What challenges do employees face when transitioning to remote work?

Transitioning to remote work can be like embarking on a new journey. For employees, it’s not just about a change in scenery but adapting to a whole new way of doing things. As a passionate advocate for culturally relevant teaching and DEIJ, I believe in the power of connection and empathy. One challenge we often see is the sense of isolation. When you’re not physically in the office or classroom, those water cooler chats or hallway conversations disappear. So, how do we keep that sense of belonging alive? In the end, it’s all about adapting and evolving, much like our ever-changing world.

The two dimensional nature of online communications (even when your preferred modality) can be exhausting. Trying to decode and listen attentively can leave you fatigued. Always plan 10m breaks between communications and never do back to back meetings! Seriously consider the purpose and length of all communications. Be prepared to challenge how much, how long and how often is truly needed. Try 45m instead of 1h. Have meeting points (expectations) and send ahead any pertinent information or feedback requests so they can be processed in advance when the receivers have more band width. Above all, don’t be hostage to notifications and turn-off communications when you’re in deep work. Likewise, when your day is over. Turn off devices.

Transitioning to remote work poses several challenges for most employees. Home environments can be rife with distractions, impacting focus. The absence of in-person interactions can lead to feelings of isolation and communication difficulties. Technical hiccups, like unstable internet or inadequate tools, disrupt tasks. The line between work and personal time often blurs, making work-life balance elusive. Moreover, without structured office routines, some grapple with maintaining discipline and effective time management. This shift necessitates a reevaluation of work habits and setting clear boundaries.

It is vitally important for employees transitioning to remote roles to know who to reach out to for help- and just as important for those mentors to be available when they are needed. Creating a virtual training room helps foster a community of connection, which is enhanced when people are invited to speak and discuss learning topics and issues they are experiencing.

Singular social forms once common to developing interpersonal communication and norms are suddenly scarce in online communities, so careful interpretation of information communicated electronically is essential. In addition, in-person workplace rituals once considered matter-of-course or even mundane, such as catching a curt constitutional or collecting a cool coffee or cold confectionery with colleagues, is now either cut off or completely closed in our uninterrupted, electronic global infobahn. Therefore, developing professional networks on sought-after social scaffolds such as LinkedIn are now not only pertinent, but also paramount to adding substantial value to information spaces among people of diverse cultures, ethnicities, and races.

A great collaboration requires the right tools and processes. And none of these lack today. What is even more important is the mindset. In a distributed environment, setting expectations is key. Async communication should be prevalent, mostly to accommodate for time zone differences. Another important aspect is having full documentation (onboarding, tools, processes, guidelines, etc.) in a single repository that is available for everyone.

It’s important to have engagement in the workplace. Without engagement there is disconnection. Without collaboration there is isolation and resistance. If people can’t or fear consequence or are afraid to share their experiences there will be a breakdown in connection.

Moving to remote working can be effective, however, ensuring that it is right for the person and that they have the support and structure to do so is vital. Having the right way to communicate includes not only tools for remote working but also clear communication being clear about the intention of the communication, for example, is action needed, is there a deadline, is for information and is it ok to share.

I believe that the effectiveness of our work will be maximized when we know and understand crucial members of the team we need to collaborate with on a regular basis. Finding time to get to know each other's point of view, thought processes and backgrounds can go a long way before collaborating together on specific projects.

It’s important to respect time zones and also understand how people like to be communicated to. Communicate how you like like to be communicated to as well. If it’s urgent, your method of communication may be different from when it’s not urgent. Also, have an agenda of things to cover whenever you meet—make meetings purposeful and productive. And make time to do fun things that team build as well.

Setting boundaries between their work and personal life is critical. Working from home, you may face more distractions or interruptions from their family, pets, or household chores. To avoid these distractions, create a dedicated workspace that is comfortable and free of noise and establish a regular routine and schedule.

Ensuring that the person has a good place to work remotely will minimise disruptions, some things to consider are the feeling of isolation that comes with remote working and keeping motivated. Meetings remotely are not the same as in person and we interact differently with each other virtually, ensuring the continued welfare of the team is important. Having boundaries such as agreed work time and personal time and having an area remotely that can be classed as the work area will help encourage a good work life balance.

I agree, but don’t worry too much about taking a break to unload the dishwasher, start a load of laundry, grab a snack, or take a walk around the block. When you consider your time spent at the office “water cooler”, talking with co-workers, bio-breaks, and transition between tasks, you’re probably still more productive at home than in the office.

Remote work can tremendously enhance productivity when it is approached with focus. Saving commuting time, having a space to be able to think, create and execute away from distraction can all be obtained if we are focused on creating the right atmosphere and developing the right habits. As James Clear teaches us in his book, Atomic Habits: "Good habits make time your ally, bad habits make time your enemy."

