Can COVID-19 make working remotely work style stick forever?

Hello!!! from the other side, well today we are not talking about the song from Adele but actually how people are working from home during COVID-19 and spending a lot of time testing their microphone and virtual tools.

In present times, the keyboard warriors have split liking, commenting and sharing between organizations who boast about how effective is remote working and between organizations who are still working hard to get their virtual communication tools in place. These tough times are differentiating between prepared and unequipped organizations.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced organizations to introspect and think about innovative ways to continue their businesses. The shareholders are observing the leadership and execution of their business continuity plan along with support provided by employers to their employees.

But what exactly is Remote working?

While a lot of employers are ready to mention the cons of remote working, let’s take a step back and talk about what is working remotely or telecommute or in layman terms working from home?

Remote working is a working style that is based on a fundamental principle that the success of work is not determined by the location or zip code.

Is remote working a successful work style?

The success of remote working is based on three pillars:

•    Trust
•    Ethics
•    Technology

Trust – Just like any relationship, trust is very necessary. A culture of mutual trust will make employees go the extra mile. Micromanaging employees is probably not the best strategy.

Ethics – Strong commitment and ethics are what that will differentiate an employee in the long run and will certainly be a differentiating factor.

Technology – Organizations should make sure that their employees are well equipped with all the tools they need to perform their job effectively like – Laptops, monitor screens, good and secure networks, VPN or RDP, VoIP, Collaboration tools, Video tools, real-time communication tools, and the list goes on.

While all the three pillars are all really important, open and honest communication will determine the success of the organization.

Virtual Leadership will pave the path to the future:

With teams working remotely strong collaboration is needed. Maintaining the right balance of trust and control will be required from leaders. Virtual leaders might not have the chance to meet their employees that often personally but they need to create an impact virtually.  Leaders might not get a chance to show their persona, charismatic personality in person but will have to use technology to motivate, coach, guide their team to achieve goals and targets. Strong Result-oriented leadership is required in the virtual team model to be successful.  

Future of Remote Working:

With ever-evolving technology, I feel that a lot of organizations might get more flexible with their working styles as COVID-19 will eventually be considered as a trigger for a lot of organizations to adopt this remote working style.

Other than that, I foresee that Holographic Avatars could be the future of Remote working.

From a sustainable business practice standpoint, there are a lot of advantages for the organizations - like less real estate cost and something that can surely be a motivation for organizations to adopt Remote working style.  Although it will certainly challenge the power structure in the office but it’s still worth the effort. A lot of people in leadership still have a perception that people on site are more productive and the success of remote working will question the culture and mindsets of organizations. Organizations that will improvise their strategies to adapt to the new environment will survive.

Remote working will revolutionize the job roles, responsibilities & training of employees. IT and cybersecurity will shine again as it will become more visible roles rather than the support arm.

Conclusion:

To summarize, organizations will need to adapt to the style which works best for them. COVID-19 has forced organizations to find innovative ways for their business to continue and working remotely was one of the most common options chosen. COVID-19 pandemic can be considered as an opportunity or a pilot project for all organizations and see what works the best for them. Philosophically, it was a pause to introspect, realize and move forward.