The Dark Side of Working Remote

Over the past decade remote working has become one of the most desired employee benefits. I remember asking to work from home back in 2007 when I was employed at a Fortune 200 company as their first social media employee. I asked my manager if I could work remote because I didn't need to be in a corporate office space to post on social media for my job. My manager wouldn't let me work from home because he said my team "would be jealous" if I had flexibility when they didn't. Today, the same company that resisted remote work has embraced it for a number of reasons: lower real estate costs, employees are demanding it and they expect employees to do work outside of "office hours". Technology has powered the remote workforce and without it we would all be confined to an office.

We regularly talk about the light side of working remote, where we get the freedom and flexibility to work when, where and how we want. It's remarkable that we can open up our laptops from a coffee shop, a co-working space or even our bedroom and do our jobs. We couldn't possibly do that decades ago without collaborative and wireless technologies. If you don't currently work remote, and ask a remote worker how they feel about it, they will typically talk positively about their experience because they enjoy the flexibility. While they talk about the light side of working remote, they avoid the hidden dark side - the isolation and loneliness they feel from a lack of human contact. We trade work flexibility for human connection without realizing that latter is what we yearn for more than the former.

Over the past several years, I've studied work connectivity through conducting research with Virgin Pulse, interviewing leaders and then writing a book called Back to Human. The biggest conclusion was that working remote negatively impacts team and organizational commitment. 5 percent of those who often work remote said they would work at their company for the rest of their careers compared to 28 percent who never worked remote. While working remote saves us money, time and gives us the freedom to do personal activities throughout our workday, it comes at a major personal and business cost that we aren't vocal about. There's a stigma around being lonely. People are lonely but won't openly admit it in conversation because they don't want to be judged. Yet, when you're lonely your human needs aren't met so you become disengaged, less productive and are more likely to quit your job.

That's why we have to be smart about working remote so that we get the necessary face-time with others in order to meet our human needs. We don't just need each other to be happier, healthier and more productive; we literally need each other to survive. If you work remote, be mindful about how much real human interaction you're getting. Build it into your workday everyday if possible. Go to the office once in a while or pick up the phone so you can maintain the connection, without relying on technology to do the work for you. If you're a leader, then make sure that your remote workers feel like they belong and aren't just isolated in their respective areas.

Humanizing the workplace starts today!

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