Remote Work: Now What?

In its 2021 State of Remote Work, Buffer stated “People overwhelmingly want to continue working remotely, even if they started working remotely due to COVID-19”.

It is no longer a secret that remote work is as trendy as ever and part of the “new normal” package we keep hearing about. But how exactly do businesses and people feel about it?

Remote work and virtual meetings are likely to continue, albeit less intensely than at the pandemic’s peak (McKinsey)

The battle of the opposites

Goldman Sachs’ star DJ and CEO, David Solomon, recently made the news when he shared his rejection of working from home, he said in a statement to BBC.

It’s not a new normal. It’s an aberration that we’re going to correct as soon as possible. (David Solomon)

He added that “for a business like ours, which is an innovative, collaborative apprenticeship culture, this is not ideal”. Indeed, as a class of 3,000 new recruits is about to get onboarded, fears around the lack of direct mentorship are arising.

David Solomon also predicted that while the Covid-19 pandemic had helped push the adoption of digital technologies and created ways for the investment bank to run more efficiently, he thought it would not lead to huge changes over the long term.

Towards JP Morgan, CEO Jamie Dimon similarly shared his doubts over the effectiveness of Remote Work as it has had a negative effect on productivity.

This contrasts with what other Financial Institutions are envisioning, for example: both Lloyds Banking Group and HSBC planning to cut down their office space footprint by 20 to 40%.

In the Tech world as well, companies like Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter and Spotify are more than comfortable letting employees work from home permanently. While some propose to dock remote workers’ pay, others are not necessarily seeing this as the right thing to do.

A flexible working culture is built on trust, communication, collaboration, and connection and acknowledging that we’re all individuals, with different needs and rituals gives us the right frame of mind to let go of a few chosen truths and instead find what’s right for our business and our people. (Spotify)

Why does everyone seem to like Remote Work?

An overwhelming majority of people are now ready to assert their right to work from home at least a few days a week. Both individuals and businesses now have the personal experience of the added perks and they are not ready to let go.

I feel like these challenges have actually forced my organization and my team to communicate more effectively and efficiently

For individuals

• Greater peace of mind. Less interruptions and a quiet environment enhances focus, creativity and allows for a higher level of productivity. There is more room to think and solve hard problems.
• Be yourself. Dressing up and keeping up appearances in the office isn’t needed anymore, office politics have now dramatically changed for the better.

I’ve never been more productive since I started working from from home. Happiness has gone up dramatically as I no longer have a commute, and office politics have fallen by the wayside as now everyone has to rely on their own work to speak for them instead of keeping up appearances

• Stay healthy. With more time at home, it is easier to find the time to cook healthy and squeeze an extra workout in a busy schedule.
• Save time & money. No more commute and eating out means spending more time doing what matters (family, hobbies, extra work time, etc.), a reduced carbon footprint and less money spent on work related costs.

The freedom it gives is invaluable. But full remote working is definitely not for everyone as it can become a burden and not seeing colleagues should be a choice

For businesses

• To compete with modern workplaces. More than ever, businesses are competing to attract and retain the talents. It is now commonplace for employees to expect a flexible, hybrid remote work policy.
• Show trust in your people. Not allowing your people to work from home means to show distrust in their ability to bring out their best selves without being actively monitored by peers.

The overall flexibility of wfh brings me inspiration to work harder and faster

• To foster a borderless culture. Hire the best talent working from anywhere to create cross-border teams able to break silos and re-shape the organisation structure resulting in greater alignment and information sharing.

I think ‘work from anywhere’ is going to be the model to follow at some point — great opportunity for businesses to get the best talent and create a no-barriers culture.

• To save office expenses. No more expensive downtown office space as demand decreases. Allowing remote work also solves scaling office as the workforce goes up and down.

Offices are redundant, zoom meetings are just as efficient as physical meetings and can allow more people to attend

A word of caution

There are valid reasons why many are still doubtful and hostile to the idea of working remotely. After all, the greatest harm can result from the best intentions. Here are a handful of possible adverse effects based on accounts from over 50 surveyed employees and managers.

What could go wrong

• We are social animals. Missing out on human contact is demotivating and not meeting clients or partners is worrying for those of us who understand the value of human connections.

I personally feel one day of home working in the middle of the week is enough to have a personal space without damaging team cohesion

• Lack of discipline and accountability. Outliers are now reportedly working from bed, taking extended lunch breaks or even nap or go about other activities during the day without adequate accountability.

Working from home is not done for everyone and it is inconveniently used as an emergency exit when people do not like the team, the management or just feel frustrated about something in their jobs.

• Communication breakdown. Scepticism or lack of training on how to communicate online causes frustration, miscommunication and results in much more time wasted. The day is now a long succession of often inefficient meetings, there is less time to do actual work.
• Lack of support structure. Missing out on emotional and task based social support provided by peers can leave people feeling isolated and without guidance which in turn generates stress and hurts productivity.
• No separation between work and home. At home, nobody around is winding down and knocking off, there is a tendency to never disconnect and overwork causing both fatigue and stress.

I like the idea of being flexible in working hours and removing the 9-to-5 scheme. The risk is to be ‘always on’ so I believe it is very important to have strict rules and self-control in terms of when to work vs when to have private life moments.

• Home is not the best place to do work. Disruption by colleagues is one thing, but getting family members or housemates around, in a small work environment with poor network, connectivity and work set-up can be nerve-racking. In an office environment, employees have access to technology and infrastructure designed to best support their work, they also have faster and easier access to information which tends to be more current and broad. That leads to more opportunity
• More difficult to demonstrate competence. Due to the lower visibility level, feeling out of the loop and last to know is commonplace. Employees who are seen in office also come easily to mind when it’s time to staff an important new project. Their actions are more easily recognised resulting in credit being attributed more often. Even when the boss is working remotely, word of mouth often travels and reaches back to their boss eventually. Nobody notices the late nights or early morning done at home.

The bottom line

As pointed out by Mark Mortensen and Martine Haas in their article Making the Hybrid Workplace Fair: “Hybrid Environments reward employees who think and act adaptably and flexibly, who are able to organize and coordinate across a complex and dynamic environment, and who are able to establish and provide evidence of their own trustworthiness when working in a context of low visibility.”

As many businesses were forced into remote work this past year, the number of success stories and positive testimonies from employees were quite encouraging. If anything, this highlight the discomfort that was existing pre-Covid-19 with people forced to come to office and put up with the inherent inefficiencies and frustrations that come with it.

We are at a critical juncture in history where the way we work is evolving, and getting it right will require more efforts than merely purchasing a video conferencing solution. For many, this is a continuous journey of learning and adjustment, for others they may need to rely on an organisational behaviour expert to design the best work experience tailored to their industry, culture and employees.

Now it is the time for more people to work from home. Systems have been developed and working styles have changed.