Benefits, Challenges and Solutions of Remote Work, Hybrid Work and In-office Work
/Remote work is not going away.
The last few years have demonstrated people are able to work remotely. We finally broke many misconceptions about remote workers. We have also advanced the development and adoption of technology to assist in collaboration and project management between individuals who may or may not be distance-based.
The challenge we have today is to figure out our brave new world and how work will ‘be’ tomorrow for each of us.
Many of us want the best of both working in-office and working remotely. Before we get too far down this path I recommend we pause for a moment to accept one of the biggest challenges we are facing is that there is no one-size fits all solution for companies, departments and individuals. But one thing I am pretty sure about is that people who work fully remotely will be the minority; in-person contact just offers too much potential benefit for the individual and the company.
Let’s talk about benefits of remote work, hybrid work and in-office work
There are many discussions about how in-office work benefits the employer. So let’s do something different (and perhaps a bit controversial) and explore some of the important benefits to you and I as individuals to being in the office at least some of the time.
In-office work helps us learn to communicate more effectively, confidentially and respectfully. It’s the face-to-face, in-person contact that is important here. Benefits from in-person contact helps us communicate pretty much everywhere; from simple discussions and reading body language, to learning to listen for what people are saying as well as what they are not saying. In-person contact helps us feel and give empathy and helps us recognize when others are sharing or needing empathy; all which are great for build trusting relationships. In-person contact is also amazingly important during creative brainstorming sessions, not to mention in-person contact helps us learn, practice, and sharpen our leadership skills.
Remote work also helps dedicated employees get more done in less time with fewer interruptions (starts and stops). Remote work is also good for employees as they might feel less stress about work, have more time to spend on other projects or training which would enhance longer-term career aspirations, have more autonomy and feel more productive.
Remote work employees may also have the benefit (stressing the word may) because they:
Have greater flexibility to support family
Save money on transportation
Save money on clothes and meals
Let’s talk leadership
Many people aspire to become talented and productive leaders as they progress through their career. Here’s the thing; experts around the world tell us leadership today is far less about being a subject matter expert and far more about building shared respect and trust with individuals. Being a great leader is about inspiring and supporting your team to want to do their best work as they pursue shared company goals.
One of the most important and challenging jobs of a leader is to inspire people who have a variety of personal and professional experiences, values, goals and who may even come from different cultures. This is a rewarding challenge that will require today’s leader to invest a considerable amount of time and attention into being great. And, as I suggested earlier, today’s leaders must also be able to have difficult conversations. Leaders must learn to share challenging news while helping others feel respected, supported, and to not be triggered into a defensive posture. To do this, great leaders have to be great communicators. Not surprisingly, these skills don’t just magically appear. Even the greatest leaders have had to acquire their skills through years of training, coaching and practice.
Can we all learn to be great communicators and build trusting relationships when working remotely? Yes, of course. But (you knew there was going to be a ‘but’), given today’s technology, our use (and misuse) of this technology, our workplace cultures, and past experiences, our success is almost always greater when we have at least some in-person experiences. Let me again share that there are no one-size fits all solutions; leaders and employees must understand different companies, different jobs, and different people will need different arrangements.
There is one more important benefit to in-person interactions. As I briefly mentioned earlier, when we are trying to come up with new ideas and brainstorm solutions, in-person idea-generation sessions are still best. They allow people to see excitement and body-language. In-person interactions allow us talk over each other in respectful ways and for everyone to follow the conversation from many directions at the same time. It’s an energy and rhythm that’s difficult to duplicate in an on-line format given today’s technology.
Let’s talk career-advancement
Imagine half of your teammates are in-office all or most of the time, physically seeing each other and going for coffee while the other half of your teammates are working remotely. It’s not a stretch to see how remote employees may be less top of mind and their accomplishments, participation, ideas and even future opportunities overlooked from time-to-time.
Is this ideal? No. Would almost all of us prefer if it wasn’t like this? Yes. The reality is that it would take a highly evolved workplace culture to find true balance between the experiences of in-office and remote workers. Might we get there in the future? I hope so.
It may seem unfair this burden falls 100% to the employee, but it is their career that is on the line, so I believe staying visible is an employee’s main responsibility no matter if they work in-office, remote or hybrid. You and I both know that even when employees are working in the office, staying visible is their responsibility. It’s just that as a remote and hybrid employee, staying visible feels different than when they used to work in-office all the time. So, how can any employee (and leader) be professional and proactive. Here are some examples:
Come to all meetings prepared
Do their work well and hand it in early
Help others when they can – but don’t let their work suffer
Say something positive when others do something great
Be on-camera during video meetings (and look interested)
For both on-camera meetings, in-person meetings and group phone calls, plan to sign-in or attend early if possible. When others show up, engage in casual conversation to support relationship and trust building.
There are also many other creative opportunities to stay visible. For example, imagine knowing a company retreat is being planned. Especially if it's not the employees’ job, I’d recommend making sure they are part of the organizing committee. Even the smallest role – like organizing and manning the registration table will give them major exposure.
Remote, in-office and hybrid workers must all accept there are pluses and minuses to every solution. As a remote worker part of your life may be easier (like zero transportation) and part may be less attractive. Meanwhile, your co-workers who go into the office may have the unpleasant experience of spending 1, 2 and even 3-hours each day commuting. In the end, we all have new elements to consider when revising our own, personal work-life-balance equation.
