With more employees seeking flexibility, companies of all sizes are shifting to remote work business. While some leaders are concerned that remote work will hamper productivity, research shows that when businesses have an effective policy of remote working it can boost key metrics and employee morale.
However, there are a lot of questions about remote working arrangements, from how it compares with flextime to where companies have a distributed workforce. Fortunately, there are also many proven benefits to providing remote working options, ranging from the removal of the commute (the top benefit of telecommuting, as per an 2020 FlexJobs survey) to increased engagement and retention from giving employees the flexibility they desire.
Flexible work arrangements are any time that an employee or team isn’t required to report to an office space at least some of the time, be it working from home a few days per week or being completely remote. It could also include working from a satellite office, like a coworking facility or cafe, and even an employee who travels.
No matter how your company decides to define flexible working arrangements it is essential that leaders and managers give regular feedback on performance and communication. It’s a good idea as well, to schedule regular standups and virtual meetings to promote collaboration, creativity and communication. Don’t forget to praise your remote employees when they merit it. If your employees feel dissatisfied or bored their performance will suffer.