Consider the Hidden Benefits, and Plan for the Pitfalls, of Remote and Hybrid Work Arrangements
Many employers are currently struggling with employees’ reluctance to return to full-time office work. One recent study from summer 2021 found that 58 percent of respondents wanted to work remotely full-time post-pandemic, while 39 percent wanted a hybrid work environment. We regularly hear from managers and human resources professionals that they are struggling with whether and how to bring employees back to the office on a more frequent or continuous basis, and how frequently employees are testing limits by quietly ignoring return-to-office mandates.
Faced with such reluctance, some organizations are reconsidering their approach entirely and contemplating granting employees greater flexibility in their work arrangements. But managing remote and hybrid teams is not quite the same as managing in-office staff. There are certainly some obvious benefits to remote work, and there are also some hidden benefits, but these arrangements additionally present pitfalls for which managers need to be prepared.
Hidden Benefits
One of the benefits to managing a remote team is the standard meeting format of videoconferencing is a great leveler among participants. In a conference room meeting, some attendees occupy more physical and emotional “space” in the room. For example, certain participants may occupy key seats at the table, while others may be seated on the periphery with less opportunity to contribute. But in a meeting via videoconference, the participants are equally sized and spaced, which means that no one can physically dominate the discussion. A manager also can privately chat a more soft-spoken employee to provide a heads-up or otherwise facilitate the employee’s participation. Also, an employee who is less comfortable speaking can have notes up on the screen to use as a guide, without their colleagues knowing.
Authorizing remote working also enables employers to hire based on where the talent is, without being constrained to the local job market. Managers may be limited to hiring from certain regions for legal or practical reasons, but the geographic breadth of the applicant pool, and opportunities to attract a diverse slate of candidates, are enhanced when employers can choose to hire from anywhere.
Additionally, remote work permits employees with different working styles to work most efficiently and effectively, without having to submit to group norms or methods. For example, an employee who is more analytical and prefers time to think through a situation or problem can have that opportunity when working remotely, as opposed to having to address the problem the instant someone approaches. Likewise, an employee who is not comfortable speaking to large groups can communicate by email or Slack to share ideas with colleagues.
Lastly, we have seen a decrease in certain kinds of inappropriate and bullying behaviors in the remote workplace. There is less of a forum for casual, offensive comments that might have been made in the ordinary course of a day at work. And certainly instances of physical harassment have plummeted, without people sharing space.
Pitfalls to Navigate
The downsides to remote or flexible work arrangements feed into the fears that resistant employers often proffer:
Employees may purport to be working, while actually performing myriad personal tasks (or doing nothing at all) while on company time;
Monitoring employees' productivity is difficult;
Employees may not sufficiently safeguard confidential or proprietary information;
Morale and team culture suffer when employees are not interacting in-person;
Organic, natural, casual interactions are eliminated, which dampens collaboration efforts; and
Junior employees have fewer opportunities to be trained in the substance or manner of organizational work.
It may sound like an oxymoron, but employers wrestling with these concerns need to set boundaries, and impose structure through their policies and practices, in order to grant employees the flexibility of "boundaryless" remote working. Employers also need to educate their managers regarding those parameters, and filter that messaging down to eligible employees.
Approval of remote or hybrid working arrangements needs to come with caveats – for example, that the employee's performance cannot suffer, that the employee is available as needed during the standard workday, that the role does not require direct supervision of individuals in a physical workplace, that the employee will carve out a dedicated workspace with secure storage of work files, and that the arrangement may be reevaluated if it is not successful. In all instances, it is incumbent on the manager to ensure compliance with the working arrangement, and organizations use different tools to address the various needs and concerns. For example:
If it appears that work is not getting done in a timely fashion, managers need to manage -- by checking in with employees on their progress, and in some cases, requiring daily notifications when the employee starts and ends work for the day, or takes a break. Instant messaging systems can be an effective tool to be leveraged in that context.
Some organizations utilize videoconferencing like Zoom, WebEx, Skype, Teams, Google Hangouts to facilitate collaboration, feedback and face-to-face interactions in a virtual space.
Other organizations have an “open line” into the workspace, so the employee at home can listen and participate in the general workplace conversation.
In some organizations, remote workers may be required to physically come to the workplace or to business conferences or events from time-to-time to engage with coworkers and clients, and foster team cohesion. These office visits may be on a regularly set day, to allow attendance at a regular team meeting, or so that certain employees and managers can overlap to coordinate work.
Our post-pandemic workplace may never look the same – and it will take some time for employees and organizations to find a happy medium - but by all accounts remote and hybrid workplaces are here to stay.