remoteworkingissues

How Executives Can Prepare for Long-Term Distributed Work

Some business shifts happen suddenly. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent government stay-at-home directives forced organizations across the globe to make a rapid transition to remote work. Keeping employees connected and productive as they worked from home was an imperative for sustaining business continuity.

Many organizations succeeded. They quickly implemented new technologies and processes that helped address immediate challenges, allowing employees to effectively communicate, collaborate and complete tasks without setting foot in corporate offices.

This sudden workforce change of 2020 could be a catalyst for a long-term transformation that benefits both organizations and their employees. By building a robust distributed work model, organizations can recruit new employees from a wider geographic pool, help facilitate a better work/life balance for employees, and potentially reduce office real estate costs.

Neither organizations nor their employees are eager to return to “business as usual.” According to a recent VMware survey, 61 percent of respondents agree that their organisation is experiencing the benefits of remote work and can’t return to how things were before. Approximately 90 percent of respondents agree that it is an employer’s responsibility to ensure employees can access the digital tools they need for remote work.

The VMware Anywhere Workspace includes the tools your organization needs to empower a distributed workforce. By implementing digital work spaces, high-performance remote access, united endpoint management and intrinsic security from VMware, you can create a true “work-from-anywhere” organization.

Facing the challenges of sustaining distributed work

The distributed-work model thrust upon us in 2020 offers important opportunities for businesses and their employees. But to maintain the success of distributed work for the long term, your organization will likely have to address several key challenges.

Operational complexity. Too many organizations piece together their distributed-work strategy, adopting multiple point solutions from different vendors. Attempts to integrate those solutions are not always successful. As a result, administrators are left with multiple tools and siloed teams. You need ways to unify endpoint management, simplifying administration even as you support a growing variety of device types and platforms.

Implementing scalable solutions will be key. Existing virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), digital workspace and security solutions might have allowed employees to start working from home quickly during the pandemic or another period of business disruption. But can those solutions scale for the long term, as a growing number of employees expect seamless remote-work experiences? If your solutions can’t scale, distributed workers could be plagued with productivity-sapping availability issues while IT administrators become overwhelmed with complexity.

Fragmented security. As you implement and expand your distributed-workforce strategy, security must be a top priority. Look beyond traditional, perimeter-based security models. With remote employees frequently using personal devices to access apps and data, far away from company offices, you need to protect a significantly expanded attack surface.

Your organization might have relaxed security policies when stay-at-home directives were first issued. But you now need solutions that extend security policies to new endpoints scattered across a broad array of locations. And you need sufficient visibility into all of your distributed apps, data, devices and networks so you can identify threats from wherever they emerge.

Adding individual point solutions introduces both complexity and risk. Many organizations struggle to manage numerous distinct products, agents and interfaces. Beyond creating administrative complexity, this kind of fragmented approach leaves gaps that hackers will be eager to exploit. Your organization needs a singular, integrated approach to security that safeguards all assets and streamlines management—without negatively affecting user productivity.

Sub-optimal user experience. For many organizations, the pandemic did not halt hiring. Yet on boarding distributed employees can be slow and frustrating for new hires. You need ways to speed the on boarding process without requiring people to be physically present at headquarters. For employees to be productive on day one, your IT group must be able to give them secure, frictionless access to essential apps and data.

Once employees are ready to work, many need ways to overcome challenging home Wi-Fi networks. Poor network connectivity and slow virtual private network performance can seriously hamper distributed-work productivity. To make sure employees can continue to get their work done, wherever they are located, you need to provide performance and bandwidth at levels that at least approach what employees experience at the company office.

Adapting to new ways of working with the VMware Anywhere Workspace

To help organizations navigate immediate challenges and prepare for the future, VMware has created the VMware Anywhere Workspace. This integrated solution can help your organization overcome pressing remote-work obstacles and maximize benefits well into the future. You can embrace a sustainable distributed work strategy through a secure, scalable and unified digital infrastructure.

The VMware Anywhere Workspace addresses the challenges of distributed work by enabling you to automate the workspace, secure the edge, and deliver high-quality, multi-modal experiences.

Automate the workspace. The VMware Anywhere Workspace helps simplify operations and centralize endpoint management by automating the workspace. VMware Workspace ONE digital workspaces, for example, help remove complexities with automated enrollment across all platforms.

Over-the-air management helps ensure that your IT group can reach every endpoint with policies, patches and updates. Intelligence-driven, management for Windows 10 devices streamlines processes while avoiding infrastructure costs. In addition, VMware Edge Network Intelligence provides IT with actionable and automated insights on network health and app delivery. Your administrators can concentrate on defining and delivering a consistent workspace experience.

The VMware Anywhere Workspace can be scaled rapidly so your organisation can accommodate a short-term influx in remote workers or prepare for long-term expansion of the remote-work model. With the VMware Horizon VDI solution, you can take advantage of hybrid- and multi-cloud deployment models to scale users. A single cloud console lets you reduce management complexity.

Secure the edge. The VMware Anywhere Workspace enables you to safeguard remote endpoints and data, shrinking your attack surface while unifying security. For example, VMware Carbon Black Cloud is a cloud-native platform that provides layered endpoint protection backed by machine learning and behavior analytics to thwart malware attacks. You can also adopt the VMware SASE Platform, an integrated secure access service edge (SASE) solution that combines the power of software-defined WAN gateways, Zero Trust secure access, secure web gateways, cloud security access brokers and next-generation firewalls.

Deliver high-quality, multi-modal experiences. The VMware Anywhere Workspace puts employees first by accelerating on boarding and providing consistent, high-quality experiences across personal and company-owned devices. Distributed workers have everything they need on day one. Using the Workspace ONE Intelligent Hub, employees have immediate access to a full set of business applications through a single sign-on process, whether they are using a personally owned or company-owned device. Zero Trust capabilities help ensure that only authorized people are granted access to apps. Self-serve resources and notifications help workers stay engaged and supported.

The VMware Anywhere Workspace also helps overcome the networking limitations of remote work. VMware SD-WAN gives remote workers the reliable remote access and robust performance they need for using critical business applications when working from home. It also helps safeguard network traffic while giving IT a choice of using built-in firewall capabilities, deploying security software as a virtual network function, or directing traffic to a third-party cloud-based firewall-as-a-service solution.

Preparing for a future of more flexible work

VMware is in a unique position to provide an integrated solution to holistically address the challenges of distributed work. By bringing together digital work spaces, high-performance edge networking, unified endpoint management and intrinsic security, the VMware Anywhere Workspace enables you to adapt to the present and prepare for the future of distributed work. You can scale to support a growing distributed workforce and maximize employee productivity while maintaining robust security.

By VMware

Source: How Executives Can Prepare for Long-Term Distributed Work

50 Work-From-Home Jobs Paying as Much or a Lot More Than the Average American Salary

There was a time when working from home was a pipe dream, but recently, there’s been a surge of jobs you can do from your own place.

Whether that’s working remotely for a company or starting your own business, there’s no shortage of work-from-home opportunities. Here are 50 options, many of which can generate annual earnings that equate to more than the average American salary.

1. Affiliate Marketer

For those unfamiliar with affiliate marketing, it’s simply referral marketing where you earn a commission. Let’s say that you have a website and refer a book on Amazon. When the visitor clicks the affiliate link and buys the book, Amazon will pay you a percentage of the sale. People love affiliate marketing because they can start earning money passively with few startup costs.

2. Animator

Are you an artistic and creative individual who is able to create animation and visual effects for television, movies, video games and other types of media? Then you can work at home as freelance animator. (Personally, I’ve seen animators make between $25 to $106 an hour on sites like Upwork.)

3. Baker/Caterer/Chef

If you have a knack for baking or cooking, then turn your passion into a side business. From your own kitchen, you could start a catering business or become a personal chef. If you’re a baker, you could sell you goods to friends, neighbors, online or at local farmer’s markets.

4. Blogger

Blogging is inexpensive and easy to start doing. It could be as simple as you just writing about your favorite music or food, and eventually, you can start generating money from your site. Just keep in mind that you need to pay patient when it comes to cashing in on your blog. If this is something you want to pursue, check out this guide.

5. Bookkeeper

Believe it or not, you don’t have to be a CPA to start bookkeeping. Just sign up for a bookkeeping course at a community college or even online (such as this course from The Accounting Coach). Once you complete a course, you can start earning, and the median salary is reportedly $34,000. (Some stay-at-home bookkeepers I’ve spoken with personally make more than $70,000.)

6. Child Caregiver

Whether if it’s just for a couple of hours or for the entire day, running a childcare business from your home can be lucrative. Just make sure that you obtain the correct licenses and permits.

7. Clinical Research Coordinator

Clinical research coordinators help manage operations for clinical trials. You could make more than $48,000 with this job, and you don’t need a bachelor’s degree.

8. Consulting

If you have experience and knowledge in a specific area, then consider sharing it with others. For example, if you’re an accountant or lawyer, then you can provide advice to small businesses for a pretty penny. You could also consult businesses on how to use a new software program or how to become more environmentally friendly. (If you’re interested, my company offers a consulting guide to get started.)

9. Customer Service Representative

Do you possess excellent communication skills? Do you also have a landline and reliable internet? Then you can earn between $8 and $15 per hour as a customer service representative.

10. Data Entry

Inputting data for businesses isn’t the most of exciting of jobs. However, you don’t need any previous experience, and you can start at $10 per hour.

11. Copy Writing

You can write copy for businesses from your home and, in some cases, earn up to six figures. Try Fiverr or Upwork to find gigs.

12. E-commerce Store Owner

There are five types of e-commerce business models: dropshipping, wholesaling, manufacturing, white-labeling and subscriptions. Thanks to sites like Shopify, Magento and WooCommerce, you can quickly launch your own ecommerce store.

13. Editing and Proofreading

Companies like Book in a Box pay around $20 per hour to editors, book jacket designers and proofreaders.

14. Event Planner

Whether if it’s planning a wedding, birthday party or corporate event, people are looking for organized individuals to do most of the event planning for them.

15. Film and Post Instructional Videos

Are you really good at something? Try creating a YouTube account and filming yourself instructing others on how to do what you’re skilled at. To start earning some cash, enroll in YouTube’s partner program so that you can make $1 to $2 per 1,000 views.

16. Grant Writer

Universities, hospitals, and nonprofit organizations often need to apply for grant money. Since these applications can be difficult to write, these businesses often turn to talented grant writers. As a grant writer, you can make between $40,300 and $67,000 per year.

17. Graphic Designer

Many businesses are in need of someone to design their logos, websites or visual ads. If you have a degree or certification in this area, you can make a comfortable salary annually (reportedly $45,000 and up). The more skilled you are, the more clients you’ll likely get through word of mouth. Here’s a guide on how to build a website that can help you get started.

18. Handmade Crafter

Do you make handmade products like jewelry or furniture? If so, try setting up an Etsy shop and selling your handmade crafts online.

19. Instructor

Do you know how to play a musical instrument? Can you get people into shape? Whatever your knowledge or experience, some people will pay you to share that information with them, whether in person or online.

20. Internet Security Specialist

As an internet security specialist, you monitor networks for security threats and implement security standards. You may also install data protection systems as well. Given the attention that online security has been receiving, this job is expected to grow steadily over the next several years.

21. Online Juror

When attorneys prepare for a trial, they often seek feedback on their case. Depending on the mock jury website you choose, you can make between $5 to $150 for your opinion.

22. Online Teacher

Are you a teacher who’s looking for a more flexible schedule? Then consider teaching via Skype or via a pre-recorded session through organizations like K12 and Connections Academy.

23. Patent or Intellectual Property Lawyer

Applying for a patent or protecting intellectual property are both areas where expert advice is needed. As such, if this is your area of the law, you could reportedly make between $112 and $121 per hour.

24. Peer-to-Peer Lender

Thanks to sites like Lending Club and Prosper, you can easily lend money to a business or individual. As an investor, you’d make money on the paid interest of the note.

25. Pet Groomer

Do you love being around animals? Are you also patient enough to clean and style pets? If so, this could be a great home-based business.

26. Photographer/Videographer

Even though everyone has a camera on their phone these days, there’s still a need for these types of professionals like for events like weddings. You can also sell your images on sites like Foap.

27. Product Reviewer

You can make a decent living (reportedly between $20,000 and $95,000) just by reviewing the products that you use daily.

28. Programmer

Learn a programming language, such as Ruby, and you could end up making around $61 per hour for programming. If you’re interested, here’s a handy programmer guide to get you on your way.

29. Realtor

While you can run a reality business from your home, as long as you have your state’s real estate license, you still need to show potential buyers the home. But don’t forget that you also have to prepare the home for showing. Thanks to technology, you can become a virtual realtor where you can show a property without having to be there in person.

30. Renter

Do you have an extra bedroom? How about a car you don’t drive everyday? Are there household items laying around collecting dust? If so, try renting them out to people who could use them. (I personally made over $50,000 renting out my basement in 2017.)

31. Repairer

If you have a knack for fixing things, like bicycles, cars or computers, then consider launching your own repair business. It probably doesn’t cost more than a little marketing to get started since you probably already have the tools and resources.

32. Short Tasks

A short task is a job or assignment that can be completed quickly. Examples include writing a review, taking a survey, or watching a video. They may not pay much, but it’s a fast and easy way to make money from home. Here’s a list of short task sites you can check out if interested.

33. Social Media Manager

There are a lot of organizations who need someone to manage their social media accounts, and some may even want you to completely develop a social media strategy for them.

34. Stylist

If you love fashion and want to work from home, then you can become an online stylist. Some reportedly make up to $15 an hour.

35. Survey Taker

This won’t make you a millionaire, but you can be paid between $1 and $50 each time you take an opinion poll, answer questions about your shopping habits or review a product. You’re usually paid by check, PayPal or points that can later be redeemed for gift cards.

36. Tax Preparer

Even though this is a seasonal gig, you can make a salary of over $30,000. Don’t forget to register with the IRS before you start this home-based business.

37. Become an Expert

Nowadays, people are going online to find experts at things they themselves may be struglging with. A growing trend is hiring an expert versus hiring a large company to come in and help fix problems. One resource is Catalant, which hires out experts from $15 an hour to $280 an hour. That’s one option if you’re looking to help others with your knowledge.

38. Telephone Nurse

If you’re a registered nurse, then you could work for health insurers or health management companies like Humana, Aetna and UnitedHealth Group. They hire nurses remotely to handle case management, treatment authorization and patient education.

39. Transcriber/Transcriptionist

This job essentially means listening to audio files, such as lectures or doctors’ medical dictations, and then typing out what you hear. It’s an entry-level gig that can pay up to $25 an hour.

40. Translator

Are you fluent in another language? Start earning a living off of this skill by translating documents or becoming an interpreter.

41. Travel Agent

Despite the fact that there are numerous travel sites that make planning a trip a breeze, it can still be time-consuming. What’s more, there may be certain travel conditions that you are not aware of. That’s why there’s still a market for travel agents to scour the web for the best deals, share advice or plan itineraries.

42. Virtual Assistant

If you’re organized and can handle office duties like replying to emails, calendar management, entering data and assisting with social media, then this job is perfect for you. And you can make between $10 and $15 per hour.

43. Virtual Public Relations Representative

Some small- to medium-sized businesses don’t have the budget for a dedicated chief marketing officer, a vice president of marketing or even a public relations firm. But they may have the funds to hire a virtual public relations representative to take care of duties like promoting a business or managing a crisis.

44. Virtual Recruiter

This is pretty much the same position as an in-house recruiter except you get to work wherever you want. The other major difference is that you search the web to find the right employee for the right position. You’re also responsible for screening the applicant and being a part of the interviewing and negotiation process. Some recruiters are paid upward of $125 an hour for building resume templates.

45. Virtual Tutor

If you have extensive knowledge in a specific area, then you could earn between $12 to $35 per hour by tutoring students either over the phone or on Skype.

46. Voice Acting

If you have a golden voice, you can make somewhere between $56 and $72 per hour.

47. Web Developer

Depending on the specific job, as well as your expertise, you could bring in between $55,000 and $175,000 per year building websites from scratch.

48. Web Search Evaluator

In order to deliver the most accurate service to customers, search engines pay individuals to analyze search results. You don’t need to have much experience, and you can haul in $12 to $15 an hour.

49. Website Tester

Businesses want to make sure that their websites are intuitive and easy to navigate. As such, they’ll assign instructions for people to follow to check out their site. Each test usually takes around 15 to 20 minutes. In return, you’ll often be paid $10 to $15 per test.

50. Writing Gigs

Businesses of all sizes need written content, like blog posts, website copy or eBooks. As a result, there are thousands of writing gigs available that pay anywhere between $10 to $100 per hour.

John Rampton

By: John Rampton / Entrepreneur Leadership Network VIP

Source: 50 Work-From-Home Jobs Paying as Much or a Lot More Than the Average American Salary

More Contents:

50 Companies Hiring for Remote Jobs

To view more information about the company and to see past job openings, click the company name. If you’re a FlexJobs member, log in to see job descriptions for current positions.

Career Fields and Jobs That Hire Remote Workers

Although companies have expanded their views on what types of roles can be done remotely, these career fields generally post the most remote jobs:

And while you can do a wide variety of jobs from home, some of the most popular remote job titles include:

Use FlexJobs to Find Remote-Friendly Jobs

Remote work stands to play a major role in the future of work for many years to come. Staying informed about which companies are hiring for work-from-home jobs can help you find the exact remote opportunity you’re looking for.

Since 2007, FlexJobs has helped job seekers find flexible jobs with thousands of remote-friendly employers and job postings in more than 50 categories. Take the tour and find out how a membership can help you connect with legitimate, professional remote jobs.

Is Mass Remote Working Really The Way Forward?

Research from The International Workplace Group’s 2019 Workplace Survey showed how over half of us globally were already working outside of a main office HQ some of the time. And even in a pre-pandemic world, 75 percent of employees noted remote working as “the new normal.”

That new normal arrived en masse for a lot of us just a few months later.

There seems to be a mixed reaction from organizations as to whether remote working at the scale we currently see will last. Tech firms and even some major banks have come out publically to say they’ll be cutting office space and moving to a “central hub” approach, similar to a WeWork set-up.

Yet recent well-publicized comments from the likes of Goldman Sachs are adamant that their employees will be returning, with boss David Solomon stating: “I do think for a business like ours, which is an innovative, collaborative apprenticeship culture, this (remote working) is not ideal for us. And it’s not a new normal. It’s an aberration that we’re going to correct as soon as possible.”

The traditional arguments in favor of organizations allowing remote working were based on well being, a better work/life balance, attracting more candidates and even seeing better productivity and engagement.

But comments from the likes of Solomon deviate from the body of research that had suggested working from home was a solution to so many modern-day work issues — and highlights some of the potential pitfalls.

And there could be new research that supports his viewpoint too, especially when it comes to the holy grail for people managers: engagement.

But first, let’s take a whistle-stop tour of some research showing remote working as highly beneficial for people and organizations alike and should feature more into the future.

Remote working is beneficial for engagement and productivity.

Turning to various studies by Gallup, a pretty picture is painted about the positive outcomes associated with remote working. And it predominantly comes down to engagement.

Highly-engaged workplaces, Gallup reports, can see 41 percent lower absenteeism and 21 percent higher profitability. How this links to remote working is that engagement reportedly peaks when workers spend 60 percent to 80 percent of their time working remotely, seemingly confirming that a mix of in-office contact time and remote-work flexibility, weighted toward the latter, can stimulate better performance and outcomes.

Outside of performance gains, offering flexible working can attract more candidates too — or at help to retain ones currently employed. This survey released in 2018 by Flex jobs found that 78 percent of millennials would be more loyal to an employer if they had flexible work options, whilst seven in 10 also said they’ve left a job or have considered leaving a job because it lacked flexible working arrangements.

Of course, flexible working covers a range of areas from flex-time to picking shifts, but remote working plays a major part.

But are remote workers really more engaged than their office-based counterparts?

Perhaps not.

Remote working can be damaging.

According to Dan Schawbel’s Harvard Business Review article analyzing findings from a 2018 Virgin Pulse study, it turns out remote workers may not be more engaged after all. They may even be more likely to quit.

The study showed how two-thirds of the 2,000 predominantly-remote employees they quizzed weren’t engaged and only 5 percent said they see themselves working at their company for an entire career. That compares to just one in three who don’t work remotely.

Schawbel argues that these results aren’t surprising, citing that humans crave at least some face-to-face interaction in order to feel bonded to teammates.

I couldn’t disagree with that, and the majority of straw polls on LinkedIn I’ve seen over the last year do indicate that most of us would like some balance between remote and office-based work. But what this research doesn’t touch on is the generational divide in remote working, especially pre covid, and how that may skew results.

As the survey from FlexJobs noted above reported, it’s younger workers who typically crave flexibility, and numerous studies have shown how millennials and Gen Z tend to be less loyal to a single employer.

McKinsey Global Institute’s timely analysis of what’s next for remote work published in November last year suggests that “hybrid models of remote work are likely to persist in the wake of the pandemic, mostly for a highly educated, well-paid minority of the workforce.”

Will remote working at scale last?

In short, yes, but not at the current scale. As McKinsey’s report perfectly summarized:

The virus has broken through cultural and technological barriers that prevented remote work in the past, setting in motion a structural shift in where work takes place, at least for some people.

Key here is “for some people.” I do think that for many of us, being forced to work from home has opened eyes to a new way of living, of integrating work life with home life, and the time, well being and cost benefits that arise.

But it’s not for everyone. Before Covid, people working remotely really wanted to be remote workers. It was a perk they sought out. Because of this, it’s valued more, appreciated more and also, the remote worker by choice likely recognizes in themselves that they have a personality and way of working that does lean towards higher productivity and engagement outside of an office.

Post-Covid, there are now hundreds of thousands of people now working remotely, but not by choice. And that’s the main difference. The right home setup wasn’t there to begin with. They may have a personality that thrives more on social interaction and find their engagement is supported by the hub of an office and proximity to co-workers.

Interesting anecdotal evidence for this perspective was on a recent LBC London phone-in where long-term work-from-homers were lamenting the permanence of their loved ones in their home offices as they too were sent home for the pandemic.

By: Arthur Wilson / Entrepreneur Leadership Network VIP

Source: Is Mass Remote Working Really the Way Forward?

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How To Successfully Navigate The Technical & Management Challenges Of A Remote Workforce

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, working remotely has become the new normal for many professionals. The workplace has shifted from open floor plans to kitchen tables; video calls have replaced meetings in conference rooms, and dressing in sweats has become our business casual uniform of choice.

TechRepublic Premium recently surveyed 847 professionals and asked them questions pertaining to working remotely to see where businesses got it right–and wrong.

The survey asked the following questions:

How many days do you currently work remotely (at home or at a non-company- owned location) during a normal five-day workweek?
How would you describe your company’s execution of its current remote work approach?
What safety protocols has your company implemented for the office?
What has your company done well as part of its remote work approach?
What has your company done poorly as part of its remote work approach?
What types of platforms have you depended on the most for remote work?
How have you changed your connectivity to make working from home possible?

As a result of COVID-19, a majority (61%) of businesses have gone out of their way to make remote work possible for most employees. According to respondents, 78% indicated that they are working from home five days a week. Five percent work remotely for either four or three days a week, 4% work remotely two days a week, and 2% of respondents work remotely one day a week. Only 6% said they do not work remotely; of those respondents, 61% would work remotely, if given the opportunity.

The majority (96%) of respondents said their company either very successfully or successfully executed its remote work approach. Some of the top ways employers are making it easier for employees to work remotely is by providing conferencing tools (81%), computer hardware (74%), and connectivity tools such as VPN or cellular devices (73%).

This is a good thing since 80% of respondents reported depending on video conferencing platforms (such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams) for remote work. Cloud-based office suites for collaboration (such as Google Workspace or Office 365) are necessary for 63% of respondents to work remotely, and for 57%, VPN is essential.

Cloud storage followed as a necessity for 46% of respondents, and then respondents listed team tools (such as Slack) at 33%. Fewer respondents require project management tools (13%), private cloud solutions (7%), and team management tools (5%).

Where employers fall short, according to respondents, is supplying hardware (56%) and providing equipment to help employees create an effective remote workspace (52%). In addition, 37% of respondents reported that their company is doing a poor job with their remote work approach with video conferencing tools, virtual collaboration tools, manager training, and HR resources.

Interestingly, 75% of respondents reported not needing to change their connectivity to make working from home possible. However, 7% of respondents have added a mesh network or purchased a Wi-FI hotspot to use as a backup, and 5% either switched providers or replaced consumer-grade network hardware with something more secure.

Source: Research: How to successfully navigate the technical and management challenges of a remote workforce – TechRepublic

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Remote Work: 5 Things Every Business Needs To Know

Once upon a time, remote work was something only tech startups considered to be an option for staff members scattered across the globe. Then a pandemic struck, forcing businesses everywhere to reconsider the possibility that allowing employees to work from home might be the only way to keep the company from failing.

Special Report: Working from home: How to get remote work right (free PDF)

This ebook, based on the latest ZDNet / TechRepublic special feature, helps enterprises and SMBs alike navigate the technical and management challenges of a remote workforce.

According to a TechRepublic survey, 61% of businesses have gone out of their way to make remote work possible for most employees. That’s not a blip on the radar. Given that an overwhelming majority of respondents (61%) would rather work from home than in an office, it’s safe to say the remote work option is here to stay.

For employees, it’s a change in routine and locale, but for businesses, it’s much more than that — every company has far more to consider. Let’s dive into five considerations that your company must understand for a smooth and productive work-from-home experience.

SEE: Speed up your home office: How to optimize your network for remote work and learning (free PDF) (TechRepublic)

Remote office tools

No matter where your employees work, they need the right tools. When those employees are working in the office, you provide them with everything necessary to get the job done: Computers, printers, mobile devices, desks, chairs, network devices, software, white boards, and more. If you believe employees working from home should be on their own for equipment, you’re doing remote work wrong.

If you’re not willing to directly pay for the tools your employees need, you should at least consider allowing them to expense those costs. But all purchases must be approved — otherwise, you’ll wind up with employees buying extravagant chairs and laptops.

According to our survey, 56% of respondents said that their company had done a poor job of supplying the necessary hardware (computers, printers, and so on) and 52% of respondents said their company had done a poor job supplying them with the necessary office equipment (desks, chairs, etc.) to work remotely. Unless this improves, staff will either be incapable of doing their jobs with any level of productivity (at best) or they’ll burn out and quit (at worst).

At a bare minimum, your company should supply remote workers with:

A computer or laptop for work only
A printer (if needed)
All software necessary to do their jobs
A VPN (if security is a concern)

Managing burnout

Burnout is a serious issue with employees who are not accustomed to working from home. Why does this happen? The biggest reason is the inability to separate work from home. When this happens, the lines blur so much that employees can begin to feel as though they’re working 24/7/365. On top of that, people no longer get a much-needed break from family life. That one-two punch makes burnout happen faster and on a more profound level.

