Is Remote Work Really Here to Stay?

 
Yes. Probably. Maybe.

Leaders, managers, and team members are still struggling with the idea of remote work and how to make employees successful.

Various groups are collecting statistics on remote work. While we know there are numerous factors that dictate the viability of remote work, the results seem clear. Remote work, in some capacity, is not going away.

From The Ultimate List of Remote Work Statistics for 2022 (Findstack.com)
*77% of remote workers say they’re more productive when working from home.
*99% of people would choose to work remotely for the rest of their life, even if it was just part-time.
*69% of millennials would give up on certain work benefits for a more flexible working space.
*85% of managers believe that having remote workers will become the new normal for many teams.
*The industries with the highest number of remote workers are healthcare (15%), technology (10%), and financial services (9%).

From Money Magazine headlines: 40% of Workers Say They’d Quit or Look for a New Job if Forced to Return to the Office Full Time
“Employees want to work from home 2.5 days a week on average, according to data from monthly online surveys of 5,000 U.S. employees conducted by the University of Chicago, Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México and Stanford University. Nearly 80% of those surveyed want to work from home at least one day each week.”

This is a managerial and leadership challenge.

While many employees want to work from home, those remote workers can also feel less connected to their co-workers, lonelier, and more displaced. Some employees worry that “out of sight, out of mind” means they will not be as visible when it comes time to promotion opportunities.

What can team members do to help people retain the sense of shared purpose, shared identity, and shared vision?
*Have daily meetings at the same time every day to kick off the day.
*Have everyone articulate their daily goals every morning, so the rest of the team knows what to expect and when.
*Carve out time for brainstorming on innovative ideas.
*Make deadlines on projects clear and send of deadline reminders.
*Bring people into the office on a routine basis. While remote work is effective, people also need time with others, face-to-face, to renew relationships and stay connected.