<rant> The case for remote working </rant>
Stephanie Henson ????????
Helping companies thrive by building websites that work for you! I ?? tech but hate digital burnout, so I founded the digital wellbeing company & techtimeout tuesday??
There’s been a lot in the news lately about big companies pulling employees back into the office.
Amazon
Zoom, for heaven's sake - ZOOM!
Various reasons have been cited, including, concerns about productivity, team culture and a growing belief that people who work from home can’t be creative or collaborate effectively and I have to say - I fundamentally disagree with that.
My company, Six Ticks, has been a remote-first company since we were founded back in 2012, and our team is one of the hardest working, most dedicated, collaborative, and creative bunch of people I’ve come across.
It’s BECAUSE we work remotely, not DESPITE it.
YES, there are some things you miss out on working from home, BUT, people who like to work from home, do so for a reason, and it’s generally because that’s where they thrive.
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Lumping everyone together and enforcing strict rules won’t get the best out of everyone. Whilst some people love working in an office, others despise it. For some (my past self included), it can be a noisy place full of forced interactions, frequent disruptions, uncomfortable workstations, petty rules, and a soul-destroying commute.
Everyone is different- and as managers, it’s important that we understand that.
I’ve had friends who quit over their employer’s inability to understand their working preferences and tried to force them back into the office. One quit because their boss thought that a 90-minute each-way commute to the office would be better for them than working from home. Businesses are losing good employees because they are terrified of remote working..
Anyway, where am I going with this?
We need to treat people as individuals and recognise the huge benefits that working from home offers people who want to embrace that lifestyle, including better work/life balance, less time commuting, increased ability to focus, and improved wellbeing.
To achieve this, home workers shouldn’t be villianised but appropriately supported with great management, quality systems (like Halo intranet), and a thriving, supportive, and non-judgemental culture.
What do you think?
Senior Associate at FBC Manby Bowdler
7 个月Hybrid working for me is fantastic. My days at home give me the peace and quiet to focus and deal with the complicated matters, and importantly a work life balance. Being able to be there to take the children to school, cook a decent meal and have that extra hour with them is priceless. Going to the office is also great and serves a different purpose to my remote working, seeing clients, talking to colleagues outside of the department and that social interaction. For me the balance is great and really compliments my work style. In my view, an employers flexibility to a person's preferences (where the productiveness of the employee isn't a problem) is an invaluable tool.
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7 个月Back in the 00’s I used to sell companies remote working technology, lots of companies were early adopters and it wasn’t as cheap and accessible as it is today. Sometimes I’d drive from my office past my house then an hour or two past it, hold my meeting and then I’d had to drive back to the office to maybe do an hour before driving home. Some bosses just want to see their staff in the office. By doing so they probably lost 2-3 hours of productivity from me. The cleints often asked if I used the tech.
Marketing strategist helping to deliver expert marketing campaigns in legal services. Marketing Executive at FBC Manby Bowdler Solicitors
7 个月Completely agree with the points you have made Stephanie Henson ??. The benefits of remote and hybrid working patterns have certainly been recognised at FBC Manby Bowdler LLP and have really helped us with implementing a cohesive work life balance for all staff. I'm glad to work for a company who takes such a proactive approach to ensure all employees have the flexibility to work from where fits best for their diary and I hope to see more companies adopt this approach.