The world of work is changing. Many employees no longer hold the traditional nine-to-five job. Instead, working time is increasingly flexible. Today’s technology allow that businesses are no longer limited to specific geographical locations to manage their workforce.

In the first few weeks of 2020, a pandemic turned the world’s workforce into remote workers seemingly overnight. With the emergency of Covid-19, businesses were forced around the globe to close their offices. Most of those businesses either figured out how to work remotely or stopped operations for a period of time. People who thought that such a long-term interruption of day-to-day business could not happen to them suddenly found themselves dealing with it as their new reality so employees decided to move away from the office and set up new workspaces in their home.

Changes and continuity plans came into place for employees to be able to do work from home on a long-term basis. Historically, there has been some pushback from management on overseeing a remote and distributed workforce however, digital tools such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Chat, Skype and Slack went from useful supplements to daily interactions with coworkers, and Technology became the main enabler of flexible and remote working, allowing employees to change the locations they work from and working hours. With high-speed connectivity and the right technology, people were working not only from dedicated office locations but from their home, a café, hub, shared working spaces or, indeed, anywhere in the world.

According to the Global Workplace Analytics believes that 25-30% of the workforce will be remote by 2021. https://globalworkplaceanalytics.com/work-at-home-after-covid-19-our-forecast

Top Concerns of Management

Main concerns from managers and team leaders are all about functionality, such as how to get the team to function cohesively while separated, and how to manage their newly distributed workforce. Another concerns that managers have about a remote workforce are low productivity, loss of employees focus, lack of Face-to-Face supervision, unclear expectations, miscommunication, social isolation, and even concerns about the long-term career goals of employees.

The truth is that many managers out there have some anxiety about managing remote workers. Managerial skills set get honed by repetition. For so many years, some management skills relied on large amounts of small face-to-face check-ins, quick meetings with staff members, relegate tasks if the employees were not doing something productive, etc, which caused the move to removed remote working.

That kind of management style is the main issues of a productive remote work environment as they are concerned about dropping productivity and overworking. The only way to tackle these challenges is to make the organisation transparent as possible.

This transparency itself is not a technology that can be easily applied, but it’s a whole culture to be implemented, usually not without a struggle and not without the need to do a huge mental shift. But in reality, there are five pillars that make the organisation transparent and boost the productivity of remote workers as well as reducing the fear and anxiety of both employers and employees:

- Plan ahead

- Communicate

- Track time

- Provide feedback

- Analyse and optimize

Other important key elements are flexible time for when the work will be completed, reduce long meetings but increase communication, set up responsibilities, use the right technology, and the correct methods to employ. Make sure the team has the tools they need not only to work but to thrive, take care to choose the apps and services that are right for them such as software, programs, and the right equipment to do their best work from work. At the end of the day, those expenses will be a great investment, but most importantly it will keep employees and maintain productivity.

Empowerment vs Control

Managing remotely should all be about trust the team members to complete the tasks they have jointly agreed. Many managers fear a loss of control as they cannot see what the team members are doing. But in order to empower the remote environment, connect with your team members, organise online team buildings and/or coffee breaks for the entire team, but make sure that all employees feel comfortable to do so or one-on-one calls can be also a great idea.

When managing remotely, managers should keep in mind to be clear about the outputs and what they are expecting from them, support the team and ensure that there is an effective two-way communication flow.

It’s also important to agreeing key performance measures with each team member so that everyone is clear how their productivity will be monitored.

We can understand that issues can arise around team coherence and collaboration. Not seeing or talking to your team duirng the week can mean that employees start to feel disconnected and lose a sense of team cohesion. The manager needs to work hard to ensure that employees still feel connect to the team.

Here are other techniques that hep to have more interaction with team members:

- Daily communication

- Have clear performance expectations

- Encourage ideas and contributions

- Build trust

- Flexibility is key

- Give feedback

- Asking members of other teams to take part in your own team meetings (and vice versa) to provide updates, inputs, etc.

- Provide shadowing

- Supportive, regular one-to-ones

- Create SMART objectives (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-bound) to create detail of support

- Recognise & acknowledge good work

- Spot and improve any poor performance

- Develop blogs and online newsletters to update other teams about what you are doing

- Holding joint events/away days to build team spirit

- Keep communication channel open through the day by using collaborate IT tools such as Slack, Skype and/or Yammer

- Being alert to team member well-being and isolation factors

Skill shortage is driving remote working

Hiring people with the right skills, knowledge and experience has become increasingly important to the long-term success of any organisation. In order to hire the best people, in-company recruiters anticipate that up to a third of their full-time staff will be working remotely in the next decade. Future Workforce Report https://www.upwork.com/research/future-workforce-report-2022 said that hiring people with the right skills is more important than hiring people who can work in the same office location.

The Remote Workspace

Humans are creatures of habit, getting up, dressed, and ready for a commute to work is a routine that is difficult to change, but if employers find the right balance to remote workforce it will make everything more effective and productive.

In fact, remote workers are more proactive because they have no commute, no office small talk, fewer distractions, more time for family, exercise, a higher quality of life, and better overall work-life balance. Many predict that the trend of creating remote and agile teams is the future of work. The World Economic Forum’s forecast of employment trends called flexible working and virtual teams “one of the biggest drivers of transformation” in the workplace https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-future-of-jobs-report-2020/digest/

So, what are the benefits of remote working?

