By Rajat Mishra, CEO of Prezent
Before the COVID-19 pandemic forced offices worldwide to close, remote work was something many employees had never experienced, aside from the odd day here or there. But it’s clear the temporary measures sparked a revolution.
A new survey released by the Conference Board noted that just 6 out of 158 US CEOs said they’ll prioritise bringing workers back to the office full time in 2024, while 27% of respondents saw maintaining hybrid work as a priority.
Yet it’s also true that ‘return-to-office’ rhetoric is intensifying at many major corporations. Meta recently introduced an ‘In-Person Time Policy’ and non-compliance is deemed a disciplinary issue. Meanwhile, Amazon is disciplining workers who fail to attend the office for at least three days a week.
Hybrid work at first seemed like a sustainable middle ground that afforded employees the benefits of remote work, whilst also rebuilding in-person activity at the office. The policies implemented by large firms suggest that the goal of hybrid schedules was to act as a soft reintroduction to the office, but the emergence of these hardline policies underlines how much of an uphill battle they’re dealing with.
Despite studies showing that hybrid working has a flat or even positive impact on productivity, leaders still lack confidence that their hybrid teams are effective. Further, if huge corporations are saying they need their employees back in the office, other companies may follow their lead, creating a domino effect over time.
But plowing ahead with a return-to-work mandate ‘just because’ could end up having a detrimental impact. More than three-quarters of Gen Zs (77%) and millennials (71%) would consider looking for a new job if asked to go back to the office full-time. This comes during a period when talent retention is also a major problem.
While the decision needs to work for the nuances of each company, I believe it’s entirely possible to build a high-performing team that also works remotely. Here are the lessons I’ve learned along the way.
Think work-life harmony, not work-life balance
In 2024, leaders should think about ‘work-life harmony’ to get the best results from the team.
Although the conversation used to be around work-life balance, I believe this term to be obsolete.
For one, work-life balance comes from a time in which the office environment was totally different. Plus, the things that worry or motivate employees have also shifted drastically.
Before, work predominantly took place in the office. Work-life balance therefore was about encouraging employees to go home on time and not pull too many late nights, making sure they took lunch breaks and vacations or organising social activities for the group.
Yet if we imagine a typical remote work lifestyle, the physical distinction of the office has been removed. Work can easily bleed out into the home environment and make it harder for employees to actually switch off. What’s more, leaders aren’t physically present to see if their team are in fact taking breaks.
Further, while many celebrate the hours that are saved by removing the daily commute, it’s also true that this process often helps to sandwich and separate work from home. Many of us had certain habits or routines related to the daily commute that helped us to switch on and off for the day. For example, stopping for a coffee on the way to work, going to the gym near the office, or using the time on a train to get through a new novel.
Employees must recreate these rituals to make working from home sustainable. Here, I aim to lead by example both with how I structure my day and that the company does indeed honor these schedules.
For example, for me the hours of 17.00 – 19.00 are completely sacred, reserved for family time, and there are no exceptions to this rule.
If my team sees my sticking to this rule they will be more empowered to set their own time priorities and communicate these to the company. Once an exception to the rule is made it quickly erodes the system so it’s crucial that your line managers respect these boundaries too.
Prioritise robust reliability
While leaders always need a reliable team, remote work places even more importance on this factor.
When working in the office, the physical presence of colleagues subconsciously helps with reliability. Walking past a colleague in the breakroom will act as a subconscious reminder that you owe them a report or an email. While conscientious employees won’t actively underperform, working remotely makes it that much easier to let certain tasks slip.
Leaders can also consider investing in software tools that help teams manage productivity and maintain reliable outputs. Although a productivity tracker may seem onerous at first, these aren’t necessarily a shortcut to corporate surveillance.
On an isolated basis, this won’t have too much impact. But if these inefficiencies multiply across a team of hundreds it will quickly add up to major losses. That’s why I believe reliability needs to be the number one soft skill leaders need to look for when building a remote team.
Strong culture and communication
Finally, a strong culture and clear communication will be paramount to success with remote work.
At Prezent, we make sure to take a step back from the daily grind each month and zoom out to the big picture. This helps new recruits align and understand what we’re actually working towards and also keeps seasoned staff on track and motivated.
We also use value-specific awards to spotlight those who embody our values each quarter to underscore how central these are to our mission.
The onboarding process also demands close attention. While new starters always have a learning curve, getting to grips with systems and processes may take longer if colleagues aren’t readily available to iron out those little roadblocks and make immediate adjustments. This can be solved by dedicating someone on the team to buddy up during those first few weeks. I also suggest building company culture well before the start date by sending a welcome package to any new hires as soon as they accept an offer.
High-performing teams aren’t location-specific
Working in an office won’t guarantee a high-performing team, and neither will remote work.
Instead, it’s important to take a step back and remember the human-centric elements that are true for any team by focusing on reliability, culture and work-life harmony.
- Published On Apr 12, 2024 at 06:00 AM IST
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