A survey from September reports that 84% of business leaders will continue to offer some form of remote working for office-based employees, with nearly a third implementing 3-5 days a week from home as standard.*
But is this too much of a good thing? Too much sugar rots your teeth. Too much Vitamin C makes you sick. Does too much remote working “rot” productivity, progression, career opportunities or even affect mental health?
The Good
There’s evidence to support the benefits of “having space” from the busy office environment, especially when needing to focus on detailed tasks. I’m a big fan of the odd remote working day so I can clear heavy tasks with fewer interruptions.
And then there’s the attraction as an employer. Flexibility, less spending on travel, reduced costs on child-care and even doggy daycare (yes, it’s a thing), hiring great talent from further afield.
The Bad
The hard work has been done on measuring the impact on an organisations productivity. Back in 2017, IBM made a u-turn on their remote working policy. They announced their decade of commitment to “telecommuting” (the noughties term for remote working) was over, and some IBM thinkers refer to it as a failed experiment. My favourite quote for a learned observer, referring to businesses pushing remote working; “If you’re looking to reduce productivity, lose talent, and increase cost, maybe they’re on to something”.
As expected, IBM was one of the first to pull back from post-pandemic remote working.
The Ugly
What is the cost to your team when spending most or all of their time away from the office? Miscommunication (don’t underestimate the power of body language), the bonding over laughter and tears, the missed conversation, the casual “you might benefit from this”, the team celebrations, the “they’re not themselves, are they okay?”.
Do they even feel an allegiance to you as an employer? Back to Big Blue, one ex-IBM friend once said, “If you work for IBM on client projects, you go native before your first paycheck”.
Taking the luck out of decision-making
Strategy is key here, catering for the knowns, unknowns, goals and risks. As a CTO, I work closely with HR, Recruitment and Finance teams to align the goals of the business with tech, people and investment strategies that have the flexibility to evolve.
Lack of strategy brings knee-jerk decisions. How many of you know a business that contractually moved all staff to remote working, faced with the uphill battle to revert that wholesale change? You’d be surprised at how many businesses you know that rapidly implemented new technology solutions, and have yet to revisit to ensure they were deployed properly or securely, and are still cost effective.
To genuinely get remote working, er, working for all involved, my advice is to have a strategic approach; embedding process and risk analysis into your decision-making (and decision-changing). Ensure you’re supported by data and processes that shine a light on productivity, inclusiveness, mental well-being and the opportunities it makes or breaks.
Do you want to learn more about how a great tech strategy can help your business? DM me or check out our website.
Many thanks to the IOD for their recent survey.