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Redefining The Rules of Remote Work

MHFI July 17, 2023



Two-thirds of Australians would rather have a hybrid schedule than return to the office following the pandemic.  

Early 2020 presented a crucial time when most organisations decided to conduct business operations remotely. A rising statistic of 54 percent of organisations modified their work roles to fit remote-capable avenues. Employees working at home multiplied in no time, surging the 20 percent of Australian home workers to 44 percent.

With no one knowing how long the pandemic would last, this global health crisis shifted the everyday dynamics of workplace culture. Though remote work was rising even before the pandemic, covid-19 accelerated the push of remote working. Almost all organisations had to incorporate remote working within their settings without compromising work productivity.

Going remote presented some intense challenges

With all these commotions of shifting to remote working, employers soon discovered it wasn’t as easy as they initially thought. First, not all kinds of jobs could fit the criteria of employees working off-site business premises. Hence, organisations worldwide had to separate the teams and roles that could complete tasks off-premises, then begin the transition.

A further study revealed that only a limited number of workforces under advanced economies could work remotely or at home- between 3 and 5 days each week. However, COVID-19 had increased the number of task forces; employees now had to tackle up to 4-5 times more remote work.

With the increasing amount of remote work, so did the new challenges. You see, organisations had some departments working off-premises while others worked on-site such as production employees, front-line workers, warehouse staff, etc. This division created an imbalance where organisations grappled with improving work and completing work efficiently.

Covid-19 guidelines

Accompanying the pandemic were local business limitations, state and federal health guidelines, and social distancing requirements. All these factors held hands to affect businesses’ workforce, which HR leaders had to follow diligently. As policies are prone to change, HR leaders also had to adapt to the changes.

A year later, various governments deployed Covid-19 vaccinations, which resulted in the declining number of cases associated with the pandemic. Leaders had a chance of creating new and advanced plans on how workers could continue working remotely, or even better, workers to return to the workplace. But all these plans could only work once the governments lifted the COVID-19 restrictions.

Employees want more remote work options.

With more than two years of uncertainty, experiencing disrupted living and working, our leaders are curious to know if remote jobs worked and how its dynamics might change moving forward. As is often with change, many employees did not know what to expect while working away from the office.

Today, in this post-pandemic era, the average employee prefers working remotely. A study by Harvard showed that, while most workers miss their colleagues and some aspects of office life, they prefer working from home voicing flexibility as a key reason.

The most predominant pros included:

  • Workers proved that working from home to bring productive results was achievable
  • Reduced expenses such as commuting to work every day
  • Employees worked with more flexible hours
  • Use of technological platforms such as zoom for attending virtual meetings
  • some employees stated having reduced stressors of beating traffic jams in the mornings

While there are notable home-working pros, remote working still has some cons. Some employees are feeling alone and isolated, some feel their employer expectations of being constantly available for work, and increased burnout symptoms.

Employers are ready for the shift

A survey involving 200 Australian employers showed that most are taking positive steps towards a remote-work environment. 9 in 10 employers have invested in technology like video conferencing, smartphones, slack, and laptops. However, only 17 percent of employers commented that investing in technology was a primary factor harbouring the adoption of remote work.

The survey further revealed that employers recorded more productive workers, reduced employee turnover and absenteeism, improved worker morale, and operational cost savings; when these particular employers decided to offer remote work policies.

When comparing small and large businesses, employers leading large businesses record more employee production when allowing remote work. 7 in 10 large businesses employers testify to having more productive employees when implementing remote working policies compared to 47 percent of small business employers. It Is no wonder that employers today are motivated to implement remote working policies.

The bottom-line: setting new rules in the remote-work arena

The work-from-home experiment has proven successful in more ways than imagined. Today, the average employee has experienced a permanent change in how he or she feels about remote work. This leaves organisations in a position where they need to make important decisions on how to best adapt and navigate this new development while moving forward.

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