Pandemic accelerates shift in jobs and work models
Technology has been driving the evolution of job markets over the past 25 years, but what really accelerated that transformation and caused radical change was the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a local human resources professional.
“What broke the mold in the labor market was the arrival of the pandemic, because all industries without exception made changes as a result,” Vialys Rivera-Ruiz, director of client accounts at ManpowerGroup Puerto Rico, told News is my Business.
The pandemic sped up patterns that were already emerging, as companies had been evaluating remote work, process automation and digitalization of tasks once done by hand, she said.
“The pandemic came, and we couldn’t really shut things down; we had to keep working, so we adopted new working models, like remote work, which is now requested and expected by many job candidates. These models, which arrived as innovations so that organizations could continue to operate, proved to be effective and were incorporated as new working methods in the labor market,” she said.
Current Gallup data shows that 26% of U.S. employees are exclusively remote, 52% are hybrid and 22% are on-site. According to U.S. recruiting firm Robert Half, 24% of new job postings in the third quarter of 2025 were hybrid and 12% were fully remote.
In 2024, 63% of all U.S. job applications on LinkedIn went to remote and hybrid jobs, a number LinkedIn projects will continue to increase. In fact, besides artificial intelligence adoption, the top changes professionals are experiencing include working remotely and navigating multigenerational teams.
Old jobs, new jobs
Although rapid and ongoing digital transformation has led to new careers, many so-called old jobs prevail, though now adapted for new realities in the workplace.
“There are jobs in administration, for example, that now have more responsibility because digitization and automation are doing a lot of what these workers did before. But because they’re closest to executives, they now have greater responsibilities and a more developed skill set that is very valuable in the labor market,” Rivera-Ruiz said.
Among the new careers and job positions that have appeared in the Puerto Rico labor market over the past two decades are project managers and sustainability professionals.
“Some 20 years ago, though the roles may have existed, you didn’t hear about project managers as a job position,” she said. “There are many positions now directed at sustainability, and these are important roles in the hierarchy of companies.”
New jobs change skills and education
Before 2020, most hiring was directed at university graduates, and companies built job positions based on college degrees. The pandemic reversed that process.
“During the pandemic, companies created new positions that led to schools having to adapt in order to offer workshops, microredentials and even full courses based on the new working models that the labor market needed,” Rivera-Ruiz said.
While organizations and recruiters still seek certain academic and technical qualifications, they also must evaluate soft skills.
“They know that recruiting a person based only on what a resume states and all the certifications the candidate has is not enough. Recruiting always should involve an evaluation (through standardized tests and interviews) of soft skills such as adaptability, innovation, communication and learnability, which shows the candidates’ ability and desire to continue to develop as professionals,” she explained.
Hierarchy loses ground
The careers and job positions that are emerging are changing the labor market in yet another way by fostering a more linear and less hierarchical working environment.
“That’s why positions like team leaders, collaborators [and] coordinators have been created … to help everyone feel engaged and tone down hierarchy, because that’s something that usually brings resistance,” Rivera-Ruiz said.
“Even though the hierarchic model has functioned for many years and likely won’t disappear, we’re five generations living and working together, and everyone has something to contribute,” she added.
