of the world.

With all that in mind, we discuss the ways in which to transform our homes into well-balanced sanctuaries as we embark on a new way of living.