Remote work has promoted the productivity of employees within the confines of their homes. Although employees are settling into their work-from-home routines, building team culture and keeping spirits up are quite challenging. Employee disconnection and complacency often happen in the realm of remote work. Hence, synergies that nurture remote teamwork and employees’ self-motivation are critical.
Education Elements has published a blog post outlining how stumble-blocks revolving around remote work can be addressed. The article says that it takes strategic adjustments and renewed workplace policies that are unprecedented in their scope to create and sustain remote work. In addition, the challenges posed by remote work are fortunately surmountable. With a few new idea implementations, remote workers can be as productive as on-site workers.
- Create new traditions and rituals to keep remote workers connected, maintaining a sense of normalcy is a priority as humans are creatures of habit.
- Establish strong co-worker relationships and build cross-teams trust. It is necessary to engage workers, given that worker engagement is done differently in a remote work setting. Small ways like virtual sharing spaces to nurture team bonding can go a long way in sustaining effective remote work.
- Use professional development to build cohesion and innovation through the spirit of ’continuous learning’.
- Build a remote work culture that facilitates consistency and open communication. Use virtual communication and collaboration tools like Microsoft Teams, Yammer, Zoom, or Skype to provide updates, resources, inter alia in your remote work spheres.
The popularity and necessity of remote work are expected to rise even after the COVID-19 situation has been contained as virtual work environments prove to be advantageous for everyone. It is important to identify future trends in remote work and assess key factors that make remote work successful. After that, you will be able to implement the elements of sustainable remote work programs that would best fit your company.
As organisations worldwide scramble to respond to the remote work phenomenon, you can learn how to do it competitively by enrolling in eCornell’s Social Media in HR: From Policy to Practice program.
eCornell courses are approved by SkillsFuture Singapore for SkillsFuture Credit as well as by HRDF Malaysia under its SBL Scheme.