Every day it seems to be the case that a major company announces it is cutting thousands of jobs, leaving these individuals struggling with their finances during a pandemic.
With plenty of people still not feeling safe to be out and about, it is not a surprise to see demand for working from home opportunities has rocketed over the last few months.
The average American lives 16 miles from their workplace, which means working from home can cut down on a lot of commuting time, freeing up hours that can be spent more wisely.
Here are a few of the best options for those seeking jobs where they can work from home.
Working in a cell center
Perhaps not the most glamorous of jobs but call center work is almost always available - even in the coronavirus crisis where positions are being shed at an alarming rate.
The pandemic has led to major call center companies switching to remote work - and this might even prove to be a permanent shift.
Research that was published back in 2015 found that Chinese call center workers were actually 13 per cent more effective in their jobs when they were allowed to work from home. This is because they took more calls per hour and used fewer breaks, boosting their employers as a result. Going back to massive in-person call centers feels extremely unlikely right now.
Working in the iGaming industry
Various roles in the iGaming industry can be performed at home, so anyone interested in this sector might find it is a good time to be looking for jobs.
iGaming business live and die on SEO
Affiliate websites continue to grow in popularity, giving players the chance to find out more about the many different online casino websites that are jostling for their attention.
Even though competition is extreme in the iGaming industry, there is still space for talented SEO's. Your game needs to be on par with existing winners. Your site must provide engaging content and researched reviews of casinos and games. Affiliate sites make the majority of their money from directing people to online casino sites.
Working in the iGaming industry comes with great perks and the pay tends to be good as well, so there are plenty of reasons to look for this type of work from home opportunity right now.
Working in IT and technology jobs
While it should not be a surprise that most IT and technology jobs can be done from home, Google still made headlines when the company confirmed staff would not be forced to return to the office until 2021 at the earliest.
While some technology companies such as Yahoo! have previously been against remote working, this is a trend that is going to be unstoppable due to COVID-19.
Companies like Google have realised that they can scale back their office space radically with many staff members happy to continue to work from home on a permanent basis. What this might mean, though, is workers who prefer to go into an office to do their jobs leave to join other businesses, freeing up other jobs for those who want or need to stay working at home.
Twitter has gone even further than Google, stating back in May that if workers want to work from home "forever" then they will be able to do so, even once the coronavirus crisis is over.
Meanwhile, Facebook's chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has said around half of the company's staff could be working remotely on a permanent basis in the next five to 10 years.
Working as a private online teacher or tutor
With parents worrying their children are being left behind by school closures, this means there has been a large spike in demand for online teachers and tutors during lockdown.
Experienced teachers can charge significant amounts of money when they practice remote learning with kids, although there are naturally some major challenges working via a screen.
Tutoring can be extremely rewarding, however, with individuals working in this type of job able to see young people making a lot of progress in their skills.
Even with schools reopening, many parents are likely to supplement this traditional type of learning with the use of remote teachers and tutors to give their kids a head start.
It is not just in education where the use of private online teachers or tutors is growing either. Take yoga, for example. With lots of people not ready to return to the yoga studio, taking classes online has become a lot more popular during the course of 2020.
Whatever your skills, they are likely to be transferable to remote working opportunities this year.
