I’ll be honest — I expected pushback on last month’s blog about workplace culture and how it is evolving from one in which it is important to be seen to one in which technology has enabled us to be highly productive (and collaborative) from anywhere. I expected differing viewpoints on how remote work has changed our organizational effectiveness. The fact that I didn’t get any tells me either no one was reading (which is possible!) or we’ve conceded (at least to some degree) that this is the future of work. (And thank you to commenter “Pick a Side” for the spot-on observations about the technologies we all love to hate. For the record, I work in a Teams organization, but I also like Zoom. Google’s platform frustrates the heck out of me!)

As promised, I have compiled some sound business reasons to incorporate remote work into your culture. Here are the top three that I believe should convince everyone, even the staunchest supporters of “Face Time.”

1. Employees are more productive with a remote work component. In an extensive employee engagement research project, Gallup found that employees using remote work options were more actively engaged in their work than if they never worked remotely. The most engaged ranges were found to be when an employee spent 20%-50% of their time working remotely, and the remainder of the time in the office. So, giving a combination of in-office and remote work lends itself to higher productivity. If you can increase your employee engagement — and get more of their brain power — with remote work, why wouldn’t you?

2. Remote capabilities can result in cost savings and reduced carbon footprint. When you enable employees to work remotely, you can potentially save money on office space, equipment and travel reimbursements. Additionally, some employees are willing to be paid less for the flexibility to work remotely. Combine that with increased productivity we discussed above and top it off with a reduction in carbon footprint and you have a win-win-win.

3. Greater access to talent. Remote work allows us to focus on finding the very best applicants and eliminates geographic barriers. It was proven during COVID-19 quarantines that companies could post jobs, receive applications, conduct interviews, select, and even onboard talent in an entirely virtual environment. Do you have a skills gap in your geographic area? No longer a problem with remote work.

Before I wrap up this topic, I want to make it clear that I know that in some parts of our industry, remote work will never be possible due to the nature of the jobs. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t challenge ourselves to think outside the box to come up with solutions. Remember “job sharing” and “flex hours”? Did we give them a fair chance when the concepts arose? Are they worth revisiting?

Here are some interesting statistics from a recent Paychex study on flex time, another popular topic in the post-COVID employment environment:

Just 41% of companies offer flexible scheduling as standard practice or as a company perk, while nearly 1 in 10 professionals are working a flexible schedule because they negotiated for it.
Entry-level employees working rigid schedules (31%) are the most likely to be unhappy with their job, while 6 in 10 rigid-schedule workers say they’d be more productive working flexible hours.
Sixty-three percent of people working flexible hours report having good work-life balance, compared with 48% of those with rigid schedules.
Sixty-nine percent of those working flexible schedules say scheduling will be important to them in a new job, as do 36% of people working a set schedule.

A few weeks ago, it came to my attention that a major packer in the Midwest was offering a flex time program to new employees. Some of the benefits? Work between 16-30 hours a week. Choose from 24 shift schedules. No doubt this was a complicated decision given the complexity of training and scheduling labor at processing plants. I commend them on working to be relevant in today’s culture and wish them all the best with this innovative approach.

What benefits of remote work have you discovered, either personally or organizationally? What innovative ideas and programs (or throwbacks) are you exploring? Are you still a hold out? Please share your reactions below.

When less face time means more brain time

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