Work from anywhere

Lessons from Lockdown – The Second Pivot

by Hybrid, Remote & Flexible Work
The Post-2021 Remote Work Pivot Point

Trickling in during the summer of 2021, the second pivot point started gaining traction. 

The statistics around the number of those who want to return to the office full-time and those wanting a more hybrid way of working differs across studies. But generally: 

56% of knowledge workers prefer to work from home & 39% want to return to the office *

Whatever statistics you may find: 

  • We know that a number of workers do not want to psychologically return to the ‘old normal’
  • We know that those who had more autonomy and job control during Lockdowns had lower overall stress and anxiety levels
  • Once a worker realises they can be more productive with lower levels of stress, it becomes difficult to return to a more controlling, less productive work environment. 

Although the main arguments from those desiring a return to the ‘old normal’, hang on the narrative of productivity levels when working from home, there is a potential that the main driving force behind that narrative is what Apple employees in their open letter to their management describe as ‘the fear of the future of work, the fear of worker autonomy and the fear of losing control’. 

The more a company insists on returning to the ‘old normal’, the more out of step they become with current and future worker ideals. Because the future of work is moving towards us faster than we realise. The past two years have given us an idea and understanding of how quickly and radically technology can shift how we work. We need to be ready for this workplace future. 

* WFH Research has the latest data on Working From Home and Hybrid Working Preferences amongst knowledge workers.

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24 March 2020 3 Week Lockdown

Lessons from Lockdown – The First Big Pivot

by Hybrid, Remote & Flexible Work
The 2020 Remote Work Pivot Point

There are a few considerations regarding how we manage the way digital work could affect us psychologically going forward. 

The first is that prior to March 2020 digital technology was shifting the workplace and how we conducted work, at a slow but constant pace. But, up to mid-March 2020, even though the technology was available, most companies insisted that it was impossible for people and teams to work effectively from home or remotely. They often said that productivity, creativity and teamwork would suffer. That it couldn’t be done. That it was impossible.

Then ‘the impossible’ became ‘the necessary’. Our daily lives were upended and we had to psychologically (not just physically) re-orient ourselves, our behaviours and habits into new ways of doing things and learning new technology in the process. 

However, the original ‘3 weeks to flatten the curve’ turned into almost 2 years and remote work disruption morphed into an adjusted norm. From a CyberPsychology perspective, one of the main benefits of remote working was the increase in confidence in technology use amongst remote workers. Without colleagues or IT close at hand, workers were forced to figure out how to use IT on their own and needed to acquire greater levels of IT competence (known as computer self-efficacy) in using the tools required to get the work done.

Being more confident in using the tools required to complete the work, gives the worker the ability to be more productive, efficient and effective. 

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Admin Work

Hybrid work may discriminate against those constantly given lower-value and non-promotable work

by Hybrid, Remote & Flexible Work

Do you seem to take on more of the ‘office housework’ than others in your team? An interesting article in the Guardian highlighting a few points from the book ‘The No Club’, showcases how women tend to take on more admin type work within a team. They find it hard to say ‘no’ because they are expected to work on low-value assignments & non-promotable work.

This seems to be exacerbated by hybrid working where women are no longer seen at their desks. If asked to do less meaningful work, they may not produce as much value-added work as others within their team (regardless of gender).

The solution offered by one of the authors is to systematically distribute necessary but non-promotable work across all team members, have a random or rota-system or delegate these tasks across the team.

If productivity in hybrid working is about output, rather than hours in the office, then leaders need to make sure that all team members share an equal level of productive and non-productive work.

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Evolution of Work

How We ‘Do Work’ Evolves with Digital Innovations

by Hybrid, Remote & Flexible WorkResearch
'Three Generations of Telework: New ICTs and the (R)evolution from Home Office to Virtual Office'.
Extracts and summary of the research by: Jon. C Messenger and Lutz Gschwind (2016)

Summary of the research: 

Remote working has evolved through three main stages since the 1970’s.

Stage 1: Home Office (1970’s to early 1990’s)

This first stage involved performing office-based tasks at a stationary (often home-based) location using information-based technology (i.e. relatively immobile desktop computer) alongside landline-based, fixed communication technology. 

Stage 2: Mobile Office (early 1990’s to early 2000’s)

The more mobile laptop computer, was used alongside mobile phone-based communication technology to transform static work into mobile work either at home or on the move.  

These first 2 stages are often referred to as “Old ICT” (Information & Communication Technology).  Most research to date around ICT use at work has been focused on these first two evolutionary stages.  

Stage 3: Virtual Office (later 2000’s to 2020)

The third stage, which includes the “New ICT” revolution, started with the launch of smartphones and tablets in the second half of the 2000’s and refers to the merging of both information access and communication into one device.  

It also coincided with the advent of powerful technology that connects any mobile device instantaneously to work via cloud-based systems and does not require work-based information to be physically stored on the device itself in order for work to be completed or to communicate with others.

