Remote, and more specifically, hybrid work, is on trend to become the new normal of work life, completely revolutionizing the nuance of the “office” as we know it. In fact, an UpWork study estimates that 22% of employees will work remotely by 2025, while AT&T predicts the hybrid model will grow to 81% adoption by employers by the same year.
This makes it a critical time, more than ever before, to equip yourself as a leader with a new set of skills to adapt to the challenges that lie ahead resulting from this new work model.
How exactly does one lead an engaged remote or hybrid workforce? And what are the differences?
Wellbeing First
“Managing stress levels is a core responsibility for any leader, but it’s doubly important in hybrid teams,” says Simon Brisk, co-founder of Click Intelligence. “When people work from home, their work life gets blended with their personal life. An unhealthy work-life balance can make your employees irritable and lower their productivity. It’s your responsibility to watch for signs of burnout and manage their workload.”
It’s essential to recognize that although a remote or hybrid work setup holds the benefits of protecting one’s health and wellbeing through having more flexible time to spend with family and reducing the need to commute, it can have counter-effects. During the pandemic, remote work led to increased productivity, while synchronously causing burnout for 69% of employees. Many people who work remotely find themselves working harder than ever before, using their typical commute time, and beyond, to work. Since their work laptops are always available, there seems to be nothing stopping them from working into the night. But encouraging this as a leader, backfires because your team will soon lose their productivity and relish for work.
Albert Vaisman, founder of Soxy, believes that a successful hybrid work setup relies on clear expectations and guidelines to help remote employees understand their roles and responsibilities.
“When crafting your hybrid work policy, begin by involving your employees,” he shares. “Their preferences and work habits are valuable for shaping the rules and procedures. Determine the essential hours when remote workers should be online. For instance, you might decide that everyone needs to be accessible on weekdays from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Define clear response time expectations; this will reduce the “always-on” pressure. Combat “Zoom fatigue” by minimizing unnecessary video meetings. Respect personal time, and discourage overworking.”
Master And Embrace Digital Tools
Digital tools and software are your best friend. If you’re not already, you need to shift gears and become a digital native. Research the best tech stack that will optimize productivity for your team, enabling them to collaborate in real-time, track analytics, and forge relationships as close as possible to the in-office environment.
Tom Humble, CXO and founder of ECD Auto Design, shared how he integrates some of his favorite SaaS products: “To maintain seamless communication and collaboration, we heavily rely on digital tools. Zoom is our go-to meeting platform, Slack keeps us updated instantly, and Trello helps us with project management.”
Fine-Tune Your Hiring Decisions
“I always prioritize candidates who have previous experience working from home,” shares Lindsey Bourret, who is a managing director at Mearto. “For me, this carries almost as much weight as their experience in the industry. I think it’s important to hire candidates that are independent and self-motivated and have proven that they’re able to keep themselves organized and on task without direct supervision.”
Trust Your Team
One of the major concerns that arose concerning transitioning to remote or partly remote work, is the lack of distrust amongst colleagues, and particularly, from managers to their teams. This results in micromanagement, and subsequently, negative manager/employee relationships and reduced morale. Bourret believes that if you make good hiring decisions in the first place, it will be easier to trust your team members.
“I think it’s important to appreciate the improved work / life balance that a remote position offers and what this means for your employees,” she explains. As an example, she noted, “I don’t require anyone on our team to be parked in front of their computer from 9am to 5pm and we keep online meetings to a minimum—no meetings that could have been an email. I’ve seen some of the ways that companies track their remote employees’ ‘productivity’ since the lockdowns forced many to work from home and I personally find them horrifying. They create inefficiencies and destroy any sense of mutual respect and trust.”
Or as Kelsey Bishop, CEO and founder of Candor, put it, “If you micromanage any team — especially remote ones — you won’t know what your employees are capable of, and they’ll be less invested in project success.”
Build Your Relationship Skills
Relationship-building and a sense of connection almost naturally occurs when one is in the office. But those moments of spontaneity can be harder to recreate when working remotely. Consequently, while remote or hybrid work is better for your team’s wellbeing, the last thing you would want to do is to create an environment that makes them feel isolated, especially since, according to Gallup research, remote workers who feel isolated experience a 21% drop in productivity.
“Since remote work does remove many of those “water cooler” opportunities to get to know your employees, we have to make a bit more of a concerted effort to connect on a personal level,” Bourret reminds managers. “I do most of our calls one-on-one with each member of my team and set aside time to ask about kids, holiday plans, etc. to make sure that they know that I respect and care about their life outside of work.”
These are exciting times for managers and leaders as we roll into 2024. The remote and hybrid work concept presents enormous opportunities for personal and professional career growth, both for yourself and your team. Through adopting the above habits and skills and incorporating them into your management style, you can ensure you are taking advantage of all the benefits this new “office space” has to offer.
Emery Bowles captured it perfectly when she noted, “Adapting to hybrid management isn’t just about new tools and policies—it’s about nurturing a flexible, inclusive, and communicative culture that resonates with your team’s values.”
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