Remote Work Roadblocks

Peter du ToitI'm the founder of FutureWork IQ where I spend my time assisting businesses to improve their climate literacy so as to understand the projected impacts from the expanding climate crisis and how to adapt their workplaces in the face of these impacts.

The team at Global Workplace Analytics released their latest report on the current state of Covid-19 induced remote work.

One finding was that managers reported favorably on their remote teams quality of work and productivity but reported negatively on engagement, cohesion and creativity and remote team management.

Unless these negatively reported areas can be overcome the chances of keeping up remote work post the pandemic is slim.

These issues can be traced to several areas that need attention. First up will be to audit the teams (and especially the leadership’s) digital literacy. If ICT literacy, or media literacy or digital communication and collaboration skills are lacking it will be very difficult for that team to work flawlessly with each other online.

The second area to look at would be the technology stack. Does it match the teams workflow? Do the tools prioritize collaboration?

My recommendation to all leadership teams that are considering continued remote working, is to pause and make sure that all the elements required for a successful work from anywhere workplace are in place.

Successful remote work environments are DESIGNED. They don’t happen by chance.