Inspired by an HBR article written by Prithwiraj (Raj) Choundhury, called “Our Work From Anywhere Future”, I decided to continue with my theme from a recent article about the added stresses and anxieties that the whole discussion about working from home (WFH), working from anywhere (WFA or WFX) is causing employees.

Yes, there is an acronym for where you work. WFA has now become WFX – the new kid on the block.

Working from anywhere (WFX) benefits

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many organisations to seriously reconsider and/or revise their employee working arrangements.

Whilst the question of whether everyone needed to be in an office location had been endlessly discussed, the 2020 pandemic answered the question loud and clear. No.

Individuals and organisations have realised the benefits that could be gained from a WFX arrangement. This is a great time of organisational change.

Benefits for individuals

· Geographic flexibility – freedom to live where you want to

· Ability to move with a partner whose job requires frequent changes in locations e.g., military employees

· Living nearer family

· Eliminated commutes

· Reduced or eliminated travel

· Improved work / life balance

· Becoming a digital nomad and travelling whilst employed

· Reduced cost of living

Benefits for organisations

· Increased employee engagement

· Increased productivity

· Reduced or eliminated need for office real-estate

· Access to global talent

· Access to the right skills regardless of location

· Access to niche labour markets

· Reduced attrition

The HBR article references a 2015 study by Nicholas Bloom and coauthors that found employees opting into WFH increased their productivity by 13%. Nine months later the same employees were given the choice to remain WFH or return to the office. The former choice led to further productivity gains, resulting in a total gain of 22%.

At GitLab (the world’s largest all-remote company of 1,300 employees) estimate the net-gain from WFX is $18000 USD per employee per year.

Concerns

Despite so many benefits to be gained, there are concerns that will need to be addressed.

I will address just some of them in this article.

How will WFX effect:

· Performance evaluation

· Pay

· Communication including brainstorming and problem solving

· Employee well-being

· Logistics

They are all valid concerns but they can be addressed and organisations will reap the benefits.

Making WFX work

There will be some fundamental changes organisations will have to make to make WFX work but it can be done.

Performance evaluation

I believe this is going to be one of the most difficult challenges due to the prevailing ‘management’ style in many organisations.

So many managers – I am avoiding the use of the term ‘leader’ – measure employee ‘performance’ by the time they are in the office or in front of a computer.

How do these managers measure performance of an employee with whom they are never physically co-located?

Last year I wrote an article called ‘TITO versus TITO’. It asked whether you are a TITO manager or a TITO leader.

The focus of a TITO manager is Time In The Office.

The focus of a TITO leader is Trust In The Outcomes.

Since the pandemic I would have to add the caveat that ‘the office’ is where you are when you are WFH or WFX. It is the time spent in front of a computer that is being measured.

This is going to require a fundamental shift in how we develop real leadership. These leaders provide employees with autonomy. They provide clear and agreed expectations and then get out of the way. Employees know the leader is there when needed to provide support or remove obstacles.

The inability of managers to evaluate performance of remote workers is evident from the increase in employee surveillance software.

The findings from research firm TOP10VPN are scary.

· Global demand for employee monitoring software increased by:

o 87% in April compared with monthly average prior to the pandemic, following an initial 7% bump in March

o 71% in May versus pre-pandemic levels

· Sustained demand: 51% higher over June-September than before pandemic

Tools being deployed include keystroke logging so that employers can see every click of the keyboard; they can view private messages; send alerts when keyboard have been idle for a set amount of time; and take pictures with the computer camera. Installation on mobile devices can use GPS to map employee movement.

In 2020, I find it extremely depressing that full-grown adults must be subject to routine surveillance of their activities in order for them to keep their job due to lack of adept leadership in an organisation.

SOLUTION: Invest now in the right leaders and leadership development

PAY AND COMPENSATION

We are reading a lot about some companies such as Facebook stating they will tie an employee’s salary to where they are located.

Once again, salary should be about employee value contribution - not location.

Whilst employees have been compensated for living in cities such as London and San Francisco that have a high cost of living, the compensation – often called a ‘weighting’ – has been an allowance paid as the organisation requires the employee to be in that location.

If an employee can now WFX, then no weighting is required.

Location is no longer a barrier for sourcing the best talent. The quality of the talent should not depend on the going rate where a potential employee is based.

There will be a flattening of salaries.

Charles Towers-Clark writing for Forbes in June 2020 said:

“This flattening of salaries means that talent pools in regions that have not been explored are reaping the rewards of a decentralized recruitment process, while also providing highly skilled and enthusiastic labor for industries that need it.”

Organisations will need to give careful thought about how they compensate their employees in a fair and equitable manager wherever they are located.

It is quite possible that organisations who tie salary to location, will lose high-quality WFX employees to rival organisations that don’t.

SOLUTION: Do not link pay to geographical location in a WFX arrangement.

Communication

Organisations will have to start to be creative and innovative when it comes to communication and collaboration.

Whilst tools such as Zoom, MS Teams and Google Hangouts are great communication tools for remote employees they work best when employees are in similar time zones.

When employees are across multiple time zones, we need to think how we can communicate in a manner that is as close to real time as possible.

There are many communication options including the use of Slack channels, shared Google docs, access to recorded video calls and presentations in a central repository. These options enable rapid employee response and contribution whatever time zone they are in.

Collaboration tools such as online whiteboards and Slack channel threads can also be utilised.

It will be key to ensure employee know what is expected of them in use of these options.

Organisational change management will be key in transitioning an organisation used to emails, phone calls and meetings, to new ways of working.

SOLUTION: Get creative and innovative and co-design solutions with employees.

Employee wellbeing

For many employees, new WFX arrangements could be accompanied with feelings of isolation and disconnection.

These feelings can lead to stress, anxiety, fatigue and burnout.

Whilst every employee is accountable for their own physical and mental wellbeing, employers have a responsibility of due care and attention.

This will be achieved when leaders:

· Reach out and make a conscious connection with each and every one of their employees

· Know their employees needs and concerns

· Lead with empathy and compassion

· Check in on a frequent and regular basis with every one of their employees

· Check in on a frequent and regular basis with their team(s)

· Can identify early signs of mental health issues and take timely and appropriate action

· Know that there is no one-size-fits-all to employee wellbeing

· Operate with emotional intelligence

If a leader says they do not have time to keep checking in – then they are not a leader. That is the job of a leader. Without regular check-ins the with individuals and teams, the early signs of employee burnout and team dysfunction will be missed – which can have severe consequences

SOLUTION: Invest now in the right leaders and leadership development. Invest in effective resilience programs to benefit every employee.

Logistics

In the article I reference earlier, I mentioned the ‘great divide.’ Those who currently have the capability to work effectively from home and those that don’t.

Whilst some employees have custom-built offices at home, others are working out of the bedroom, kitchen or laundry.

Whilst some employees have sufficient internet capacity to work effectively others may not and may not even have internet.

Organisations will have to make sure that their employees have access to the technology and resources they need in order to be effective.

Whilst an employer might not be able to add a room to an employee’s house, they could identify an alternative location for the employee to work from. They could invest in a shared workspace in the employee’s locality.

SOLUTION: Ensure employee have what they need to work effectively when WFX.

Summary

WFX is here to stay. Organisations that adopt it will attract and retain talent. Brand and reputation will be enhanced. Organisations will be ahead of the game and thrive.

There are already many organisations reaping the benefits, so it is time to get onboard and make it work.

Let’s work together to make it happen.

Make Working From Anywhere Work - Organisational Change