Working from home has its advantages. It lowers costs of management and in a lot of cases raises the productivity of employees. At the level of the individual, it means more flexibility when allocating time and energy between personal and professional obligations. However, remote work also has several disadvantages. Leaders lose control of the work of their co-workers, and individuals lose their community.
Just over ten years ago, working from home became a new business trend. Many companies in the field of human resources were quick to try it. For example, in 2009, IBM sold many of its offices around the world for nearly $ 2 billion, sending approximately 40% of its 386,000 employees to work from home. But in early 2017, they reversed their decision, re-established offices and brought employees back to the "traditional" work environment.
Looking for a reason why, experts agree on one thing - working from home raised the productivity of most individuals while reducing the productivity of teams. The synergy between people, that has the greatest impact on the effectiveness of the entire organization, began to disappear.
Today, we are witnessing a similar situation, except that working from home is not a privilege or our decision, we are forced into it.
The key problem is that most leaders, as well as their co-workers, were not prepared for this step. Processes, rules and culture of remote cooperation are missing. Above all, teams must adopt new habits and routines for effective work and participation in this "new" work environment.
During the workshop, we will delve into the specifics of remote leadership. What are the first steps we need to take, what arrangements do we need to make with members of our teams, and what can be the benefits of working remotely? As part of a guided discussion on the challenges of remote work, we will look for solutions, set clear rules for communication and look for ways to incorporate a social note into the new work environment.