One of the long-term impacts of WFH
Jill Grozalsky Roberson
Helping brands deliver unforgettable customer experiences
That's me and my dog Lincoln. You might be asking yourself, "Jill, what the heck does that cover image have to do with the long-term impact of working from home?"
I'm glad you asked. Let me explain.
I have been a fully remote employee for almost 6 years now (at a couple different companies). I love it. The freedom, the balance, the ability to swap the laundry in between calls or have lunch with my husband during the day. It's great.
I am lucky to travel a lot for work so I am crossing paths with my coworkers on occasion. Whether it be at a conference where we are working a booth together, at a company meeting where we are onsite or seeing each other at a big company sponsored event. I think for the most part I have been able to meet and mingle with a lot of my colleagues. That being said, 85% of my coworkers are strangers to me. Sure, I know their names, roles, the region they live in, but most are just a face on a screen.
I remember last year when I met one of my coworkers and realized he was over 6 feet tall and I was shocked. To me, everyone looks the same height on Teams so when meeting in person, I thought everyone would be (literally) eye to eye. I was wrong. On a recent trip to see over 30+ of my coworkers, I was reintroducing myself to people I have been working with for years because they look a little different on screen than off (and don't we all). When reflecting on this most recent trip, it clicked with me.
I know my coworkers, but I don't KNOW my coworkers.
While working from home certainly has its perks and there is a level of human connection for sure, this connection and investment in each other is certainly not as deep as it could be. Neither is our level of empathy or understanding.
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I am not pointing fingers - this is just as much about me as it is others.
What I think is one of the true long-term side effects of working from home is not being able to establish a true connection with coworkers and create that investment in each other - not just in our work roles, but our personal roles as well. I am not advocating for sharing all of our intimate life details (which if you want to, do you boo boo) but going a little deeper than a 60 minute happy hour on Teams allows us to do. When we are not connected beyond our day-to-day tasks, I don't think we exhibit the same interest, investment and community that we would if we were in-person. We also might not be able to exhibit the same understanding of people's situations outside of work that impact our working relationships with each other. And I don't want you to think I am pointing fingers - this is just as much a reflection on myself as it is others I've worked with in my 6 years working from home.
I am a product marketer, sure. I am also a dog mom (hence Lincoln in the cover photo). I am a wife. I am the sole provider in a household with a veteran spouse. I am a daughter. I am a sister. I am a friend. I am an Aunt. And the list goes on.
We all try to balance our different roles throughout the course of the day. As our lines between work and life continue to blur and as we continue to navigate the course about what work will look like in our post-pandemic world, we need to remember that people are people. We need to combat this disconnect between each other that working remotely has caused. Let's make connections. Let's get to know each other beyond our deliverables. Let's respect each other on the phone the same way we would in person. Let's invest in each other and let's continue to get better together.
I am committed to doing this because I know I'm not perfect. I am committed to being better for my coworkers because I know I can.
** I want to say that I have amazing coworkers and this is not based on any specific negative experiences, but more of a reflection of our WFH challenges on the whole **
What are your thoughts on the long-term impacts of working from home? What can we all do to be better remote workers? Are there any things you have done across your teams that have brought people together and made connections stronger even while working from home? I would love to hear your thoughts :)
Global Alliances | Cyber Security
2 年Love conversation and thanks for bringing it up Jill Grozalsky Roberson. WFH has been a Godsend as a parent of two and I couldn't be more thankful for the opportunity. Being remote as an employee definitely has its downsides, just as you've stated. While I don't miss a commute, I do miss the water cooler work-talks and impromptu lunches or cocktail hours of days past. I met my best girlfriends in my late twenties at the office and fast forward almost 20 years, I couldn't imagine my life without them. Makes me wonder what other amazing relationships I may be missing in WFH mode.
Alliance Manager at Sitecore
2 年Love this! Great post Jill. Also lets normalize dog pics on LinkedIn ??
Product Owner, Sitecore Content Hub at Wolters Kluwer
2 年Great post Jill! Thanks for sharing your experience. Long-term WFH is still such a new frontier for work culture that a lot of folks (myself included) are still trying to figure out what works for them individually, for their teams, and at the company level. I think acknowledging that what remote work looks like today is likely drastically different than what it will look like in 5, 10, 15 years grants us the freedom to try new approaches, routines, technologies, etc. and contribute to building that better future state. It's not going away so we might as well keep improving! While every person and company are different, there are thousands of people and organizations around the world attempting to solve a similar puzzle. I think remote work culture will mature with the best strategies/companies/best practices/tech rising to the top and we can implement the most applicable methods in our own lives and teams. For that to happen we need to make an effort to act with a heightened sense of empathy for the folks on the other side of our screens, be open to ever-evolving ways of working, and amplify successful approaches.
Senior Director, Digital Experience | CX & Digital Experience Leader | Sitecore | Global Leaders in Digital Experience Platforms
2 年One thing that I think is still important, even when pandemic restrictions have lifted, is to be cognisant of those of our colleagues who live alone. When we are in an office together, it's much easier to see someone struggling and ask if they'd like to get a coffee and chat. When it's over a video call, and a short interaction, you have to be extra observant and you have to take the initiative to reach out and see if they're ok. Working all day alone and then leaving your "office" to be on your own is really tough. We have to make that effort to check-in on people, and don't make it a quick "how's things" at the beginning of the meeting either - make space to have the chat.