Working at home

As a CEO, I was accustomed to coming and going pretty much as I liked. And I gave my staff as much freedom as possible.

I didn’t expect to have to schedule anybody’s arrivals or departures. I thought that people should be able to go downstairs and buy a muffin whenever they felt like it and use the bathroom on another floor.

That doesn’t seem like it’s going to be possible for a while.

So, remote work is going to be the norm. The office will no longer be headquarters. It will simply be an annex where a few people take care of a few things when necessary.

I don’t think the biggest problems are going to be about supervision or collaboration. Even child care can be accommodated.

Here’s what going to be most crucial:

1.     Access to technology, tech support, and equipment repair.

Employees may not have the equipment, software, or internet connection at home they would have in the office. They likely don’t have the ability to make mass copies of things. They don’t have faxes (yes, people still use those). There is no office printer (I think everybody should have their own printers, anyway, but that’s another discussion). Some people don’t have a printer at home. And they may not want to use their personal cells for work.

2.     Access to office equipment and supplies: copier, paper, printer cartridges, headphones, pens, legal pads, etc.

3.     Office furniture: desk, chair, tables, lamps, and other items used in the office.

4.     Space for these things. Lots of employees live in small apartments.

5.     Storage space for boxes, supplies, and other non-electronic stuff.

6.     Mail and shipping facilities.

The biggest challenge will be supplying employees, paying for what they need, and providing services that are normally centralized in the office (like mailing, shipping, and equipment repair).

Small organizations will need to rely on remote work for an even longer time than others. They don’t have the money to pay for office adaptations and they are frequently housed in small office spaces that were designed long ago.

You won't have to worry about communication with or between employees. It might actually be better when people connect when necessary and work without co-worker distractions when that’s best.