The effectiveness of remote work increases when managers shift their perspective from work monitoring to information sharing. 

Research Conclusion

‘On the one hand, [digital technology has enabled] us to constantly connect with friends and family as well as with work colleagues and supervisors; on the other hand, paid work becomes increasingly intrusive into the times and spaces normally reserved for personal life. Crucial to this development is the detachment of work activities from traditional office spaces.

Today’s office work is largely supported by Internet connections, and can thus be undertaken from basically anywhere at any time. This new spatial independence dramatically changes the role of technology in the work environment offering both new opportunities and new challenges.

Scholars are increasingly concerned with the advantages and the disadvantages of new ICTs for aspects such as working time, WLB and OSH, as well as individual and organizational performance. 

Notes:
  • As digital technology continues to evolve, how we incorporate this technology into our working lives will change and adapt how we both view our work in addition to how we engage with our work. The development of Extended Realities and The Metaverse will take us into Stage 4…
A reminder of what the acronyms mean:

ICT: Information and Communication Technologies – i.e. digital technology that provides access to electronic information through portals such as wireless networks, mobile phones, tablets and other electronic devices. It includes the use of electronic communication tools such as email, social media and the Internet, for both work and home life. 

WLB: Work-Life Balance

OSH: Occupational Safety and Health.

Read the original article here

This is not an open-source document and will need purchasing to read the full original article.

Return to the main Research Page
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Digital Accountability

Digital Accountability of Strangers when Remote Working

by Hybrid, Remote & Flexible Work

If you were self-employed or worked as a freelancer prior to March 2020, you would already have been familiar with the daily struggles with procrastination,  meeting and setting (often self-imposed) deadlines and accountability to self and others. Frustration and guilt can become constant companions when not entrenched in an office-based work environment with clients, colleagues and managers in constant attendance. 

For those who have become (un)willingly indoctrinated into this ‘way of working’, it has been difficult, at times, to adjust and cope. It is said that we have limited capacity for self-regulation and willpower. If we are tired or stressed, the ability to tape into these and once the dregs of willpower are used up each day, it becomes really difficult to keep going. It is why having set routines and relying on automated behaviour is such an important part of us being able to be more effective at what we do on a daily basis. 

Since the start of the pandemic, many workers have found tools and techniques to attempt some element of focus and motivation. The most effective of these is accountability to others. A friend of mine (a freelance food writer) started virtually attending the London Writers Salon online writing hour on a daily basis. Having accountability with anyone, even strangers can help one to focus on a particular task that needs completing. Focusmate is one of those ways of doing exactly that. 

What is coming to light is that our focus and attention are being eroded, both through the technology we use (and how we use it) and potentially through our lifestyle norms that include: higher levels of workplace expectations and stress, lower levels of exercise, less focus on good nutrition and lower quality and quantity of sleep. Technological distractions are a great temptation when hard-cognitive work is required of us. Social media feeds and web browsing is like ‘brain candy’ when we are faced with harder cognitive gymnastic-like tasks.

Having someone you can be accountable to for a short period of time, that forces you to achieve tasks is a useful way to make that happen. Alternatively, teaming up with a work-buddy, a coach or an accountability partner can also help. 

There are plenty of apps and programmes that can help you physically minimise your digital distractions. Find tools and processes that work for you. Whatever you find most effectively, start building that into a daily habit and build on that by finding something else that works well for you. Technology should be used as a tool to make you more productive and efficient. If there are apps or tech behaviours that are too distracting or reducing your ability to get work done, reach out to others (especially if they were already self-employed or freelancing prior to the start of the pandemic) to find out if or how they are trying to maximise technology more effectively. 

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What Does Flexible Working Really Mean

What does ‘flexible working’ really mean?

by Hybrid, Remote & Flexible Work

On 30 June 2014, the UK introduced the right to request flexible working for anyone employed in a company for longer than 26 weeks. This means that even if you don’t have childcare or caring responsibilities, you have the right to request the ability to work flexibly, potentially allowing workers to juggle home and work-based responsibilities. Employers have the right to refuse any flexible working requests (for business reasons). Flexible working means that some workers can stay in employment longer and businesses are able to hold onto talent and potentially increase the geographical reach of their talent search. 

Now that restrictions are easing, a few companies are starting to get staff back into the office with differing forms of working practice. Even Big Tech companies in the US are differing in the type of Hybrid Working Model they would prefer to implement, coming out of the Lockdown restrictions. 

It will take some time for us to understand what bespoke working model works well for each individual company and industry. It will also take some time to understand how various forms of remote and hybrid working will impact businesses, managers, leaders, teams, and workers going forward. What we can guess, is that remote and flexible working arrangements will become a bigger part of the benefits package negotiations for those in more senior positions, those with a higher demand for specialist or expert skillsets and in industries where demand far outweighs supply.

