12 Nov The Remote Workforce: Boom or Bust
Boom or Bust?
There are two sides to every story. Remote working is a topic I feel very passionate about. My position… boom. When I asked my good friend, and accomplished CEO, Carolyn Douglas to share her thoughts on our blog, I had no idea that they would be divergent from my own. That said, this blog was never intended, and will never be, about my thoughts alone. We truly believe in the power of social, sharing, and learning from one another. The only question is whether or not I can write a counter opinion as cogently argued as Carolyn’s opinion below. What is your take on remote working? Let the discussion begin…
Sincerely,
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Knock-knock. I look up from my computer, glasses slightly askew, chewing my upper lip as I wave into my office one of my long-standing key employees. As he takes a seat at the meeting table in front of my desk, I inwardly sigh as I can read the anticipation in the expression on his face. My heart flutters as I close my email and join him at the table. I think our office is lovely with its industrial heating it is very comfortable.
Why does my mind always go to the worst when an employee asks to speak to me privately? Perhaps it is a trademark of a CEO who knows you are only as good as your team. If you lose a valuable team member it definitely hurts and there is an impact, not just for the company but on your own sense of leadership.
Today the topic of conversation took me by surprise. My key employee launched into a well-thought-out argument as to why it would be to our mutual benefit to have him work remotely full-time … from a different city.
Now you may say: “Don’t fight the inevitable” or “This is the wave of the future. Embrace it.” Since technology allows for it why shouldn’t I? But my initial reaction was a slight feeling of dread.
As I thought about the merits of his reasoning I decided to Google the topic to gain some outside perspective. The results? Infamous Marissa Mayer, new Yahoo CEO, and her initiative to outlaw working from home as a companywide policy for Yahoo. I continued to read on about Apple’s new spaceship-like campus and Google’s quirky new London headquarters, which is guessed to be worth almost 1 billion pounds. Wow. That’s a lot of investment and heavy hitting tech companies seemingly committed to keeping their employees on campus and at the office.
Perhaps the biggest argument against working from home is corporate culture. The notion of intermittent visits to the office pushes up against the fabric of a carefully crafted culture, especially one built from the backbone of teamwork and impromptu collaboration. Absence from the office often translates to absence from daily events and moments in our office lives that foster team-building, mentoring, brainstorming and connection with fellow colleagues, all of which translates toward better culture, which in turn serves the customer.
There are a few other myths befalling a remote workforce and the seas of idealism that can carry these myths far and wide.
Working at Home = Less Stress + More Productivity
The first thing about this statement is that it assumes working from home is less stressful. During the early years of my start-up, I worked from home and I can say that was one of the most stressful experiences I faced in my career, working in isolation. I did try and get used to the idea of working from home. As time went on, it did become a little easier. Having spent my money on Office Furniture and redecorating my office, I did feel like making your office as comfortable and inviting as possible does allow for a little more productivity than it would if your work environment was dingy. With this being said, the only thing that was missing was the support, comradery and collaboration that takes place in a highly charged creative teams. This is proven to combat stress levels, boost engagement and produce more productivity, not less.
With greatly reduced exposure to the office culture, you are often out of sight and out of mind. You will miss a thousand conversations, a hundred ideas and a myriad of leadership and peer mentoring opportunities. That is a high price to pay for perceived productivity.
Employers Must Play Ball to Stay In the Game
Who doesn’t want a better work/life balance? Actually, a lot of your workforce, especially those just out of school who strive for achievement and have no problem working 12 hours a day and on weekends.
After putting in the time, these uber committed employees want the same thing as any working parent: freedom. But that doesn’t mean you need to adopt a work from home policy in order to attract and keep this top talent.
Freedom can be delivered through autonomy. Do not discount the power of physically being present and participating in a team environment. The best employees are those that show up and take ownership in their roles.
The other day I witnessed one of my team in crisis mode and while she managed herself extremely well, the fallout was rough. I gave her a big hug and chatted with her, then put a policy into place to reduce the chances of such a crisis. Had I been out of the office that day, working from home, I would have missed that opportunity. If you’re looking to improve employee well-being in your company, you could take a look at workplace mentoring to see how it could bring you and your workforce closer.
A manager’s presence and leadership is needed daily. Catching problems, figuring out solutions, setting policy and monitoring execution – but most importantly, mentoring and inspiring those who report is an in-person deliverable.
Why Not Work From the Caribbean?
This is the running joke for all who know I prefer a hot weather climate, but my business is located above the 49th parallel. So why haven’t I relocated to a tropical island? Let’s look at the myth of technology provisioning a greater and more expansive digital workplace. There is no question that technology allows for us to work from any corner of the world.
For some businesses this is an ideal set-up, especially if your business is service-based. But let’s consider more traditional workforces, where say three quarters of your team are working in the office and one quarter work remotely from home or are in another city. Spontaneous meetings and hallway discussions cannot and will not happen without physically passing each other in the hallway, cafeteria/kitchen or bathroom.
Strict guidelines and policies need to be enforced to ensure everyone remains in the loop. Work from home employees must have a voice that is just as large in the company as those physically in the office, and if impromptu decisions are made outside of their presence then a very clear and concise communication channel must be used – and no email doesn’t cut it. Too much is lost over email.
What Employees Truly Care About
We are in challenging times, no matter what industry or business you have. Competition is fierce. Change is everywhere. The future looms both bright and unknown. The average employee will have three plus careers in their lifetime. Millennials are the up and comers in the business world. Is the focus of our future work as digital free agents?
Kelsey Steuer recently published an article for Enterprise Strategies on what Millennials want most. She summarizes that Millennials want to connect with others and experience the world in ways very different than previous generations. Their desire for creativity and achievement at work is much higher and they have a strong need to share worthy and unique experiences with others for inspiration and contagious involvement.
My software company has a culture of autonomy and self-starters. A highly creative and customer-focused team, we are led to deliver on going the extra mile and putting ourselves into the shoes of our customer. In order to do that we need to be a team that helps each other, and creatively works together in a fast-paced environment where agility is the name of the game.
I witness the teamwork every day in my company. We fill in where its needed, where we can help each other most, and our customers. You miss the nuances of human relationships when conducting them over technology.
Let’s not be too quick to enter the digital workplace. If we were to instead embrace the human connection and physical presences of one another for just a little bit longer, we can strive to make good things great and appreciate ‘the office’ for what it is – a home away from home, at least for the time being.