In the two years since its grand entrance, COVID-19 has changed how the world operates in more ways than you can count. During this time, people around the world have witnessed some truly awful things.
However, there is one area that has added some positivity to the gloom of the pandemic: the ability to work from home. Remote work, which began out of necessity in March of 2020, has become the new normal for many employees.
While some businesses have welcomed their staff back to the office, others have adopted a hybrid model of partial work weeks spent at home. Other businesses have completely shut their offices and opted for a 100% remote work environment.
Studies show that many people would like to continue to work completely from home. In fact, a LiveCareer survey found that 61% of employees want to work from home indefinitely. Of the employees surveyed, 29% also said they would quit their jobs if they are not allowed to continue working remotely.
What’s driving employees to embrace remote work? There are several factors:
- Greater autonomy and the ability to control their workspaces
- No commuting time
- Lower costs for business-friendly clothing
- Ability to leave home for a quick appointment or errand during the workday
- Less expense for gas and lunches out of the office
- More flexible work hours
Employers have also seen the benefits of remote work. These include:
- No rent expense for office spaces
- Ability to hire people from a wider geographic range (no longer limited by office locations)
- Employees are happier and more productive
While remote working isn’t perfect, there are significant advantages to working from home for both employees and employers. If your company is considering a change to a remote-only environment, consider these tips to make your move successful!
- Set the Right Standards
Creating a remote work environment means letting go of the traditional need to have people at their desks during regular 9-to-5 business hours.
Employees typically know what they need to do in order to create a smooth workflow that contributes to the overall operations of their companies. They understand deadlines, know what their duties are, and don’t need to be micromanaged to ensure that tasks get done.
As the employer, you need to decide whether this is something you can accept or if you feel that a traditional workplace environment makes more sense for your business model.
The responsibility of your management team is to establish specific goals, deadlines, and tasks that they need to have completed. Then, they can communicate those needs to their employees.
The employees’ responsibility is to complete the work by the deadline and meet all of the established goals.If they decide to take an hour off in the middle of the day to get groceries, it doesn’t matter as long as the work is completed to standards and on time.
Establishing good communication is the pillar of success for a remote company. Regular one-on-ones, group meetings, and chats through workspace messaging tools such as Slack, Zoom, or Google Hangouts can all help elevate your company’s communication style.
When the pandemic first began, people struggled with using online communication tools. However, most workers are now fully comfortable with them. Having a meeting on Zoom feels like a regular activity instead of a strange anomaly.
- Give Employees Options
Not everyone can work from home indefinitely without having some form of in-person contact with their coworkers. Some people miss talking around the water cooler or celebrating their colleagues’ birthdays with office parties. Others like having in-person meetings in a regular office or a designated workspace to go to.
These desires shouldn’t be ignored. A good remote work first company will try to meet their employee’s needs. For example, they could consider setting up smaller satellite offices for employees who wish to work in a regular office space from time to time. Others could offer a stipend for an office in a coworking space close to where the employee lives.
Businesses can also choose to organize company trips to a single location once or twice a year. Employees can then meet their colleagues in an immersive and fun environment. The company can work with Airbnb or VRBO to plan a trip and book spaces where colleagues can connect for a week or two at a time.
In an office environment, employees are given computers, desks, and office chairs. When people were first asked to work from home at the beginning of the pandemic, many employees found that they needed to improve the quality of their home offices. A remote company should recognize the need to supplement their employees’ home equipment in some cases and include these costs in their operating budgets.
- Create a Unique and Fun Culture
While regular online meetings are vital, they do get old. Establishing a working culture that’s unique to your company is difficult when colleagues operate from cities around the country and don’t see each other in person.
To create a one-of-a-kind work environment, employers will need to be creative. This can include surprising employees with a gift delivered to their home or setting up an online adventure that everyone can participate in, such as an online Italian cooking class or an office gaming group.
Wrapping It Up
Remote work is clearly here to stay and will likely become even more prevalent as technology continues to improve in the coming years. Transitioning to a remote-only company might be good for your employees, but it may also be a step into the future of work.
