Technology has made it possible for most office workers to safely work from home throughout the pandemic. On June 25, 2020, G&A Client Advocate Anu Mannathikuzhiyil presented a webinar debating the pros and cons of working remotely and provided “5 Tips for Managing a Successful Remote Workforce.”
Her tips included the actions employers should take if they decide to continue offering their employees remote-work opportunities:
- Ensure you have a solid virtual onboarding
process.
- Provide employees with the tools they need to be
successful.
- Focus on productivity (what your
employees do, not when they do it).
- Be an accountable manager.
- Build a good team. "You’re only as successful
as your team is.”
Admittedly a vocal supporter of remote work and dreaming of
one day having it all—working from her home in France while continuing to
assist her G&A clients all over the world—Anu presented many clear benefits
for both employees and their employers who adopt working remotely as their
status quo.
Her statistics showed that more employees today prefer having the option of a flexible work schedule and environment because it allows them to better balance their work with their personal lives. Now that many workers have had a chance to sample a work-from-home scenario due to the pandemic, she says they are eager to keep their new lifestyle going. While remote work was popular among 3.4% of respondents prior to the pandemic, she said that number has now increased more than five-fold to 25-30% post-pandemic.
Anu also cited Harvard Business Review, which has found that
87% of remote workers actually feel more connected to their teams and
leaders than they did when working in the office among them. She said two out
of three managers have witnessed an increase in their employees’ productivity
since remote work began in mid-March.
While she personally favors having the opportunity to work from home, Anu said there were some disadvantages, too. Security breaches and data theft top her list of what employers should consider. It’s much harder to monitor employee data-security habits from afar and locking down intellectual property and personally identifiable information is much more difficult to do. Other disadvantages were less severe and included balancing schedules and adjusting meetings to different time zones.
Watch the full webinar below before making any final decisions about working from home for your company. If you are an employee who wants to petition your company to consider a remote-work policy, be sure to take notes! Anu shares many statistics that can help you make the case.