Benefits to the employee

- Less time spent travelling

- More time to concentrate on work without interruptions and distractions

- Not dealing with office politics

- More time with the family/the ability to better manage childcare arrangements (for example)

- More time to exercise, attend to the necessities of life, such as doctor or Dentist appointments, and do home-based chores while being able to make up the time elsewhere

- Less stress and increased well-being

Benefits to the manager/team leaders

Remote working can provide opportunities to:

- Manage by outcomes rather than by “presenteeism”

- Empower team members to give their best

- Increase well-being in the team

- Improve job performance and job satisfaction

- Boost morale

- Attract new team members with the right experience and skills, no matter where they are based

Benefits to the organisation:

- Increase productivity

- Drive efficiencies

- Save money in terms of office costs and overheads

- Lower an organisation’s carbon footprint

- Lower absenteeism

- Increase employee engagement

- Meet variable staffing demands

- Attract and retain diverse talent and skills

- Help build loyalty

- Create a more inclusive culture

Set up your mind and your space for productivity

There are many different traps that can stop a person from being productive at home. From a comfy couch to pets wanting attention, along with well-meaning family and friends, there are many distractions to lure you away from home. The good news is that these work-from-home pitfalls are avoidable if you know what they are, you can plan ahead and set yourself up for success.

Choosing your space

Your work area should be where you go to work daily. Find the right place that can be dedicated to your work. Do your best to choose a space where you can be most productive with few distractions because this will reflect in the quality of your work.

Good lighting

Finding a space with plenty of natural lighting is optimal. Natural lighting helps to elevate your mood and can have a positive impact on your health and sleeping patterns.

If natural light is not an option, be sure to have adequate lighting in the work area as poor lighting will cause you eye strain which can lead to headaches and will dampen your productivity.

Keeping a good posture at your desk

Positions yourself and desk, but take into account your height to scale it up or down as necessary.

Broadband

Always consider a sufficient, or reliable enough internet. Pick up a location where you will have a strong internet connection.

Monitors

Ensure that you have your computer monitor positioned correctly and at the best height for you. You should not be twisting your neck or turning your body to see what is on the screen.

Grab a seat

Use a good chair with lumbar support and a good cushion, and ensure it is at a good height for the table or desk where you will work. This will be the best advice for anyone who suffers from back pain.

Invest in yourself

Considering getting a comfortable keyboard, pads to support the wrists or find a comfy and full-sizes wireless mouse that best suits the type of work you will be doing from home.

Add privacy if needed

It's very important to create the quite place if you need by sectioning it off from the rest of the home. Closing doors will add your privacy quickly, easily and economically especially if you have family or friends/housemates that are freely in and out of the area that is now your workspace. This will help you to maintain lower stress levels and avoid misunderstanding at home while you work.

Use shared documents

So that anyone can see the status of projects, use and update the information and understand what is happening at any given moment.

Connect and engage with others using Slack/Skype

For virtual team meetings either on video calls or sending team or individual's message. It's important to communicate clearly and the best way to do this is by having a video conversation, asking questions, making sure issues are not taken out of context – which can be lost with just a phone call as a lot of communication is non-verbal. Check that all your equipment is working and you might want to check that the background area is tidy.

Communication and collaboration tools

There are number of collaboration tools available, including Trello, Monday, Workzone, Hubspot, nTask, etc.

Other quick tips to stay productive while working remotely

- Set boundaries (actual work time and stick to it)

- Take breaks at regular intervals, remember to eat and drink

- Make a daily check list and track your time so you don’t get distracted or overworked

- Shut down your computer/business phone when needed

Looking after you Physical & Mental Health

It's very important to create a positive physical and mental health culture at your organization. This will improve productivity as well as maintaining physical and mental health:

Here are some useful ideas:

- Keep to a morning routine.

- Regular breaks away from the computer. It helps to clear your head away from your desk and helps to find the solution you are looking for.

- Exercise, from doing a few stretches to a bit of yoga before and after work.

- Develop your own productivity ritual and routine, be self-disciplined with it.

- Be mindful of others.

- Stay connected – talk to someone every day and not always work-related

- Block out personal time in your email calendar – take time for self-care, taking after family needs, etc.

- When someone is struggling to support as it’s okay to not be okay right now. Personal issues can appear which can cause stress in people’s life so to be able to support and understand.

- A buddy support.

- Employee assistant programs (if available)

Government Guidance for the public on mental health - here is a reliable website with some good advice on how to manage mental health.

Conclusion

Perhaps now, more than ever before, to fully understand the reality of employee's role and responsibility to enable them to define what a productive day’s work really looks like for those working remotely. To take the time to effectively engage, understand, focus on supporting employee’s wellbeing and provide opportunities for collaboration and networking will be best equipped to benefit from this shift.

Remote work takes millions of vehicles off the road every day, helping to slow the degradation of the environments. It also saves employees the cost of fuel, vehicle wear-and-tear, and personal time. The reduced stress and increased individual freedom results in productive employees that feel fulfilled in their happier personal and professional life.