The Future of Remote Working
Before the current crisis, the decision whether or not an employee worked from home was in their employer’s hands. If they didn’t like the idea, or didn’t want to prioritise putting the infrastructure in place, it simply didn’t happen. But now we’ve reached the point where there’s no choice: it’s remote working, or nothing. This means that employers around the globe have had to put systems in place to facilitate remote working.
Not everyone is going to thrive under these circumstances. Some professions – and professionals! – aren’t ideally suited to remote working. They’ll be glad to be back in the office full time when the restrictions lift. But many of us will find that there are huge advantages to having the flexibility to work from home – at least some days.
Employees benefit from having around 20% office contact time. When the remainder of their work time (60%-80%) involves working off-site, employees are more engaged, more productive and report better job satisfaction. — Gallup: How Engaged Is Your Remote Workforce?
Part-time Satellites?
We’re certainly not saying that everyone should be working remotely all of the time. For many, a hybrid solution will create the ideal balance. Perhaps one of your teams will collectively come into the office on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and work from home the rest of the week. Maybe the office manager will be in four days a week, while your graphic designer prefers to drop in on Mondays to report back to the team. It will depend on a range of factors: their home situation, their care responsibilities, their role, their character. The key is that one-size-fits-all isn’t going to cut it.
42% of remote workers plan to work remotely more frequently than they currently do in the next 5 years, and more than half of on-site workers want to start working remotely. — OWL Labs – State of Remote Work 2019
A Challenge – an Investment
Of course, implementing this new way of structuring work this isn’t easy. It can’t be like the hasty set-ups we’ve had to push through during the coronavirus crisis. Implementing this properly will take time, empathy, organisation and communication.
The number one challenge for fully remote workers is communication (27%). Social opportunities is the second-biggest challenge (16%), loneliness and isolation the third (13%). Other challenges fully remote workers have include setting boundaries, organic interaction, visibility and time zones. — FYI – Remote Work Report
Think of it as an investment. You have an opportunity to create work plans that meet your team’s real needs. They will lose less time and money commuting to a work environment that doesn’t get the best out of them. In return, you will have a team that is happier, that feels energised and heard. You’ll earn a reputation as a forward-thinking, flexible employer, which will help you attract talent that doesn’t want to be squeezed into the nine-to-five box. And then there is potential for savings by scaling back your office space. There are plenty of reasons not try to reconstruct the way things used to be.
Accelerating the Trend
Since 2016, the number of job posts on LinkedIn that mention work flexibility rose by over 78%. — LinkedIn – 2019 Global Talent Trends Report
Remote working has been on the rise for years. As the technological tools that support remote working became more sophisticated, the demand from employees for remote working increased. It’s clear that the restrictions imposed to combat the coronavirus are going to accelerate this trend. A mere month ago, who could have imagined that so many people would be working remotely, all around the world? But the shift has had to be made, and even when the restrictions are gradually lifted, we won’t go back to the way things were.
The first thing most people will want to do is rush back to see their colleagues, to catch up, maybe share a meal together. That sense of in-person connectedness is essential. But one thing that is emerging from this crisis is the way that we can still come together and work towards shared goals, even when we are far apart. If you are a manager or business leader who needs someone to reflect with on the challenges they are facing today, drop me a line. We can still come to solutions remotely. Let’s continue to use that ability beyond the current crisis.
“The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word 'crisis.' One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger – but recognize the opportunity.” — John F. Kennedy
