Is Remote Work the Answer?

 Remote working has become the center of all discussions.

Some praise the fact that the pandemic has finally moved the lines in their companies, explaining everywhere that Remote working is THE way of organizing tomorrow's work, that they are much more productive as well ... in short, everyone wins.

While many praises remote working, it becomes politically incorrect to voice a slightly less complimentary opinion.

While I have always been in favor of a dose of remote working (one or two days a week), I feel today that we have gone to an extreme. I wonder when I hear testimonials from companies that have extended remote working until January 2021 or even June 2021, has it become a contest for who will extend remote working the longest?

I would like to express some fairly strong opinions which I know will not align with most opinions. Many will comment on this testimony, but I am a little tired of the common clichés related to remote work. Which is supposed to only have positive impact

So yes, there are a lot of good things about remote work, and a lot of articles are popping up to brag about them.

Let us dwell here on some biases:

• Not everyone can work remotely. Positions such as production trades, salespeople in stores, butchers…. Even in the tertiary sector, a certain number of positions do not lend themselves to remote work. For example, a Human Resources Director, who never physically meets with employees of the company, is he doing his job properly?

• Not everyone has an appetite for remote working. Over the past few weeks, a large number of employees have been forced to operate in a way that does not suit them because they prefer a social connection. Even if companies have become more creative by offering virtual cafes, drinks and physical activities being able to meet a colleague, have informal discussions at the coffee machine, without this being organized is necessary for many employees.

• Not all employees will work remote effectively. Some employees are faced with managing children and school schedules and some employees are struggling to organize an office within their home (or even two offices if the significant other is in the same situation). Working from the couch or lying in bed , while certainly doable for some teenagers, does not seem to me to be a good practice in the business world.

• The spontaneity of professional exchanges cannot be the same. In fact, when we are in the same place, it is easy to pass each other in the corridors, thus allowing us to ask a question and to discuss a subject quickly. In a remote work situation, this requires coordination to find a common time of availability for a meeting. Even if the use of instant messaging (Teams for example) partially compensates for this, this is only a partial solution.

• Another point also lies in the ability to create a sense of belonging, to a team, to a company when we never see each other. All companies are now seeking to improve employee engagement, which has a strong impact on productivity. How do we create a sense of belonging when the only point of contact with the company is virtual?

• In addition, during a recent survey (carried out after confinement by the French association of HRDs) it appears that more than half of Human Resources Directors wonder about the opportunity for creativity and innovation in remote work, which are the foundations of business performance. Traditional sessions around a whiteboard, where everyone reacts to what the other is expressing, seems much more difficult in the virtual world.

So of course, these opinions are a bit caricatural  Many will tell me that I am amplifying them for the purposes of my demonstration, it may be true, nevertheless I remain convinced that 100% remote working is not the right solution.

A mix between work from home and work at the office (2 days of remote per week) would be my preference. We would favor video or conference call meetings and focused work when we are remote, keep a free agenda to meet and collaborate with other employees when at the office seems to me to be the best compromise to combine the advantages of the two systems.