December 24 2020: Remote work is here to stay for the time being with 33 % of the US and approximately 50 % of the UK workforce currently working at a distance. Although 77 % of remote workers state they are more productive outside the company’s office, there are several other aspects to consider when ensuring that at-home culture is beneficial for both employers and employees: sense of team spirit, convenient communication tools, productive workspace at home, team-building strategies, etc.
Taking into consideration that 21.3 % of remote workers indicate better focus, productivity, and time management when working at home, companies may want to think about proper incentives for the employees to adapt their home spaces for work. For instance, The Remote Company, a network of remote-first tech companies, provides a set budget to each member of the team to buy ergonomic chairs, work desks, accessories, and to set up their workplace so it would yield the most productivity.
As face-to-face communication is replaced by online platforms, companies operating on a remote work model may use different tools on a regular basis to keep the entire team on the same page: for instance, The Remote Company uses Slack for real-time messaging purposes, team questions, and daily reminders, Zoom for video meetings, virtual workations, Notion for sharing documents and guidelines, Google Drive for files and storage, and others. These or similar platforms make it easier for various businesses to manage their workload within a distributed team and allow everyone to collaborate on the same projects.
After moving all work online, businesses should also think about ways to establish normal routine interactions among the colleagues. To do that, companies are advised to carry on with face-to-face conversations through video calls or offer online platforms where the team members could engage in informal discussions at the same time creating stronger bonds with each other.
While mass events are postponed at the moment, companies may also want to incorporate virtual workations into creating a welcoming remote work culture.