Note: This new environment is starting to level the playing field for people living with a disability who find either getting to in-office spaces difficult.
Let’s talk about moving forward – together
Five responsibilities organizations, leaders and employees (in-office and remote) will have to share, noting that some of the best organizations were doing these long before 2020:
A. Be crystal clear with company, department, and project goals
B. Communicate (and repeat) important messages clearly, often and respectfully… to everyone
C. Set and track clear performance metrics (note, being in-office is not a quality performance metric)
D. Follow organizational values and the unrelenting support of 100% respect for everyone
E. Support the concept that change is the new standard
A: Whether you are all working remote, in-office, or hybrid, if you are not clear with company, department, and project goals your work quality and your feelings of pride will suffer.
B: Communicate is the best way to keep people focused on a goal and to be sure they feel pride in their work and are inspired by their community. It builds employee trust with their leaders and among each other. When leaders and employees are transparent and communicate often, this also helps others feel a sense of stability and calm.
C: When consumed by the busyness of an office, many leaders confess they sometimes forget the remote worker when setting project assignments. This is why it matters organizations help their leaders change the way they set tasks and evaluate productivity. Performance goals should measure many things. For example, they should:
Be based on objective value added to the firm’s core goals
Constantly support the values of the organization.
Be transparent, understood by everyone
Be tracked in real-time
A popular approach to tracking and evaluating productively is called Results Only Work (ROW). This is a brilliant way to measure success, regardless of if employees are in-office or remote. Even if you have all of your employees working in-office I encourage you to set and track what people accomplish in today’s world, a bum in seat is not a good measurement of a dedicated, high-value employee.
D: As a leader one of the most empowering things you can do is ensure everyone on your team knows how their contribution aligns to the company values. And hopefully one of those values is to ensure everyone deserves to be a member of a respectful, inclusive and equitable workplace that is free from discrimination, harassment, or bullying. When it comes to setting and tracking clear performance metrics, demonstrating company values should be at the top of the list.
E: Leaders have to help take the fear out of change and insert an expectation of change. People love routine because it feels comfortable and dependable. But today, routine means you are falling behind your competition and/or co-workers. How we worked 10 years ago is different than how we work today. How we worked 2-years ago is different. And I imagine how we work 2-years from now will be different yet again.
Moving forward will not only change the way we work, it makes sense that the actual work we do will change. Like always, part this change will be due to market demand and innovation. But change will also accelerate as we integrate new remote-work and hybrid work models into our culture – not to mention the new emerging technologies. For example, as we emerge out of a pandemic, half of my mother’s quarterly check-in / check-up doctors’ visits are now done by phone. During the pandemic all of them were remote unless there was something serious my mother felt she needed to discuss. Before the pandemic all her doctor visits were in-person. These are three significant changes to how my mother’s doctor works in just over two years.
We are living in a culture of change. The organizations, leaders and employees who will thrive will be excited about change and see it as an opportunity to grow and develop new skills. I believe our clearest path forward is for us to all adopt a positive perspective that focuses on saying things like, “What we did today was great, how can we make it and/or the process better tomorrow.” We must allow ourselves to be reflective – but in a positive “can do” way that honours and respects what we did today, not condemn it. Treat it like an After-Action Review (AAR) originally developed by the U.S. Army as a structured review process would encourage everyone to pause after a project and to explore three questions with a goal to learn from our experiences:
What happened
Why it happened
How it can be done better by the participants and those responsible
Conclusion
Experts predict that as we move into a ‘new normal’ between 35 to 65% of employees will work hybrid with only about 10% working fully remote.
It is incumbent on everyone, leaders, and employees alike to make sure we all remain visible, front-of-mind, and reviewed based on job performance despite a remote status.
One last thing. When bringing employees back to the office either full time or as part of a hybrid work model, I strongly believe leaders need to be able to answer the following four key questions clearly and transparently. And I warn you in advance, if you tell the truth people will believe and respect the news you share even if it isn’t what they wanted to hear. But, if you try to fluff it off or treat today like it was 2-years ago, you will likely soon have a productivity and employee loyalty issue to manage… as well:
How can we bring people back safely?
Why are we bringing people back to the office?
What is our hybrid work strategy?
What is our workplace value proposition?
Thank you for reading ‘Benefits, Challenges and Solutions of Remote Work, Hybrid Work and In-office Work’. Together we can get the best of working in-office and remotely.
Be well and happy communicating, leading and creating a culture of belonging within your company or within your team.
Bruce
Learn More About Bruce Mayhew
Toronto corporate trainer and executive coach Bruce Mayhew Consulting is in the people business… it just so happens that training and/or executive coaching is involved. Let us help you improve your productivity and employee engagement.
To learn more about how leadership training can to improve your skills call us at 416.617.0462.
Bruce Mayhew Consulting's most popular programs are Email Etiquette Training, Difficult Conversations, Generational Differences, Leadership Skills Training and Time Management Training
Related Workshops That Drive Business Success
Toronto based corporate trainer and executive coach Bruce Mayhew Consulting offers leadership training and professional development across Canada and the USA.
