By Brad Federman
Remote work, or the ability to work from home, is all the rage. But should it be? Do companies really like it? Do employees really want it? And even if the answer to both those questions is yes, can it even be achieved? Most importantly, can you maintain a culture in a remote world?
Do companies really want a remote work environment?
Companies fought remote work prior to the pandemic. Now it looks like they are embracing remote work. But why? Currently there is a labor shortage, making it difficult to fill roles. Organizations are also facing pressure from existing employees wanting to work remotely. Given the recruiting, hiring, and retention challenges that exist at this moment in time, it makes sense that organizations have become flexible. The big question is, will their sudden interest and flexibility last? For many, probably not.
For remote work to be successful, there needs to be a certain level of trust. Organizations need to focus on managing outcomes rather than time. Based on some recent trends, it is becoming clear that most organizations have not made that shift and trust will suffer. Here are some current strategies organizations are taking to support remote work:
Sixty percent (up from 30% just prior to the pandemic) of organizations with 1000 people or more have adopted the following technologies:
- Monitoring employee keystrokes and mouse movements
- Ability to take screenshots of employee computer screens
- Capability to scrape emails
- Biometric tools to track employee movement
- Measure the length of conversations with colleagues
The number of employers turning to these technologies is only growing. With most news sources promoting remote work and its benefits, you have to wonder why organizations are still skeptical. Actions speak louder than words. According to the global consulting firm, McKinsey, after nine months of remote work behind them, CEOs have mixed feelings and opinions regarding remote work.
Do employees really want to go remote?
This is not as clear cut as people make it out to be. It depends on how you ask the question.
- 87% of employees would like to work from home one day a week
- Only 33% of employees would not want to work for a company that required them to work from the office full time.
Employees are unique. Some employees want to be remote, others want a hybrid approach, and then there are also the employees that want to return to the office. However, the more important question we have to ask ourselves is, “Is what we want good for us?”
Now that we have been working from home for a while, some interesting statistics are bubbling up.
- 69% of employees are burnt out
- 65% of remote workers are working more hours
- 84% of millennials are experiencing burnout
- 41% of remote workers report stress compared to 25% of office workers
- 49% of employees say they suffer from Zoom fatigue
On top of all of those alarming statistics, remote workers report struggling to unplug from work, being challenged with collaborating from a distance, frustrated by distractions at home, have difficulty staying motivated, and many say they are lonely. Most concerning is that the tools are not always working. Depending on what survey you look at, one third to two thirds of remote employees say their internet access is weak or not consistent, creating barriers to predictable productivity.
Beyond the stress levels, burnout, and technology issues, some people are not wired for remote work, even if they like the idea of working from home. Remote work means managing your energy and mindset at an even higher level than in the office. For instance, most people need to create a routine such as getting ready for work, leaving their house, going to a coffee shop and ordering a cup of coffee, and then driving to their home as if they are going to the office in order to have a productive day. However, many people lack the routine needed to be productive and ignore the warning signals highlighting their daily challenges of remotely working.
Personality differences also have a major impact. People with an extraversion preference are struggling right now because they feel isolated. Forcing remote work on those individuals over the long haul could be extremely problematic. Finding ways for them to network and make personal connections in a remote world is paramount. Extraverts need interaction and enjoy face-to-face time, otherwise, their mental health, productivity, and quality of work can be negatively impacted. Most introverted individuals have truly enjoyed remote work. However, many introverts feel at home on Isolation Island and need to get pulled back in more to collaborate. By allowing employees to insulate themselves, it not only negatively affects productivity and collaboration, but it can be detrimental to one’s career.
Can a remote workplace be achieved?
Everyone seems to think so. However, not everything can be completed remotely. The potential for work to be remote is based on tasks, activities, and capabilities. For instance, many physical and manual activities cannot accomplished remotely. Other tasks require fixed or large equipment not suitable for a home work environment. Working in a lab, sales and service in a store, building a home or office building at a construction site, or operating equipment in a factory are all examples of work that cannot be completed remotely. Even when the activities can be transferred to a remote environment, quality can suffer.
We have all found that remote schooling can work, but it is not the same. Not only do students lose socialization, many report learning less in a remote environment. Certain activities such as relationship building, negotiations, collaboration, innovation, and problem solving have a uniquely different feel in person and as such, produce different results.
As research results start to come in, we are beginning to see the limitations to remote work. Much of the research, such as a recently completed McKinsey study, illustrates that approximately twenty eight percent (28%) to thirty three percent (33%) of worktime in an advanced economy can be completed remotely without a loss of productivity. This is a far cry from the predictions being provided by many in the social media, print media, and television world. There are so many implications to going fully remote, from the impact on people’s careers to the health of urban centers. The future looks more hybrid than anything else.
Hybrid work environments create new challenges as well. Scheduling, appropriate workspaces, costs of maintaining home offices and traditional office space, bias in career advancement, most of the issues discussed earlier in this article, and more are impacted.
How do we cultivate culture in this new environment?
The first step is to make sure that everyone’s basic needs are met. Right now, over seventy percent (70%) of employees feel their organization is not doing enough to address burnout. The situation is becoming untenable for most people.
Organizations must start to think about how remote work and the pandemic is causing:
- Unfair treatment
- Unmanageable workloads
- Lack of support
- Increased ambiguity
- Unreasonable time pressure
- Isolation
- Zoom fatigue
Once an organization has a clear view of their employee’s concerns, they must productively address those concerns. Also, helping managers learn how to coach remote employees and assisting employees in making changes themselves by coaching them and training them on how to best approach remote work is needed.
Once we address these issues, companies will need to be proactive in cultivating culture by consistently and regularly reinforcing the organization’s mission, vision, and values. These can be discussed and explored in meetings, one-on-ones, communications, coaching sessions, and more. While better in person, all of these activities can be completed on a Zoom call. It just means that we need to up our game when it comes to emotional intelligence and remember productivity and completed tasks are dependent on… people. Culture should support people. Healthy people working together toward a meaningful purpose.
PerformancePoint LLC
[email protected]
www.performancepointllc.com
