Changing The Way We Work During COVID-19
In my current work from home life I feel comfortable. I’ve worked from home 2 or 3 times a week for the past two years, but it feels different now.The short commute from my bedroom to my home office is an option I prefer over waiting for a packed streetcar in the cold. I traded in the line at the coffee shop for a french press. My lunch breaks are to the fridge instead of to any number of the options I used to frequent on Queen West. It’s a little different, but it’s getting more comfortable.
I have had plenty of experience working from home and remotely, but I try to imagine people in my industry who don’t usually work from home adjusting to their new day-to-day life. A friend of mine has worked in banking for 8 years, and made the trip from Burlington to Bay Street 5 times a week in that stretch. Now he wakes up and he’s at work already, instead of grinding through hours of traffic just to get to and from work. I asked him what he does with his spare time and he said “I’m getting into yoga, and I started making breakfast. At 4:30 I usually listen to a podcast and unwind, it’s really nice.”
It must be an adjustment for many like him, as every client call for the past two weeks has started with “So, how’re you enjoying working from home?” What I’m hearing from everyone is the same — They’re loving it. They feel relaxed, they work on personal projects, they enjoy hobbies, they spend time with their families. For the first time in their careers, they’re saving 2–4 hours every single day just on commuting. That’s 20 hours a week. That’s 80 hours a month. That’s… you get what I’m trying to say.
Time savings aside, let’s think about this for a second. How is it that working from home is suddenly viable out of necessity? Well working from home isn’t new, and the technology that allows us to partake in this cultural shift has been around for a while now. For the past 10 years, but really gaining steam in the past 5, SaaS companies have been focusing on convenience, and using technology to increase efficiency across all industries. If you package enough of these products together, you end up with a virtual workspace, which provides all the necessities of a classic office setting, with some added bonuses.
Tech companies have been getting ready for this scenario for years. The inevitable shift to working from home was an expected outcome, although maybe not under these circumstances. With Google or Microsoft cloud solutions being widely used and implemented in every workplace, I’d argue that people were already working remotely, just in the same room.
Many startups and tech companies are already used to working remotely, and it feels like the rest of the world is just catching up. Where operational inefficiency was the main fear of upper management in the past, I think they’re now discovering that remote work has a few surprising side effects.
1. Increased Productivity — It seems like today’s tech companies have all been trying to make their offices as comfortable as possible. Couches, pool tables, fully stocked fridges, and even ‘nap pods’ are common place now. The thought is simple — comfortable employees have positive attitudes, and positive attitudes breed productive teams. Well people are pretty comfortable at home, and usually have the couch, fridge, and recreation there too. So why not let your
employees work from home? Does being physically present serve as an affirmation of productivity? It does, but it shouldn’t.
Daily output shouldn’t be measured in the number of hours worked, but instead in measurable output. After all, if the purpose of work isn’t output, what is? There’s plenty of technology available to track productivity in a non-invasive way. We can use tech to set goals, assign tasks, track workflows, track sales, and monitor progress. I’m someone who has the option of working from home any time unless there are scheduled in-person meetings to attend, and I can attest that flexibility on work location can accomplish everything those couches and pool tables were trying to accomplish, and more.
2. Better Communication — There’s a case to be made for the sincerity of in-person interactions, and fostering a deeper level of connection. While I do think that’s true, I think it’s irrelevant to 90% of office communication. My case for remote work providing enhanced communication is in the forced implementation of written communication. Eliminate cases of hearsay. Communicating important updates, delegating tasks or roles within a team, and asking clarifying questions, should all be in writing. The well-kept records of your e-mail chains will always be available for future reference. Slack allows multiple simultaneous discussions enabling efficient use of time. Video conferencing can enable better presentations and round tables, although maybe it’s a personal preference to watch a screen share over squinting at a boardroom screen.
3. Happier Employees — Giving your employees the freedom and flexibility to work remotely is empowering to them. Developing independent work ethic and control over a workspace feels good. It shows trust, that you don’t need to supervise their actions all day. They have the freedom to work from different rooms, or coffee shops, or parks, or even other cities. Remote work breaks the stereotypical office prisoner mindset. The added freedom of remote work is associated with less stress, less anxiety, and increased sense of purpose.
Companies who previously had no remote working options enabled are experiencing a bit of a systemic shock from what I see. While I’m not sure that remote work will become the new standard yet, as people continue to explore the enabling technologies and SaaS products available to them, they will begin to understand how remote work is not only feasible but better for both the employer and employee. While some, myself included, may prefer going in to an office once in a while as a change of scenery, I think this is the start of long term wide-spread permanent remote working.
If work can be done remotely, it should be allowed to be done remotely. On-site requirement for some jobs has been rendered completely unnecessary by the technology available to us. I don’t think it’s farfetched to believe one day soon, virtual workspaces will become our primary offices. We’ll carry our offices around with us on our phones, laptops, and tablets. The technology to enable this wide-spread transformation already exists, and will change how we work forever.
