Look around your office and I’m sure you’ll see that quite a few of your colleagues aren’t in. With summer holiday season in full swing, many of them might be on leave, but others are likely to be working from home or even customer sites.
It’s not just over the summer that increasing numbers of employees are working remotely. Many companies offer flexible working, including home working, as a standard policy and many employees find it not only more convenient but that they can be more productive when working from home. Research published last year shows more than one in two (54%) UK workers are based outside the office more than 2.5 days of the working week, while more than one third (36%) say they work exclusively from home when they work remotely. Another study predicts that by 2020 half of us will be working remotely.
This trend isn’t confined to the UK either. Gallup’s latest State of the American Workplace study also highlights how employees are increasingly working outside the physical confines of the office. And a New York Times survey from last year reported that, out of nearly 200,000 U.S. employees, 43 percent of respondents said they worked remotely at least some of the time.
All this research points to the need to set workers up for success in an evolving working environment, where “work” may no longer be a single physical place. Here are three ways that businesses can ensure they are empowering their teams as mobile work become increasingly mainstream:
Ensure that employees have the tools they need to do their jobs at home or on the road
A 2018 Oxford Economics study found that less than one in three (32%) employees feel they are equipped with the tools they need to work distraction-free when outside the office. I find it concerning that so many workers don’t feel they are fully equipped to work efficiently whenever and wherever they’re working. Businesses have the responsibility to help their employees overcome the challenges associated with remote productivity. This includes, for example, the ability to be clear and professional on important calls, even from the road.
Avoid a one-size-fits-all approach to IT strategy
I think it’s also vital to understand the distinct work styles in the enterprise, which each have their own needs and pain points. It’s a mistake to think of the mobile workforce as a single, monolithic group when in fact it encompasses several different user behaviours, device preferences and work styles. Taking a people-centric approach to IT – and developing strategies to support users as people – will ultimately ensure better productivity and a happier team. Plantronics has conducted in-depth research into this topic and you’ll be hearing more soon.
Ensure that expectations are clear
Along with constant connectivity comes the threat of burnout. The Oxford Economics research shows more than a quarter (27%) of employees – and 43 percent of executives – said they experience pressure (brought on by themselves or by others) to be always connected as a result of new digital technologies. It’s critical to establish clear communication around expectations for availability and productivity, to ensure that mobile work is an asset, not impediment, toward work-life balance. The Gallup survey found that:
