nies, and their staffs continue to struggle with how to implement these new ways of working. Some C-level suite personnel, managers and supervisors must teach themselves how to fold remote work into their leadership styles. “If an employee has expressed to an employer that they are reaching burnout and the employer has offered no solutions, then the employee needs to come up with some ideas,” Royz said. “Whether it’s asking for a more flexible schedule, tighter boundaries between work and home life, or even the potential for working from comfortable spaces outside of the home or office. “It’s tough to ask an employer for these solutions,” Royz acknowledged. “But at the end of the day, if an employee believes that it’s going to help them produce more inspired, creative work for the company, then it should be in the employer’s interest. “Ultimately though, as we’ve seen in the past few months, employees who feel they have no recourse will choose to leave,” he cautioned. “That’s why it’s in companies’ best interest to find these ways to support employees when they’re working remotely.” Working Away from Home The employer wants its remote workers to be productive. However, some employees who are working remotely find their home the worst possible choice for this. That is when they need to approach their supervisors to discuss options, such as renting a pooled space. Royz said he believes the employer ought to be the one who takes responsibility to ensure remote and hybrid workers have access to facilities that will allow them to get their work done effectively. This could mean providing access to spaces outside of the home where employees feel they can approach their work in a more productive manner. “Rather than arranging a program where employees seek out their own spaces and come to the employer to reimburse them, the employer can look for pay-as-yougo and subscription programs and packages that allow workers to choose from a wide manner of venues and workspaces across the city,” Royz said. “In this way, the employer can take control of the situation from the outset, and it avoids any awkward situations with workers who may look to negotiate the budget allotted to them or feel they are owed more than has been reimbursed to them.” The employer being proactive in this regard demonstrates to the workers that their leaders have considered the sustainability of the long-term remote and hybrid workplans and are looking to support employees in their flexible work for the long-term. “The hybrid work environment does require some trust on the part of the employer, but of course an employer does need to be kept up to speed with the work that their employees are doing,” Royz said. “A lot of apps and platforms that teams can use to streamline the remote work experience – including our platform Anywell – will allow employers to see if the app is being utilized by employees. “This data can give a good indication, without prying too deeply into employees’ work, of what workers are doing,” he said. “However, it also could be useful to ask employees to give their managers a regular update on what they’re working on, whether this is through a conversation or a submitted document.” Royz said countless studies during the past couple of years demonstrate that remote and hybrid work are here to stay. “The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that not only could a huge number of knowledge-based jobs be done remotely, but they could also be done well remotely,” he said. “It catalyzed a seismic shift in our perspective, where now a flexible work program is something that companies are going to have to offer to attract and retain the best talent.” Indeed, employee demand for hybrid work is here to stay, and since it has become more normalized, enterprises may consider altering the programs they “cobbled” at the start of the pandemic to make remote working sustainable in the long term. J Work is more flexible but digital overload is still a risk Source: Microsoft Source: Resume Builder American workers’ empl yment plans for 2022 Mental H alth Rating, by Office Enviro ment Source: Microsoft Gen Z Percent change since March 2020 After-hour work and workday span are still increasing, as are the number of weekly meetings and chats per person 2020 2021 2022 Number of meeting per person Average after-hours work Chats per person Meeting per person Chats per person Average after-hours work Average workday span Average workday span 15% 35% 55% 75% 95% Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb 135% 115% 155% +153% +32% +28% +13% 9% 9% 23% 59% Plan to continue working for curre t employer Plan to seek a new job with a dier nt employer Already have a new job that starts in 2022 Plan to retire 56.3% 30.4% 13.4% 82.0% 16.6% 1.4% 61.9% 31.4% 6.7% Good Work mainly indoors Work mainly outdoors Hybrid wo k locale Fair Poor 37 REMOTE WORK SOLUTIONS rwsmagazine.com
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