Remote Working
Remote working was thrust upon the word in 2020 as we faced a global pandemic on an unprecedented scale. Millions of people worked at home and proved that their performance was not affected by the change in location. Whilst some companies adopted this more flexible approach to working and allowed remote working to continue, more recently organisations have been requesting that people return to the office.
In April 2023 only 37% of the UK workforce advised that they had worked remotely in the last 7 days.
Let’s take a quick look at some definitions for the purpose of this article and explore the pros and cons of remote and hybrid working.
Fully Remote - working from home on a daily basis. There may be the occasional ad-hoc visit to an office location but generally you can choose where you working from
Hybrid Working - You have a pattern whereby you work in the office a set number of days a week and at home for the remaining time
Office Based - You work in the office every day (you may occasionally work from home on the odd day)
Flexible Working - You have an arrangement in place where you have been given permission to work less hours / days than stated in your original contract
*Note: This article is relevant for those roles that are able to be carried out from home. It is acknowledged and understood that there are many, many roles around the globe that require people to be in a certain location.
Remote Working
If employees are working from home, the chances are they will have all the technology and equipment needed to successfully fulfil their role, just as they would in the office. So assuming employees have all of that what are the benefits of having a fully remote workforce.
Work-life balance - This is probably the most obvious one. If employees are not commuting to an office then they are saving time (and money) each day, and probably a fair amount each week. This time can be spent sleeping more, taking children to school, exercising, catching up on things indoors that have been on their mind. You can’t really put a price on these things. Whilst people may love their job and the company they are working for, we need to remember that people work to live, and not the other way round.
Higher Productivity - Without the distractions of an office people have reported that their productivity is actually better at home. They are able to concentrate on the task in hand and deliver more.
Reduced Absenteeism - This is a delicate one because I’m certainly not advocating that people should be working when they are unwell. If someone is not well enough to work then they should not work, regardless of their normal location. However, there are days when people feel well enough to work, but they wouldn’t be feeling well enough to travel into the office and work in that environment the whole day. If they were able to sit on the sofa and tackle emails etc away from video calls etc, chances are they would opt to do that. Many people don’t like taking time off so working from home gives them the freedom to work when they are not 100%.
Decreased Turnover
Employees are making decisions about their lifestyle now more than ever. The next generation don’t want to be tied to an office 9-5, they are growing up seeing the freedom that some employees have and they are making a choice. If people find a role that suits their lifestyle, that delivers a work-life balance they are happy with then they are more likely to stay in that role.
With everything there are pros and cons and remote working is no different. As an organisation it’s important to weigh everything up and decide which points outweigh each other.
Feeling Isolated - If remote working is not managed successfully then there is the risk that people will feel isolated. With less human interaction, some people work in roles that don’t require them to be on video calls all day, so they are sat on their own, at home, with their own thoughts. Now, for the record, I do think this is avoidable if managed correctly.
Overworking - We talked about remote working creating a better work-life balance, but conversely, if people don’t put boundaries in place then they could potentially end up working beyond their ‘normal’ hours because they become so engrossed in what they are doing. If this continues for a long period then they run the risk of burning out. I have definitely been guilty of working beyond my normal working hours because I wanted to get something finished, or I was just sat at my desk and I carried on working as the sunset around me and the house gradually became darker. It happens.
Culture - Some organisations worry that they can’t build a strong culture if they don’t have an office presence. A physical location where people can get together. I can tell you from experience in working in two fully remote companies that this isn’t the case. It is possible to create a strong culture where people are not meeting in an office every day, but it requires work!
Tips for Remote Working
If you’re thinking about allowing employees to work from home, or are considering introducing a remote workforce these tips may help your thinking.
Environment: Ensure all employees establish a designated work space, one that ideally separates their work and living spaces. This can help eliminate distractions, increase productivity and maintain a work life balance. They should also have an appropriate workstation to ensure they are sitting correctly and will not experience any repetitive strain injuries. You may want to train someone in the workplace to be a DSE assessor so they can support people with the correct set up. (I can tell you from my own experience that repetitive strain injuries are very common and aren’t fun. I had to wear a wrist support for a period of time because I had been using the mousepad on the laptop as opposed to having a separate mouse!)
Communication: This is so important for remote working to be successful. There needs to be regular communication with colleagues and the line manager through video calls and 1:1 check ins. This can help people feel more connected. There are many roles that don’t require people to be in constant video meetings so they could potentially feel quite isolated by the end of the day. You might want to put in a regular weekly all company All Hands meeting where the Senior Leaders in the business are visible and share their updates.
It is also important to remember that text communication is not always easy and messages can be misinterpreted. As an employer you can set guidelines or principles for when texting etc. You can include things like “Assume that the message is always sent with good intentions”.
Clear Goals : If an individual knows exactly what they need to achieve across a certain timeframe then they will be less likely to procrastinate. Encourage employees to write a do list daily or weekly to keep them focused on what needs to be delivered.
Collaboration: Just because people aren’t physically located in the same room it doesn’t mean they can’t work together. Employers need to make sure there are tools in place to support remote collaboration. Tools such as Slack, Miro and Zoom are all super helpful. There also needs to be a collaborative culture so this would need to be embedded. Create Slack channels for ongoing, regular communication
Trust and autonomy: Managers need to trust employees that are working remotely. They are not able to monitor employee input in the same way as if they were in an office. The focus must be on what has been achieved. Managing people by their outputs and not the amount of hours worked is a very mature approach and something managers must adopt if remote working is going to be successful.
Wellbeing: When working from home people are not walking from meeting to meeting, they’re just sat at the desk. Making time to take breaks throughout the day to stretch your legs, and get away from the screen is essential. This can help people stay focused and energised throughout the day. Try to keep meetings short with the maximum being 45 minutes so there is at least a little bit of time before the next meeting.