Who would have thought a few short years ago that businesses would have changed as much as they have? Pre-pandemic, companies had very few employees working remotely. Once they were faced with employees working from home many at reduced productivity, companies quickly became savvy about finding a solution.
Exploring the best solution for your company takes a little digging. This is not a one-size fits all situation. The solution must include gathering information from your workforce. Many employees’ lives and work style preferences have changed drastically in the wake of Covid-19. Employee engagement surveys may be a solution to pulling together the information needed to decide the best path for your company. 2Go Advisory Group provides custom-designed surveys that can help you.
Five topics to consider about how a 100% remote workforce may impact employees are:
Technology Issues: When an issue arises, employees can’t just walk their computers down the hall to the company’s IT specialist. Sometimes a computer needs to be driven to the office or shipped in, and time is lost. Adequate internet connectivity is also a factor that can impact working effectively from home.
Isolation: Working remotely can be isolating for some employees who enjoy interacting with co-workers and the “water cooler” chats through the day. They must find new ways to create connection with others. Zoom meetings usually fall short. Managers can help these employees by planning and including casual conversations in Zoom meetings. Example: How was your weekend?
Staying Motivated and On Task: Some employees struggle with staying on task with distractions all around them. It takes discipline not to turn on the television or fire up the gaming console for a quick break. Suddenly, they have blown through an hour or more. Some employees need more guidance from their managers. More frequent check-ins from their supervisor can provide what these employees need to be successful. This is not a suggestion to micro-manage. Some employees do well with more frequent conversations about accomplished work and what still needs to get done.
High Performers Burn Out When Working Excessive Hours: It is important to be able to step away from work and create some level of life balance. Having a home office means employees can potentially be working very long hours. Responding to an email late in the evening can spawn an interaction that might last several hours. Healthy boundaries with co-workers, managers and customers are helpful in avoiding employee burn out. Burn out leads to job dissatisfaction and employee turnover.
Reduction in Effective and Timely Communication: When employees are working remotely, they must learn to become better communicators. This isn’t as easy as it might seem. Combinations of different types of communication are often needed. They must learn to communicate via email pertinent information effectively and in a timely manner. They must also be able to pivot when a phone conversation or video conference is more appropriate to handle an issue.
Sometimes, it is essential to have employees onsite. Their job responsibilities require their physical presence. If this is not true for an employee, companies should consider remote and hybrid options for that person.It is important to monitor productivity. Is there a decline in productivity? If so, why? Surprisingly, some companies have experienced an increase in productivity. Understanding why would also be valuable to management.
Why Do Employees Desire Remote Work?
Saves Money: When you don’t have to pay for gas, lunches, coffee at Starbucks, work clothes and full-time daycare, this can add thousands of dollars back into the household budget.
Regain the Time Spent Commuting: Many hours are spent sitting in traffic or taking public transportation that are unproductive hours in the day. Furthermore, the cost of commuting is higher today for most employees.
Avoid Office Politics: Every company has office politics. Some employees are better at navigating this part of work life than others. Working remotely can limit exposure to office politics for those not so adept.
Achieving Work Life Balance: Working from home can allow an employee to meet a friend for lunch, hit the gym for a workout, or go to the grocery store in the middle of the week. All these things improve overall life balance and happiness.
In addition to interviewing a candidate regarding their skills, 2GO Advisory Group’s Recruiting team closely screens all candidates for their desired commute radius and onsite, remote and hybrid work preferences. We only send candidates who will fit the criteria you have requested. Feel free to reach out for guidance.
