Let’s talk about remote work

The sky is high and the boss is far away

At the beginning of 2020, many people around the world were forced to work from home due to the epidemic. I suddenly realized that I was already a veteran of remote work. When I got my first decent job more than 20 years ago, my American boss who looked Chinese gave me a brief introduction to the job requirements and procedures, and then said, "I'm flying back to the United States today. See you in two months." !" Then he walked away, leaving me wondering how to send my first email.

This boss is very imaginative and runs projects all over the world. He rarely sees me in person and mainly relies on emails, faxes and phone calls to communicate with me. Although this kind of remote work seemed cool at the time, unexpectedly it became the main mode of my career - either my boss is far away, or my team colleagues are abroad. Even though I have long been accustomed to wearing headphones and using a computer, talking about work with people from all over the world (yes, this was already the case in the 1990s: the boss was on vacation at the beach, and I reported the progress to him from my workstation), but remote The loneliness of work always lingers. Especially if the rest of the team is together and I'm alone.

So working remotely doesn’t necessarily mean working from home. As long as your main work partner or team is not in front of you, isn’t it remote?

After becoming a supervisor, all six of my subordinates were no longer in front of me, and they were distributed in five cities in three countries. After changing positions like this, I discovered that it is not easy to manage remote teams that are scattered everywhere. How to understand and take care of the needs of each employee? How do you know if they are working hard? How to not be partial? How do you know that when they say "Okay, no problem", they really mean it is okay?

It is true that the remote working model has made team management more challenging, but the basic principles of management are still universal. I gradually understood that management work is actually mainly about managing people, and managing people is not like managing machines. Only by winning people's hearts can you have an outstanding team that is willing to do its best.

Although I am separated from my team by thousands of miles, I still insist on having one-on-one private chats with every teammate every week, and gather everyone on conference calls every quarter to play games and chat about life. This not only allows many tricky and critical tasks to be solved in time, but the actual interaction can really stimulate a lot of creativity. And I found that the "sense of togetherness" of the entire team is very important for team cohesion; because cohesion brings a sense of belonging and tacit understanding. Such teams usually perform well.

In retrospect, these were attempts to overcome remoteness when communication technology was not yet developed. They are nothing compared to today's remote communication. But I also realize that no matter whether communication technology is convenient or not, being sincere and spending enough time with your work partners who are far away is better than anything else.

▲As long as the main work partner or team is not in front of you, isn’t it considered remote working? Even on vacation, work can still be done.

Times create opportunities

Although remote working has become more popular in the past ten years than before, in the past consensus in the corporate world, no matter how many benefits there are of remote working, it is not as good as the effect of working together in person. In the past, remote working was mainly for the convenience of employees, and was also a management method deliberately adopted by a few multinational companies to save costs. It seemed impossible to become mainstream. Not many employers dared to allow most employees to work from home most of the time.

However, the 2020 epidemic has quickly forced remote working to become a mainstream method (at least temporarily mainstream). When the economy is completely shut down, business owners no longer care about the disadvantages of remote working. As long as production, creation, and service work can continue, they can leave everyone at home! After all, the employees are still here, so there is no need to worry about running out of firewood in the future. Discerning technology companies take advantage of this opportunity to vigorously promote online communication services, and even offer people a free trial of the new platform. They believe that customers who fall in love with their products and services will become loyal customers.

The results of it? In the past, people who had to ask for help to make an Internet call and who stayed away from technology will join a Zoom meeting at every turn in 2020. The church has always been a physical gathering of people, but now it also moves its large and small gatherings online. In the past, employers were worried that too many people working from home would greatly impair work performance. However, global remote work in 2020 was like a stress test. Not only did everyone survive, but there were more breakthroughs, making both employers and employers realize that remote work Can exist as the norm.

In the long run, although remote work is unlikely to completely replace the physical work model, its widespread popularity not only allows employers to save the cost of renting and managing office space; it also allows employees to have more flexibility and life-work balance, and less By eliminating the stress of commuting, your happiness index will rise, and your work efficiency will also improve. In fact, from retired people, to office workers, to students, the 2020 epidemic has created three generations of people who can survive online. This was an unimaginable sight a year ago.

It is true that not every organization or company can tolerate long-term and large-scale remote work. Those who benefit most from the remote model are mainly the technical service industry. In fact, companies such as cloud computing, network security, and SaaS (Software as a Service) have enjoyed rapid revenue growth due to the large-scale and long-term epidemic; and because these companies provide more and more The more technical support is in place, the more remote working seems to be taking root.