Don’t spend your work time in the same place as your home time. If you have a space where you have a desk and it’s quiet, go there. After work, leave that area, and don’t return to it unless it’s time to work. Take opportunities during your breaks and lunches to “life.” Throw in a load of laundry, do some dishes, take a walk, run an errand. Getting ready for the day as if I was actually going to an office, I usually have a more productive day than days in sweatpants.

I think as a remote worker, you need to work a little harder at relationships naturally. It can feel like you’re on an island at times. But rather than being bummed about it, suggest ways you can feel connected, or that your team can help you feel connected and included. If your colleagues have an outing, can they video call you to include you? How can you celebrate in office events with your colleagues? Get creative!

Companies that offer remote work need to develop an atmosphere where their employees can still feel connected and valued. A great way to do this is through recognition. A simple daily email highlighting some of the best performance in the employees can go a long way encouraging those who are hitting the mark and motivate others to do the same.

Motivation when working remotely can be difficult, however having set goals to maintain a feeling of achievement and regular contact with others can help. Adapting to feedback will help to continue on what is the most effective way of working and finding new ways of working.

Motivation comes from within each one of us. Obviously, the place where we work might have a huge impact on it. However, people who live in big and unsafe cities like São Paulo (my case), Rio, or Mexico City might be more motivated to be able to work from home than being forced to commute 3+ hours a day 'just to be there'. I strongly believe leaders should encourage autonomy and flexibility. Seeing your employees sitting in a chair at the company's office is not a synonym for having highly motivated employees.

Having a regimen for your personal self that you’re excited about as well as professional goals for which you are striving is the best way forward when planning remote work-life balance.

Part of a healthy home office set up includes good ergonomics. This can be achieved with small changes such as a foot stand, laptop stand, back support, and having your screen at eye level. Setting an alert for every 1-2 hours can serve as a good reminder to stop, breathe, and stretch for a few minutes. Finally, find a remote work set up that works for you. Some people do best working 100% remote, others prefer some in person days. For consistency, try to have a WFH space that you use when working from home.

It’s important to get up and stretch once in a while. Take a walk over your lunch. If so much of your day is at a computer, make sure you have an ergonomic set up: chair, desk, wrist rests, etc. Be aware of your posture and how your neck/back/shoulders feel. Do you need adjustments to your setup to make you more comfortable?

Your well-being and mental health need priority. Keeping motivated and not isolated is an important part of your day. Make sure breaks mean switching off for a while, try to tie in movement. Pay attention to your ergonomics- the right chair to give support, the right level for eye to screen. Warm, aired and comfortable.

I agree with all the points in this article about remote work. What's not addressed is that for some individuals, the office is better and for some, a hybrid or fully remote option is better. It might be due to their personality or work habits, but it does seem consistently like some just do better in one versus the other. Simple.

Being aware of the effects of digital fatigue and having good coping mechanisms in place to avoid digital fatigue is helpful. Having a structure in place where people are encouraged to speak up if their mental health or physical health is affecting their work, will keep adaptive and effective communication and adaptations in the workplace.

As a remote employee, your goal should be to become part of the team as much as possible. This will take effort on your part beyond just working with those individuals you're on the same projects with. Make a concerted effort to get to know as many people as possible by meeting with them regularly to get to know them, check-in, learn about the culture of your organization, or seek advice.

One thing I found helpful was to consider whether my communications 'needed' to be synchronous. In other words, did I need people to be on the other end of a phone or video call at that moment. Instead, could I have sent info through at one time and allowed my team member to read it and come back to me when they were ready to do so, maybe the next day? That way, we can help our team to build their communication skills in their own time.

Besides some of the things others have mentioned, a real challenge when starting remote work is getting clarity with your supervisor and other stakeholders about your goals the value you will be adding. We have heard from lots of managers over the past year about the difficulty they have measuring productivity when they can't "see" employees. So developing clear goals, measures, deadlines and proactive feedback routines is critical.

The theory of remote work, and the practice of remote work for employers and employees can be quite different. Employers during the pandemic had no choice but to allow employees to work from home so if a company has very good productivity, it’s difficult to put that genie back in the bottle and make employees come back to the office. For employees socialization is truly a big part of work just like when we all went to school socializing was a big part of our education. Not just textbook learning. Employees need to make sure remote work is right for them.

One of the issues I found was that I struggled to get others to make my requests a priority for them. This was particularly so for office based staff who had other around them setting priorities suffling my tasks to the rear. I had to make a point of visiting in person and impressing on them and others that we all need to be treated with similar priority if the team was going to work.