How do you manage this? The most important thing you can do is keep the lines of communication open. You’ll need to have someone (or multiple people) on hand to talk to staff in order to help them through these periods.

You’ll need to educate your staff to:

Create a routine such as scheduled work times that clearly define ‘work time’ and ‘home time’.
Set boundaries like, “When the office door is closed, I’m at work.”
Communicate with family — make sure your employees are doing a good job of communicating with their loved ones.
Practice self-care. Your employees will need, on some level, to learn how to take care of themselves to avoid stress.
Understand priorities so your staff always know what work takes priority and what work can be put off.

According to our survey, 78% of respondents indicated they were working from home five days a week. If those staff members don’t work smart, they’ll suffer burnout fast. Feeling like you’re ‘in the office’ day in and day out can be exhausting. To that end, you’ll need to consider allowing staff to work a flexible schedule.

Managing a flexible schedule

This one is a challenge for most businesses because nearly every company works on the assumption that business hours are universal. There’s a reason why Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5” resonates so well with a majority of the population around the world.

However, with remote workers, the idea of a set work schedule needs to be thrown out the door. You must remember that people are working at home, which can throw a major wrench in the works. What am I talking about?

Tending to children who aren’t in school
The possibility of burnout
Family responsibilities
Less reliable networks
Equipment failure

The single most important thing to consider is that your employees do prefer to work from home, and can be even more productive working in that comfortable environment. But that improved productivity might come with a price for your company in the form of allowing for flexible schedules.

Remember: As long as work is getting done in a timely fashion, it shouldn’t matter when it’s getting done.

Security is key

One thing your business must consider is security, and how to help your remote workers do their jobs without compromising company data. This might mean you’ll need to purchase enterprise-class VPN services for those who must transmit sensitive data from their home networks. Those employees who deal with very sensitive data might also need to be trained on how to use encryption.

Another issue that must be addressed is passwords. You probably have password policies in place for office-based staff, but you can’t enforce those policies on their home networks, which means you’ll need to train your remote workers to change all network passwords (such as those for wireless routers) to be strong and unique. Even if you also have to get those employees up to speed on using a password manager (which they should anyway), this cannot be stressed enough.

SEE: How to manage passwords: Best practices and security tips (free PDF) (TechRepublic)

KPIs to monitor

You need to know which Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to monitor, and I suggest these KPIs as a good starting point.

Self-discipline: An employee’s ability to work independently.
Effective communication: An employee’s ability to communicate effectively and efficiently with teams and clients.
Learning skills: An employee’s ability to not just follow a known instruction set, but also to learn new things efficiently.
Remote vs. local tasks: Are there tasks that can or cannot be performed remotely? You must know the difference.
Accountability: Employees must learn to hold themselves accountable to get their tasks done with less supervision.
Self-discipline: Employees must be capable of staying on-task with less supervision.
Collaboration: Employees must be capable of working with other teammates efficiently via video/audio chat and email.
Availability: Managers must be available to discuss work-related matters during business hours. Although employees might work a flexible schedule, they must also be available during business hours.

Conclusion

Your company’s transition from a standard work environment to a full remote or hybrid (remote and in-house) environment doesn’t have to be a challenge. Given that nearly every business across the globe has been practically forced into this new world order, the hard part is already taken care of. With just a bit of extra planning and work, you can make this new reality not only seamless but even more productive.

Jack Wallen

By Jack Wallen

Source: Remote work: 5 things every business needs to know | ZDNet

Also see

Return to work: What the new normal will look like post-pandemic (free PDF) (TechRepublic)
Coronavirus domain names are the latest hacker trick (TechRepublic)
Managing accounts payable operations during COVID-19 policy (TechRepublic Premium)
Coronavirus: Effective strategies and tools for remote work during a pandemic (ZDNet)
How to track the coronavirus: Dashboard delivers real-time view of the deadly virus (ZDNet)
Coronavirus: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic on Flipboard)

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Remote office tools

Managing burnout

Managing a flexible schedule

Security is key

KPIs to monitor

Conclusion

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