What’s the story behind ‘Working from Anywhere’?

Working from anywhere, hybrid working, flexible working, remote working… All of these terms have been flying around since the pandemic but what do they mean in practice? We spoke to Rosalie M. Hawley, MBA , director of People Operations at WiredScore to get her take.

How have you seen companies embrace the idea of ‘Working from Anywhere’ after the pandemic?

I believe there has been a significant change in attitude towards work since the start of the pandemic. Prior to COVID, many companies didn’t like the idea of remote working. Only a few organizations were set up to provide support for remote, hybrid, or flexible work arrangements. However, the pandemic forced a change in the way we work, and people had to adjust their mindsets to embrace a more fluid work environment. What I have observed, though, is that the ability to work from anywhere has many advantages, something a lot of others are starting to realize as well. It introduces a new kind of work-life integration, which has pleasantly surprised many individuals. People value having extra time in their lives to focus on things outside of work, whether it’s an extra hour at home in the morning or taking your lunch break with the family more regularly.?

It would be fair to say that there can be some challenges kind of around working from anywhere. Would you be able to give an overview of those that you've come across?

I think one of the most obvious ones is the ‘in person’ component. As human beings, there is this need for us to be around others and not having that does have an impact on morale. I think it also has an impact on how efficiently we can work in some cases. Because you're not sitting right next to your team member, you can’t turn to them and say, ‘Hey, what about this thing?’. In a work environment that is primarily remote, you're having to set up 15 to 30 minute meetings, which leads to meeting overload and meeting burnout. I think the other really important challenge is that working remotely can impact retention. Because when you have an opportunity to start a new company in person, you're spending time with your team members and building connections. If you’re fully remote, it's all about the work and it becomes less important to you if you were to consider whether or not to leave. I think that's why we saw a lot of churn during the ‘great resignation’ during the pandemic. I think it's still something of an issue, but to a lesser extent now as companies bring their employees into the office a few days a week.?

What’s been your approach to overcoming these challenges??

I feel like the personal touch has been my most successful approach. A silver-lining of the pandemic was the shift towards prioritizing the wellbeing aspects of work. This is where various schemes and bonuses, such as the option to work from anywhere, took center stage. In my last role, I created a business partner team where each team member was allocated a personal coach that they could turn to for help on anything and everything. Having that outlet, that safe space to go and vent, really made a huge impact because people felt like they were heard. We recognized that businesses can’t take a blanket approach to wellbeing. The older, more rigid way or working where everyone had the same rules wasn’t working anymore. It’s a balancing act, sure, but it comes down to treating people like adults and allowing them the flexibility to do what works for them, without compromising the running of the company.?

I think that, to make flexible working as easy as possible, we need to take a collaborative approach. And I don’t mean just within your own company, but between different businesses and different teams. Bringing in new ideas and new approaches is so important to attract top talent and improve retention. HR has moved on and we need to make sure we’re moving with it! Benefits that employees expect have changed massively and it is in every company’s interest to find the ones that work best for them. Looking to each other for inspiration will help businesses get these benefits right, first time.

Find out what the future holds for offices in our recent research report