Many of us are working at least part of the week remotely. So, how do you work remotely and remain effective?
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HR guru Gemma Dale is a lecturer at Liverpool John Moores University and runs her own business, The Work Consultancy, where she focuses on policy development, flexible and hybrid working and wellbeing. Her recently published book How to Work Remotely is a practical guide for those new to remote working, as well as those who’ve been working this way for years.
This episode of the Oven-Ready HR podcast covers:
- Is the standard 8 hour day dead? Despite the pandemic offering us the opportunity to change standard working practices, employees and employers have largely stuck to this routine.
- Is the hybrid genie out of the bottle? Dale believes that we are unlikely to return to the office full time, but she also argues that the benefits of hybrid working are not yet totally clear.
- Autonomy Thwarting Behaviour. Policies that require employees to attend the office on set days are “autonomy thwarting behaviour” as, essentially, the organisation has to see you working to believe you are working.
- Overcoming ‘proximity bias’. We have a bias to those who are physically closest to us, therefore there is a risk of favouring people in the office over those working at home.
- What skills do managers need to manage remote teams? Dale argues that managers being “intentional” is key to success They should deliberately check-in and communicate with their teams.
- Where do we get remote or home working wrong? Remote working is deeply personal. What suits one person may not suit others. Environment is also key; not setting up a proper working environment is going to make remote working much harder.
