My Take on the Evolution of Remote Work (After 12 Years of WFH)

For many people, the pandemic was their first foray into remote work, but as someone who has worked remotely for the last 12 years, I was in a unique position to observe the mass exodus from in-office work and all of the struggles that come with this shift. Taking a look at remote work then and now, the evolution that we have seen has created a work environment that rivals (or maybe even beats) traditional in-office work.?

More Unplugging

Remote workers can be more productive and quicker to get and stay in a flow state – where we do more (and better) work in less time. Deep work, however, requires discipline and self-awareness to minimize distractions – which results in an increased need for mental and physical breaks.?

Working from home and caught up in the flow, I would only realize I had spent five hours in my chair when my back started to hurt or my legs went numb, so I began scheduling break opportunities for physical activity every 30 minutes to reduce health risks or to just spend some quick TLC with the family.

Now, I’ve started swimming a few days a week – forcing the unplug. Even though the phone is waterproof, I’m actually not bringing it in. :)

Remote work has forced perspective on how essential mental and physical health truly are, a fact that is reflected in the newfound prioritization of regular breaks.?

Intentional Communication

Clarity lets team members do their job well, which means remote teams should emphasize clear communication. Being able to ask for and receive help strengthens remote team relationships and builds emotional and professional support networks to help us get through challenges.?

But remote work has shown us that communication can be fun, too – it doesn’t have to only be work-related. My team has started using HeyTaco as an easy and fun way to recognize hard work, accomplishments, or funny gifs.

The increased communication has bolstered productivity and created friendships that otherwise would have been missing without the old-fashioned water-cooler chats.?

Digital Sunshine

As the world began working from home, there was an immediate trend of basic Zoom backgrounds that hide the reality of the person’s work space. But as time has gone on, this has shifted. Rather than keeping all personality out of video calls, people are now using their background to blend personality into their interactions. My background has pictures of my dog, Lola, who has earned her keep by frequently serving as a conversation starter.

Now, not only are people becoming more accepting of showing the reality of their work environment, they are also more excited to talk about other people’s. In a remote environment, video backgrounds can draw out new conversations to break the ice and create meaningful relationships – they are the new business card.?

As the world went remote, it was interesting to watch as people navigated the same patterns I did years ago. The remote world requires employees speak up more to be heard, which made me a better communicator. Crash courses in computer problems turned me tech-savvy. The lack of tone through digital communication forced me to reflect deeper on my interactions, becoming more self-aware. Now, we all know enough to realize that, done right, remote work still gets the job done – and sometimes even better.

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Tom Popomaronis is Executive Vice President of Innovation at Massive Alliance, a global executive branding agency. Tom co-founded Massive's?Executive Leadership Branding?program – which transforms world-class executives into contributing authors at leading publications.

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