What Research Is Saying About Remote Work

The pandemic suddenly cast all the research with regard to remote working into the spotlight. What was once reserved for a small fraction of the Canadian population suddenly became commonplace: remote workers are more prevalent and keeping them productive and happy is becoming increasingly imperative.

Global Workplace Analytics has done a deep dive into remote working trends in North America.

“We believe, based on historical trends, that those who were working remotely before the pandemic, will increase their frequency after they are allowed to return to their offices. For those who were new to remote work until the pandemic, we believe there will be a significant upswing in their adoption. Our best estimate is that we will see 25-30% of the workforce working at home on a multiple-days-a-week basis by the end of 2021.”

A big part of the acceptance is that the forced remote option created by the pandemic has allowed for owners and managers to see that workers are actually productive from home.

“One of the biggest holdbacks of remote work is trust—managers simply don’t trust their people to work untethered. They’re used to managing by counting butts-in-seats, rather than by results. That’s not managing, that’s baby-sitting. What’s more, seeing the back of someone’s head tells a manager nothing about whether that person is actually working,” said Kate Lister, president of Global Workplace Analytics.

I have been closely monitoring the pandemic and the impacts on workers and employers and agree that trust is needed, but also believe that employers have a responsibility to make remote work a comfortable option for employees.

Just like anything else there are pros and cons to remote work. In many respects, managing a team of people now means taking on increased responsibilities because the needs that were met in the office, like the need for social engagement, are no longer naturally being met. So, how do we effectively bridge those gaps as managers?

Not only that, but the research of remote work appears to largely be in its infancy. Even a simple Google search about impacts of remote work reveals numerous articles on opposite sides of the issue: remote work is good for employees vs. remote work is bad for employees – articles often based on research and sometimes in the same publication. One Forbes article is titled, “Working From Home Is Disliked By And Bad For Most Employees, Says Researchers,” and another is titled, “Remote Work Evolves Into Hybrid Work And Productivity Rises, The Data Shows.”

This alone shows some surprises presented by the pandemic. The work from home option that was initially perceived to be bad for employers and good for employees is now possibly proving to be the opposite.

Managers should check-in with employees at least once a week and strive to find ways to make them feel appreciated.

Management has always been about relationships – uniting employees for a common purpose, but the pandemic is forcing managers to engage with staff differently. How they accomplish this will determine a big part of a company’s success.