In the near future, we may see such a trend: many positions that must be recruited locally will be open to recruitment nationwide or even globally, because employers do not need to pay the high salaries in the company’s headquarters location, nor do they have to pay employees Relocation fees and personnel costs can be significantly reduced. Talents from all over the country can also compete in a larger job market without having to move to metropolitan areas with expensive living costs.

Meeting a loyal servant in troubled times

In the unusual year of 2020, the world began to experience a major reshuffle of talents and industrial chains. Countries, companies, individuals, and even families are all looking for their place again.

People without thought, he must worry about. Jobs that were once "iron rice bowls" may disappear, and job opportunities that you never dreamed of may appear. How can we remain invincible amid changes in workplace culture, ecology, and models?

Personally speaking, if you regard remote work as a convenient additional benefit rather than an opportunity to do housework at home or do some small business, and work for your employer with a grateful heart, you can win the trust of your employer, and Capital to continue working remotely.

How do you perform well in remote work? Based on my many years of experience, the following points are crucial.

Taking the initiative to present yourself: This is not the same thing as deliberately expressing yourself and highlighting yourself. In remote mode, your boss, team, and clients can’t see what you’re doing. Trust, tacit understanding in face-to-face relationships, and understanding of work progress really need to be carefully managed in remote work. If employees can proactively and frequently report their status to their bosses and work partners, seek feedback, opinions and suggestions from them, and clarify their expectations for their work, including goals and time requirements, etc., they can make up for the problems caused by remote work to a large extent. Eliminate the inconvenience and discomfort and help yourself and your team become more efficient and effective. In the remote working mode, "talking a lot" is usually more reassuring than being "taciturn".

Stay away from the temptation to "complete personal errands on the way": Of course, there is nothing wrong with doing some simple personal errands during work breaks. This is also the flexibility that working from home brings. However, if we do not deliberately draw boundaries, in situations where it is difficult to distinguish between public and private, people will often rationalize their behavior of not distinguishing between public and private. If you do this for a long time, the temptation will be greater. In the final analysis, as an employee, you must be loyal to your employer and be worthy of your salary. Therefore, the best way is to confirm in your mind that working at home is "work" and your time and attention should be given to work. With this boundary in mind, then ask yourself to proceed according to the day's work goals. There is also a side benefit of doing this: after work, your time and thoughts will be given to your family (if you are single, you will leave it to your personal life), and you will not become a workaholic without boundaries.

▲Whether you are working remotely or in front of people, you must be loyal to your duties. After all, you must ultimately give an account to God.

Create a structure for each working day: plan your schedule well, otherwise time will become like water flowing down the drain. The schedule should not only include goals, tasks, and timetables, but also include time for big breaks and small breaks. Because when working from home, work and life are often in the same space, and it is easy to forget to take a break visually and conceptually, so you need to pay special attention to this need and even set an alarm. During the period of the day when you need to concentrate on completing difficult tasks, you must ask your family members in advance not to disturb you, and you are not allowed to respond to any chores at home during that time.

From a supervisor's perspective, more consideration needs to be given to how to measure employees based on work results, rather than relying on keeping an eye on employees' work. In remote working mode, it is inherently difficult to monitor closely. This kind of management method will actually greatly stimulate employees' commitment and creativity. For this management model to be effective, supervisors need to set and communicate their performance expectations to employees in a timely manner. More importantly, talk to employees about the meaning of work goals, because employees who recognize the value of their work will have greater internal motivation.

During the work process, supervisors should not think that everything will be fine if the other party does not speak up. They should take the initiative to care about and empathize with employees, discover their difficulties and confusions, and help provide resources and remove obstacles.

Supervisors need to acknowledge the reality: conditions and situations in remote work vary from person to person and from home to home, and it is impossible to treat the needs and difficulties of all employees equally. As long as you have the heart to help others, you can wisely handle interactions with employees in different situations, and try your best to provide convenience and flexibility for employees working remotely without losing the basic principles of management and fairness.

The workplace can be just a place where expertise and knowledge are exchanged for income, or it can be a platform to witness Christian work ethics; bosses and colleagues can be just partners who work together, or they can be objects of influence in Christian life. At the end of the day, whether you are working remotely or in front of people, you should be loyal to your position. Because isn’t the big boss of the whole earth in heaven? We will ultimately give an account to God and receive the most meaningful reward from God.

True face, Master of Business Administration, once served as financial director of a Fortune Global 500 company, and has been engaged in investment management and economic strategy research for many years.