Summary: COVID-19 has resulted in many new teleworkers who are running into a variety of issues from privacy to lack of equipment. However, most businesses intend to pursue an increase in permanent remote work opportunities even after the pandemic has passed, due to a variety of benefits including cost savings and environmental preservation. Businesses need to ask for insight from workers and ensure they meet needs in both technology and policy while remaining flexible in order to successfully implement telework on a long-term scale.
“New normal” is a term found in nearly every conversation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic: kids are home from school, the dissipation of millions of jobs in a matter of weeks, all cultural entertainment at a grinding halt. Although people are adapting to social distancing and public mask-wearing, many are yearning to return to pre-pandemic times - regular, “old” normal.
Some changes brought about by the coronavirus, such as telework, may be here to stay even after the virus is well under control. Many employees would embrace permanent telework opportunities with open arms, but would that be the right decision for your business? Here’s what other businesses are saying—according to a recent Gartner survey, 74% of businesses will shift some employees to permanent remote work. This is the breakdown:
25% of respondents expect 10% of their employees to continue remote work
17% expect 20% will remain remote
4% expect 50% will remain remote
2% expect more than 50% of employees currently working from home during the pandemic to continue to do so permanently after COVID-19 subsides
The Current State Of Remote Work
The COVID-19 pandemic has been the world’s largest work-from-home experiment. Business owners, leaders, and employees have all experienced growing pains while working remotely out of necessity. Many were ill-prepared, with some people working in bathtubs to find space away from children who are all now home from school, and many overloaded VPNs crashed across businesses around the globe. A substantial number of employees are working from home for the first time, and many managers who are accustomed to in-person leadership styles are, for the first time, learning how to guide productivity from afar.
Benefits of Telework During COVID-19
Despite rocky starts, telework has offered great opportunities and benefits during the crisis. The cost savings for businesses is immense. Typical businesses can save $11k per year per employee who works remotely only 50% of the time. According to Kate Lister, President of Global Workplace Analytics, “Work-at-home will save U.S. employers over $30 billion a day in what would have otherwise been lost productivity during office closures due to COVID-19.”
From an environmental standpoint, remote work is a major boon. In an earlier report from Xerox, the company stated its teleworkers drove 92 million fewer miles, saving 4.6 million gallons of gas, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 41,000 metric tons, and saving the company over $10 million.
Employees are saving time and money without the need for a commute, allowing more free time and potentially better work-life balance, all the while protecting the health of themselves and their coworkers. Despite fears from many employers about productivity in a remote environment, many employees thrive without the constraints of an office space, and productivity is higher for remote workers.
Questions To Ask About Future Remote Work Opportunities
Despite a laundry list of benefits of remote work for businesses, it isn’t right in every business situation. Ask yourself the following questions to determine if it is wise or even realistic to expect remote work to function for you:
First and foremost, which business activities must be performed on-site? Why? Remember, hybrid businesses are also an option. You may be able to reap the benefits of telework, even if it is only for a small percentage of employees. Note: Be sure to consider creative alternatives to on-site jobs before dismissing the possibility of telework.
What style of leadership do your managers and other leaders implement? Are they actions-focused or results-focused? Managers who focus on results and offer freedom and trust in their employees will be better equipped for the transition to telework, especially because remote workers work best in bursts.
Do employees whose roles are well-suited to teleworking have the necessary equipment to do so effectively—a workspace, broadband, functional computer and accessories? Can your company provide them?
Do you have any IT security considerations, such as the regular handling of sensitive data? Does your company have a VPN or other technology that could assist in maintaining needed security practices?
If your business has already pursued telework during the pandemic, you can also ask yourself questions about what worked, what didn’t, and what could be made to work better without prohibitive cost or time investment.
Which collaborative tools is your team using? Are there any pain points that did not exist in the office that a collaborative tool may resolve? For example, chat tools like Teams or Slack can make for effective work communication as well as camaraderie, and keep people accountable. Ask your team which tools are most effective and productive for them and replace as necessary to a better-suited alternative.
Have productivity goals been met or exceeded? Why or why not? Determine if lack of clearly defined goals, difficulty with focus, at-home distractions, or technology issues may be the culprit. Could any issues be readily resolved? If productivity goals are being exceeded, how can you capitalize on them further with extended remote work and better tools?
How is your business managing accountability? Are you imposing strict working hours or allowing employees to follow their instincts, with a focus on results?
Ask your employees open-ended questions for feedback. What’s working? What’s not? What do they like? What are their frustrations? Employees can offer a lot of insight for an effective remote work strategy.
Impacts To Consider When Pursuing Extended Telework
If your business intends to pursue telework permanently, now is the time to begin creating or refining your telework policy. Take into consideration IT security policies, working hour expectations, and collaboration expectations (such as a bi-weekly video call).
It is also important that you consider some of the downsides of telework. For example, while some employees find it easier to balance work and personal life, others fall into the “always-on” trap that leads quickly to burnout. Implement ways for employees to disconnect in order to facilitate balance, if possible.
For employees who crave structure, determine how to meet those needs, whether by additional check-ins with leadership, more frequent clearly-defined goals, or even admittance to a co-working space (after the pandemic, of course.)
Also, think ahead towards events like welcoming a new employee. Without in-person water cooler talk, a newcomer can feel ostracized from the outset which can lead to major setbacks for your company culture. Consider having a “water cooler chat” in Teams or your business’s chat program of choice so employees still have a chance to be social.
Remember, switching to telework is a learning process and flexibility in the beginning is key. Help ensure your employees have what they need as you implement a long-term remote work strategy, and remain adaptable until you find the processes that work for your business and unique combination of employees.