The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has upended many traditional concepts about work—including the notion that workers need to congregate in an office space to work. With lockdown measures still enforced in many parts of the world and people encouraged to stay at home, companies have transitioned from managing in-office personnel to managing remote workers.
Across the board, employers’ attitude towards remote work has been mixed, with some embracing the concept and others resisting it. But even before the onset of the pandemic, it was clear that remote work was the way of the future: five million Americans (or 3.6% of the US workforce) currently work at home some or most of the time, according to data analyzed by Global Workplace Analytics.
Many employers also see the benefit of hiring remote workers, as this enables them to hire talent outside their geographical area and take advantage of more affordable labor costs in other countries. Regardless of how you arrived at this critical juncture, managing a remote team will require you to alter your management style and enforce new processes to keep your employees engaged, motivated, and productive.