Remote Work Focuses on Productivity – Office Work Focuses on Activity. 1 of 2

Remote working requires managers to focus on staff productivity and outputs.

Focusing (effectively) on productivity requires excellent objective setting – ‘What gets measured gets done’ right. 

An objective focused culture supports an emphasis on Accountability. (‘We both agree this is what is required and we both agree on the Accountability – me for me and you for you’).

Why I also believe remote working in the right proportions can be more productive (Not even mentioning the well being benefits here):

1. There is no one to distract us – either by their, or our own volition.
2. Less busyness opportunities. Walking around our home office with a piece of paper and looking busy is kinda daft when their is no one to fool or impress. 🙂
3. It innately becomes super imperative that we have clear objectives – as that’s the only thing people can see and measure us by. That is beneficial both for the manager and the staff.
4. Managers don’t see HOW a person does their job, or how they organise themselves to achieve their objectives. Result! Out of sight out of mind is a GREAT thing – to free up the manager from petty distractions.
5. Guilt. Guilt. Guilt. Commuting to work, spending the day in the office, commuting home; regardless of whats been accomplished pretty much feels like we’ve spent a day working.  It’s harder to capture that feeling when your office is in the garden or the attic.  Remotely working, the old guilt emotion sits on our shoulders prompting us to check that ‘we’ve earned our corn today -0r, have I the evidence to justify my salary today’. In essence the conditions are set up for greater self Accountability. Not many people are wrestling with that emotion whilst in the office I have to tell you.

Next time I’ll talk about the dark side of remote working because anything of value requires balance.