Estimated Reading Time: 11 minutes
By Delia Jones
“You should be able to work from anywhere.” A former boss of mine said that a lot and it sounded great. If an employee asked to work from home, my boss would agree with that announcement and leave the second level managers to implement a telecommute solution. Second level managers were inevitably left with a few questions, such as:
According to The 2017 State of Telecommuting in the U.S. Employee Workforce Report—published by FlexJobs and Global Workplace Analytics—in 2017, 3.9 million U.S. employees worked from home at least half the time, a whopping 155% increase from 1.8 million remote workers in 2005. If you’ve ever wasted what felt like a lifetime battling rush hour traffic, you’re probably not surprised to know that, “In more than half of the top U.S. metro areas telecommuting exceeds public transportation as the commute option of choice.”
Though remote work has increased significantly in the U.S., many employers remain reluctant to offer flexible commute and schedule options to employees. Reluctance may come from a fear of change, uncertainty about the logistical questions shared above, deep concern about potential negative impacts to organizations and staff morale, or frustration with telecommuting trials and test-runs.
Myths and stigmas aside, one key question remains unanswered: are remote workers more or less productive than their in-office peers? Some research studies and case studies strongly favor remote work as the more productive option, such as Traitify CEO Dan Sines’ experience, explained in his piece “Hiring Remote Workers Made My Entire Team More Productive” (Fast Company, January 2018). Corporate leaders aren’t the only ones reporting positive telecommuting outcomes; a UK-wide charity shared its “Advantages of Remote Working” on KnowhowNonprofit.org. Larry Alton, writer of a 2017 Forbes article, “Are Remote Workers More Productive Than In-Office Workers?” points out that remote work has great potential to increase employee productivity, but employer policy and implementation determine the success of remote arrangements.
Sitting in offices or cubes, conference rooms, huddle rooms or even hallways—our coworkers are a mixed bag of how work gets done. Some need a lot of social time but work long hours, some like to keep quiet, buckle down and clock out right on time. Work style varies greatly from employee to employee.
Recognize any of these colleagues from your flexible workplace?
The Baby Napper
A parent is ready to go back to work but is having a hard time finding childcare. The employee intends to work when the baby naps. They also offer to work late or weekends to make up for any lost time. Problem: babies don’t nap on schedule, and even a stellar employee is not at their best after sleep deprivation. Of course, this employee has the best of intentions, and in some cases the arrangement may even work out.
The Peace Lover
This one has frustrated me and is very popular in the age of open office space and shared work spaces. Here’s the pitch: “I really need to work at home, so I can just concentrate and not have to deal with people coming by my desk and asking questions or chatting.” This request is often followed by something such as: “I also get much more done when I work at home!” Okay, I think. Greater productivity sounds great. But like The Baby Napper and the fine print on a statement from your retirement provider, past performance in a competitive office environment is not necessarily an indicator of future performance.
The Errand Runner
So, you’re calling someone working remotely and can’t reach them. They return your call and say, “Sorry I missed you; I was quickly running an errand.” It’s true that employees at the office run errands too, but a remote one is not only away from their desk, they have disappeared from your radar screen. Got trust?
The Camera Avoider
They hate seeing themselves on video chat. For some reason, their camera is never working. Fairness, anyone? Interacting in-person or through a video conference helps create and foster trusting teams. Unfortunately, out of sight too often means out of the loop.
Do any of these remote workers sound familiar? No workforce—remote, onsite or a blend of both—consists of worker clones. In fact, advancing your nonprofit’s mission requires a wide spectrum of perspectives and personalities, which means different work styles can and ideally should be a valuable asset. But it’s the rare team that triumphs in a vacuum, and all workers need direction, and the occasional correction. Consider the strategies below to nurture, leverage and maximize the diverse talents and workstyles of your on-site and remote teams.
Research on health issues in the workplace cites flexible workplaces (flex time, remote work options, etc.) as a driver of employee engagement and satisfaction. But as risk champions are well aware, bountiful opportunities may obscure unintended consequences and downside risks. Some of the risks that arise when one or more workers telecommute include:
Keeping with the tech theme, good audio is still underrated for meetings and general remote communication. Find or research the best tech minds for what works and help diagnose what doesn’t. Use messaging tools to help employees feel connected. A group chat with video (like Google Hangouts) can even be used as a real time virtual office.
I saw Google Hangouts used very successfully with a six-person, all-remote team. Everyone logged into the hangout in the AM and worked all day at their remote spaces. They’d move away from camera when needed (like someone would in an actual office) or use mute, but they could also chat with each other spontaneously. They’d log off at the end of the day. It took getting used to and there were assorted tech glitches at first. But in the end, the remote team was more close-knit and collaborative than any in-person team in the larger group.
Review and Adjust as Needed
Don’t continue with a tool or process that doesn’t work. Schedule a review of remote work practices every 60 days, 90 day, or twice a year. Don’t let the quieter personality types fade away and don’t get complacent or fall victim to the “Fallacy of Centrality”: if something was wrong, I’d know about it; since I haven’t heard anything everything must be fine. Check in with remote workers more often if you’re not hearing from them. And remember that workplace trust is built on relationships, which require time to form and must be nurtured along a team’s journey in the workplace.
Resources
Delia Jones is an experienced Creative Director who has recently been contributing her leadership insights and creative skills to support the mission of the Nonprofit Risk Management Center. Delia welcomes your comments on managing remote worker risk and reward at delia.jones@gmail.com.
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