A short term fix to a long term problem
As companies increasingly realise what was perceived as a pragmatic fix to a temporary problem - remote working during lockdowns - is now a strategic business decision here we highlight some of the key issues to consider.
Flexibility in where employees work and when they work is now a baked-in expectation for post-pandemic working, there are a lot of statistics in Buffer’s “The 2021 State of Remote Work” report but the headline chart contains the essence; when asked the question “Would you like to work remotely, at least some of the time, for the rest of your career?” the response was emphatic:
How best to tackle that response?
A complete return to full-time office work isn’t a real option despite what governments may want, as the majority of surveys reflect the same trends that the “State of Remote Work” survey does. So, that leaves hybrid working or a fully remote model.
Remote is a strategic, cultural, and operational mindset - not a temporary solution - it is a permanent way of doing things, the default setting; a strategic imperative to thrive and not just survive a temporary situation such as Covid.?
Every employee in a remote organisation is on a level playing field; hybrid working, where some employees are on-site and some are remote, by default, poses challenges for inclusivity as detailed in The Inclusion Initiative at?LSE report?“Hybrid Working: a dictionary of behavioural biases”. Distance bias, also known as proximity bias, is hard-wired into hybrid working models.
Reading through recent reports it’s clear that employees have made their choice and are making their voices heard: remote not office-based. This is a particular concern for those fighting to recruit in the war for talent, particularly specialist tech talent.
As leaders in the future of work, Distributed are already leading the way with a fully remote-first approach and Elastic Teams delivering significant benefits for customers.
If you want to find out more about how effective Elastic Teams are, for both tech companies and freelance developers, click here to join our webinar on the subject.