There are used to be a strong narrative around ‘finding a job you love doing, as it will bring you the greatest level of life-satisfaction’. I think this mindset no longer applies. I think better advice for future workers is to work out what lifestyle they would prefer to have and then find a career or job that they will gain some satisfaction from, but that will suit their lifestyle, and become as skilled as they can within that career, so that they can enjoy the lifestyle they prefer. Technology has certainly made this reality a possibility and will continue to make it even more so in the future. It may be that companies who want to attract the best talent, and be the most efficient, productive and profitable by doing so, may need to embrace this as a potential reality going forward. If you want to attract the right talent into your working teams, you may need to revisit your flexible, remote and hybrid working practices, along with the cultural norms that surround those practices. 

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Remote Working Fatigue Jun 21

Combating Remote Fatigue

by Hybrid, Remote & Flexible Work

We’ve heard a lot about Zoom Fatigue over the past year, as is highlighted in a recent Wall Street Journal article that talks about ‘Digital Exhaustion’. Being exhausted by engaging in digital technology doesn’t quite encapsulate the level of fatigue that comes from working remotely. I suspect that ‘Remote Fatigue’ is going to become a much bigger focus in workplace conversations going forward. 

Using technology to work remotely from the office has a number of positive and negative psychological implications. 

On a positive note, it can be easier to manage home and work commitments (especially for working parents) and allows more time for physical and personal improvements. There can also be fewer physical interruptions from colleagues, which can lead to more focus time. For introverts, engaging less with others can be less emotionally exhausting. 

On a less positive note, working remotely means we spend more time ‘signalling’ to colleagues and managers that we are online and productive; we can use our traditional commuting time for catching up on work (rather than using that time as a physical and mental transition between work and home); it is easy to slip into working longer hours, becoming more and more tethered to our work technology; it’s difficult to maintain a team culture, resulting in feelings of isolation and loneliness; lower levels of managerial and co-worker communication can lead to lower levels of motivation and anxiety; longer hours spent stationary at a desk is not good for our physical and mental wellbeing.

These factors can all contribute to ‘Remote Fatigue’ and need to be acknowledged and addressed by managers and business.

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Just over 10% of workers want to return to ‘the old normal’

by Hybrid, Remote & Flexible Work

According to The Guardian, many of those working at home during lockdown want to change how they work going forward. Many only want to go into the office 3 days a week, believing both their productivity and work-home balance will improve.

This has implications for the way businesses recruit new employees, in addition to what employees are looking for both in their current roles and future roles.

This lockdown period has been tough on working parents, who have to juggle work and chores with childcare and home-schooling. Once their children are back at school, they should experience even greater benefits in remote working.

New employee soft skills and leadership skills will need to be developed to manage the new emerging combination of virtual and office-based teams.

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Working from home

How work is shifting

by Hybrid, Remote & Flexible Work

Current necessity may have sped up the inevitable trend towards remote and flexible working practices. Our perceptions and narratives may need to change as we (re)discover the benefits of working-from-home and companies may need to change their working practices and benefits to attract key skills and future talent.

There is no doubt that the working world is shifting for knowledge workers. The intensity of that shift is still to be determined, but what this first day of UK lock-down is showing us, is that it is possible for employees to operate remotely and (to a greater or lesser degree) successfully. There have been a number of compromises and disruptions involved in this rather rapid scramble to get as many people set up to work from home as quickly and effectively as possible, but most people have managed to find a (semi-)workable solution. 

What the next few weeks (or potentially months) may reveal, is how many companies may view flexible and remote working going forward, and how employees may change their perspective of, and requirements around, their work-life balance. Although there are some negative aspects of remote or flexible working, there are also many benefits: 

  • For staff: working from home, and less time community, allows for more personal and family time, more time to improve sleep, fitness and nutrition, more time to engage in the local community, hobbies or spending time with the kids and greater opportunities to live anywhere in the world and still do their job.
  • For companies: recruiting those outside of a natural geographic remit could provide a wider pool of more or higher-skilled workers to manage projects. Fewer people working at HQ means lower fixed costs and potentially lower rents if HQ doesn’t have to be based in larger conurbations. 
  • For the environment: less commuting reduces carbon footprint and lowers peak-hour travel congestion.

For remote or flexible working to be effective, we are going to need to challenge workplace culture and workplace narratives around productivity from that of job success = time spent on work, to job success = output delivery. There will also need to be some training around: 

  • strategies to effectively manage working time vs non-working time
  • managing mental wellness when working alone 
  • balancing work and personal technology use and demands
  • cyber-security and how to mitigate attacks on personal and company resources 

It is impossible to predict the future, especially around so much uncertainty, but this systemic upheaval in our working lives may have a number of profound effects on the way we work going forward than we can really imagine at this point.  

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