The Coronavirus lockdown has launched us, temporarily, into the future of work. Virtual workforces, an immediate need for innovation for survival, mandatory adoption of technological tools, and most tellingly, widespread job uncertainty, skills mismatch, and layoffs. However, there is a small silver-lining amidst the chaos. We’ve been given a chance to examine how our workforce would do in the highly uncertain and constantly changing digital future. When focusing on just one small component of this future— the ability to work remotely— it’s clear that some industries and some employees are ill-equipped to make this transition.
Working remotely is not a benefit: it’s a skill that requires systems of support
Over 50% of the workforce is now working from home as a result of the government’s shut down of many businesses and physical distancing requirements. Meetings have moved to virtual platforms such as Zoom and WebEx and office chatter has migrated to messaging platforms such as Slack and Microsoft Teams. These remote workplace changes are not just happening in the business world. Many industries have been forced to upend normal procedures and turn their practice into a remote one. Doctors are seeing patients via tele-health apps, lawyers are working in a virtual court, and teachers are logging into e-learning platforms. The list goes on. But what leadership teams are quickly realizing is that they were using the wrong proxies to evaluate which employees would be successful at working from home. There are two questions that employers need to ask themselves. First, they need to ask themselves whether their employees know how to work from home. Second, they need to ask themselves whether they have given their employees the tangible and intangible systems of support to do so.
Working remotely engages multiple skills. Employees with strong organization and communication skills are likely to transition more effectively to working remotely. They will be able to ensure that their team knows what they are working on and how their contributions add value to the company. Both formal and informal flows of communication are also required to build effective relationships with teammates. Employees who work well with both methods will also find the transition to remote work to be smoother. Additionally, working from home involves strong critical thinking skills and the ability to problem-solve on your own. Employees who take initiative to first try to solve problems on their own before asking for help will find it easier to work alone. Although technology has drastically reduced the communication barriers for remote workers, it’s hard to match the benefit of being able to bounce an idea off of a colleague in the cubicle next door. Remote workers should also be sufficiently trained in advance on the hardware and software programs needed to carry out their role — as well as how to troubleshoot basic IT problems on their software.
Working remotely requires support. Even where an employee has the skillset to work remotely, the organization must support the employee to work remotely. A good remote leader must employ additional or alternative intangible systems that:
motivate their employees without physically being with them;
define structures through which workloads are distributed and operations are easily understood;
sets up appropriate communication channels such as daily meetings and casual check-ins; and
(perhaps most importantly) make it clear that trust in their employees is granted with the job.
Second, but equally as important, a good remote leader must employ additional or alternative physical systems of support that facilitate working remotely:
a strong wifi connection;
access to a quiet workspace;
appropriate hardware and software programs:
true “flex-work” may mean access to a babysitter;
sound canceling headphones
compensated wifi;
free privacy protection software;
support to purchase a home desk, office etc.; and
where feasible and appropriate (it may vary from industry to industry), allowing employees to carve out an eight-hour work day that makes sense for his/her/their family.
Why is it so important that we examine these weaknesses in our remote work structures now, and try to fix them? Because in the future of work, the idea of a “nine-to-five” at the office will become a thing of the past for many people. This means significant changes to traditional workspaces. As technology continues to advance, many jobs will be subject to some form of augmentation. For instance, the World Economic Forum Predicts that by 2022, 42% of all tasks and 62% of data processing and search tasks will likely be handled by machines and algorithms. The changes will be significant for business leaders, who may have to manage full-time employees, flex-time remote-based employees, digital workers (i.e., robots), and a constantly changing organizational structure.
As businesses and employees adapt and try to survive in the midst of the unprecedented changes that Covid-19 has brought, employers also have the opportunity to reflect on how their business can thrive as the future of work changes.
Sinead Bovell
