WLP114 How Remote Work affects Office Life (part 1)

In this episode, Pilar and Lisette talk about how having a remote set-up and a flexible workforce affects how we work in the office. 55mins

 visit www.virtualnotdistant.com

What is "remote" anyway?

Even people working across different floors perceive themselves as being distant from each other. Another great advocacy point for adapting the office to remote working. It will benefit teamwork that happens across floors, not just those working outside the building.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/SupportingDistributedTeamwork.pdf

• Where is the information rather than who has the information. http://blog.idonethis.com/remote-company/

This doesn't just make us more productive, it also stops hierarchies forming around who holds the information. Not to mention that people can leave on holiday (or leave the company) without leaving gaps of information in the team.

Can some behaviours around availability and reflection become more acceptable?

It seems to be more acceptable not to be available when you're working away from the office than when you're physically present there.

What symbols and signals can we use in the office to ask people not to disturb us? How can offices be designed to offer an environment for focused work?

Isaac said: "Listening to your "learning in virtual teams" podcast. Really enjoying your thoughts on taking time to let things "sink in" during the working day. That is what I like the most about my work from home days. I am super productive (I control my distractions) and because of that I feel ok taking the extra time to "process" what I'm experiencing. In the office, "processing" time is often seen as wasted time."

http://www.onofficemagazine.com/interiors/item/4663-airbnb-s-low-tech-and-flexible-portland-office

• Autonomy and autonomous decision making. Be careful if you start enabling people to have flexible work schedules: are they also being given the autonomy usually associated with that?

• The question of transparency.In virtual we have to make more communication open and thinking process explicit. Can this translate to the office? https://thefutureorganization.com/balance-employee-freedom-organizational-control/

We'll carry on in episode 116!