Remote working and its capacity to be used as a long-term method of running a business is a hot-topic at the moment. There has been no shortage of content online about how to effectively work from home, but not much as to whether it is a truly viable option moving forward. Whilst everyone’s being forced to do it right now, are we really seeing a true representation of what it would be like to see our teams daily through a screen in the future?
Can quarantine productivity translate into normal productivity?
The social distractions that can often plague how productive employees are in everyday life have largely disappeared. Teams are at home, unable to go to the pub, cinema, hang out with friends or go shopping. The one main activity they can throw themselves into is work and for many, work is the only thing keeping them grounded them currently.
Day upon day, the hours between our personal life and work-life are becoming increasingly blurred. With no commute and no waiting in line for your morning coffee, you can go from your bed to your kitchen, to your makeshift desk and start your day in a matter of seconds.
With less distractions, less fresh-content to consume and more time to spare, we’re seeing productivity spike. People are taking the chance to dig into their backlogs, unearthing and finishing projects they’ve mulled about for years or taking the time to really focus on, clean-up and improve reporting-on, their data. As a result, we're seeing a productivity spike like never before.
It begs the question, however, if your company were to implement working from home as a standard once everyone is able to go outside and socialise again, would we see this discipline and the same productive results? Can we take what we are currently seeing as a true representation of the results remote working would give?
A potential new element to achieving work-life balance
Maintaining a work-life balance along with good mental health is a topic that has been adopted in one way or another by business owners. Whether that be an allotted amount of mental health days, access to confidential helplines, or even an extra day to have off on your birthday, are all initiatives geared towards giving employees better balance and in turn higher productivity and commitment.
Can employers take this ‘trial run’ of remote working and integrate it as another way to incentivise professionals to take care of their wellbeing? Whilst we may not see a complete 100% remote workforce as the norm, perhaps firms will offer more flexibility and allow a certain number of WFH days per week or even per month?
Whilst we’re loving our daily all-hands meetings and individual video face-to-face catch-ups here at Referment, we’re definitely looking forward to seeing each other in a physical office environment again.
We would love to hear the thoughts of employees and employers alike on whether remote working has a place in the professional world once restrictions have been lifted.
Have you been seeing an increase in productivity and team success, or can you not see a world in which working from home would be sustainable? Let us know, we'd love to here your thoughts!