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The future of remote work: is it still popular?
Remote working has had an interesting journey. Pre-COVID, the idea of working from home was a rare occurrence, often conditional to extenuating circumstances – far from the norm. National lockdowns made the practice compulsory, but it hasn’t disappeared with the removal of restrictions. Instead, ‘hybrid working’ has become the figurehead of all things ‘work-life balance’ related, allowing employees to mould work around their lives, rather than the other way around. So much so, the Government has recently announced plans to empower employees with the right to request flexible working arrangements from day one.
Despite these plans, workers remain divided into two general camps when it comes to remote work – those who have reaped the benefits of home working and have no intention of returning and those who are desperate to re-join the buzz of an office environment.
As a result, employers are frequently walking a tightrope to please all parties. This arrangement seems to be popular for the most part, but only time will tell whether remote working is here to stay. So, how should employers ensure that they are striking the right balance?
Consider people not trends
As recruitment specialists we need to stay ahead of developments in the jobs market and therefore often speak in terms of ‘trends’ in the sector. However, what we are really referring to is people, whether this be the needs of leaders and hiring managers, or what workers are looking for. As an employer, its crucial to move away from these abstract industry ‘fashions’, and instead think in terms of the individuals you see every day.
Be mindful of the wide diversity of thought within your workforce. Even in the smallest of organisations, differences in desires, preferences and needs will exist. There will be individuals that thrive in a busy office environment and are motivated by being around colleagues. Others may be unable to concentrate in louder surroundings or struggle with the unexpected coffee machine small talk. And of course, it's not all about desires either, there will be members of your team who really benefited from remote working for childcare requirements, for example, and whose flexibility is restricted.
The only way to know for sure is by speaking to your workforce and being prepared to make reasonable adjustments to ensure they are supported. Clearly this doesn’t mean bending over backwards to your staff’s every beck and call – there are parameters to what is feasible. But even small adaptations could make a significant difference to a person’s working life. For example, allowing an hour leeway in the mornings before any team meetings may reduce stress around the prospect of being late from a school run. By giving people space you’re not only supporting their wellbeing but also demonstrating the trust you have in them.
Work-life balance
It’s undeniable that obligatory remote working during the pandemic gave workers new opportunities to prioritise their home life. 87 per cent of respondents in a recent survey stated that remote work options improved their overall work-life balance. Although it arguably shouldn’t have taken a lockdown to highlight the importance of this to workplace wellbeing, not to mention employee retention.
Others, however, have spoken of an opposite reaction – with those working from bedrooms or kitchen tables feeling unable to distance themselves or switch off from work, without a commute or a computer that stays in the office.
Rather than fixating on remote or home work, the concentration should be instead be on putting policies or processes in place to ensure that all employees have the ability to maintain a boundary between office and home life. Whilst staff are employed to work, they must be given the chance to fit in the rest of their life, otherwise they will likely find a place where they can.
The question of productivity
For employers, one of the major sticking points to remote work revolves around the productivity of workers. Many staff who work from home, attest to the fact that they are often more productive at home due to a quieter work environment, fewer interruptions and less time spent traveling, but not all employers are on the same page.
In a survey of 20,000 employees and employers, 85 per cent of leaders claim that the shift to hybrid work has made it challenging to have confidence that employees are being productive. This clear divide of opinion could easily fester, undermining trust within the team and resulting in ‘productivity paranoia’ - where leaders fear that lost productivity is due to employees not working, even though hours worked, number of meetings, and other activity metrics have increased.
The real or conceived pressure of a necessity to ‘prove their worth’ can lead employees to overcompensate by overworking. To avoid burnout and disengagement across the workforce, employers need to ensure that they are treating their employees equally and avoid favouring those that they can see.
Instead, if leaders are feeling disconnected from those at home, focusing on implementing policies that help the cohesion of the entire team will benefit everyone. For example, organising regular and obligatory team meetings, and one to one catchups. With the technology of today, there’s no need to compromise on building connections.
No one-size fits all
Establishing the reasons behind employee opinions of remote or office work will help leaders to understand how this might be reflected in the needs of the talent they are trying to attract.
For instance, more junior staff or new starters can gain from the support that a team atmosphere provides – leaning over the desk to ask a quick question may feel less intimidating than communicating over email or arranging a call. Equally, someone with financial concerns will benefit from the opportunity to avoid paying for a costly commute for a few days per week.
Whilst not all occupations will be conducive to remote or hybrid working, for those that are, leaders need to consider how their approach to the topic will impact the talent that they can reach.