Remote work is actually a fake issue; the real issue is whether the management concepts and technologies of enterprises can be upgraded and changed to cope with the arrival of the digital new economy and society.

Author's note: This article was originally written in 2016. During the epidemic of Wuhan pneumonia, it was rewritten and republished.

Recently, Tang Feng, political commissar of the Executive Yuan, who has become a focus figure in many countries because of his leadership of Taiwan's digital anti-epidemic, used to be the media focus unexpectedly and unsurprisingly because of the news that he works remotely every Wednesday and Friday, triggering a debate among netizens ; At that time, Tang Feng also recorded a special video to explain the content and method of her remote work.

For Taiwan's society, which used to be dominated by manufacturing and could not be separated from the manufacturing industry in thinking, remote work outside the office seems to be a new thing; both workers and operators may not be able to accept this kind of "disapproval". However, there are already a lot of various companies abroad that provide employees with the option of working remotely, and there are many job positions, which themselves are the form of remote work.

In some multinational teams, due to geographical constraints, it is impossible for all members to work together. To some extent, this is also a form of remote work. Even now, due to the global spread of Wuhan pneumonia, many technology companies have forced employees to work remotely from home, such as Google and Twitter. I believe that with the development of the epidemic, there will be more and more such companies.

There are already a lot of online tools that can help remote workers collaborate with each other. For example, sandstorm.io mentioned by Tang Feng in the video combines various functions such as project management, online meeting, file management, and file sharing. Allow distributed team members to communicate with each other at a very low cost, exchanging work data and information.

In addition, the more familiar collaboration tools, such as Slack for communication and discussion, Google Drive, Office365, HackMD, etc. for sharing work files, Zoom, Google Meet and even the outdated Skype for online meeting tools, have also become more and more recently. universal.

Except for certain resources that must be accessed in a specific location (such as special work equipment, or contact with people at a fixed location), remote work is actually very feasible.

Reasons why businesses should embrace remote work

I personally think that not only during the epidemic, but even during the peace period, for enterprises, allowing employees to work remotely can bring many benefits. The superficial benefit is, of course, the cost savings of office space and equipment, but based on domestic and foreign research, the biggest benefit of open remote work is the increase in productivity and the attraction to talents.

Remote work is more productive

Many studies abroad have confirmed that the productivity of remote workers is higher than that of being tied to an office. The main reasons are summarized as follows:

• Greater focus: In an office environment, there are often a variety of distractions for workers. In a survey study on office distraction, it was pointed out that coworkers who spoke loudly (61%), people who like to stop by (86%), and an environment where they cannot be alone (40%) were the main factors in reducing the The three main causes of productivity.
• Working hours have increased: Gallup and AT&T surveys have both pointed out that home workers are actually working longer hours than in the office, and AT&T's data is five hours per week. The reason is that remote workers will cut their working hours and even get off work during traditional off-hours, so the hours are longer.
• Employees interact better at work: Gallup research shows that remote workers interact 4% more at work than in the office, because the quality of interaction in the office is not necessarily higher. According to the Harvard Business Review survey , if someone takes time off or is on a business trip, it takes more effort to get back to the office to keep up with the discussions.
• Closer collaboration: Many bosses think it's harder for employees to work together when they're not in the office (Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer restricts employees from working from home ); however, research suggests that this theory is untenable. Thanks to a variety of online collaboration tools and video conferencing, 54% of U.S. teleworkers believe their collaboration is better than in the office; plus telework reduces distracting face-to-face unrelated work Chatting behaviors also bring work-related discussions to the fore.
• Employee satisfaction at work increases: According to this survey , remote workers are more satisfied and happier with their jobs than they are tied to every day due to increased freedom at work, coupled with the freedom from commuting. Workplace employees are taller.

Attraction to talent

Remote work is very attractive for many people, especially in the digital new economy era, many rely on mental work and do not need to be fixed in a specific location. If the option of remote work is provided, it will have the following benefits:

• Attract real talent: Many workers who are proud of their creativity and brainpower do not like traditional management methods, nor do they like to be tied to the office. Companies must offer the option of working remotely if they want to attract this talent.
• Attracting talents from different places: It is always difficult for workers to work in different places; in contrast, companies that provide remote work options can let these people have no worries, and companies can also obtain global talents across national borders.

There is also WeWorkRemotely , a manpower agency website that specializes in matching various long-distance jobs and job hunting. You can also take a look.

Remote work will become the norm, and individuals and businesses should embrace it

From my personal observation, Taiwanese enterprises have not been accepting remote work very high for a long time; the main reason for this is the backwardness of management techniques and concepts, which is probably the main key.

But having said that, Taiwanese are actually not that unfamiliar with remote work; many bosses like to assign work tasks through LINE after get off work, even on holidays. This is actually a different kind of remote work.

In any case, remote work is an inevitable phenomenon in the future digital new economy and society. How should companies and individuals adjust, accept and embrace remote work? Here are some of my suggestions:

Challenges for business

• Improvement of management concepts and technologies: In the labor-intensive era in the past, various management concepts were mainly to manage employees' ass, using clocks to and from get off work and various monitoring systems to manage employees. The biggest flaw in this approach to management is the assumption that employees are working when they sit in the office. This is the typical logic of the butt deciding the head. In the digital new economy era, a work-result-oriented management system should be developed, and there is no need to manage where, when and how employees complete their work. This can not only focus management resources on the guidance and output of work results, but also improve employee satisfaction and productivity.
• The introduction of new technologies: To allow employees to work remotely, companies must build a set of online tools for employees to work collaboratively, including file sharing, project management, online meetings, itinerary management, secure connections, and even various travel reporting tools and more. There are many domestic and foreign companies providing various solutions, and the cost to enterprises is not high.
• The importance of communication: It is of course more convenient for everyone to communicate with each other in the same office. Many companies use this as a reason to think that remote work will make communication inconvenient (in fact, even in the same space, people who do not speak to each other Still a lot); but multiple studies cited earlier have shown otherwise. But having said that, smooth communication will be an important key to remote work collaboration, so the focus is instead on creating a work culture with smooth communication.
• Retraining of supervisors: The management methods of remote employees and in the office, although the goals are the same, but the techniques and skills are different, including the establishment and tracking of various management indicators, communication with team members, and various collaboration tools The use and evaluation of the system, etc., are topics that must be re-learned for supervisors who are accustomed to the traditional work mode.

Challenges for workers

• Self-discipline and accountability: The most important thing in remote work is self-discipline and accountability. Although the constraints of entering the office are eliminated, and the time and cost of commuting are saved, the requirements of work will not be reduced because of this; how to make good use of one's time and complete the work on schedule is the ability that remote workers need to build most. . With self-disciplined and accountable workers, managers have no excuse to keep people in the office and watch them nearby.
• Immediate response and active participation: Once again, high-quality and smooth communication is an important key to making remote work possible. If remote workers can actively participate in communication with each other and respond to various work needs immediately, there will be Helps to enhance mutual trust among team members and make work more smoothly.
• Familiar with various digital tools: At least at this stage, the projects suitable for remote work are probably still dominated by mental activities. Therefore, making good use of various digital tools to improve work efficiency and quality will be the advantage and victory of remote workers. The essential.
• Work-life balance: According to the above survey report, due to the separation of working hours, many remote workers still maintain a workload for a certain number of hours even during sick leave. The number is even longer than that of office workers with regular working hours, so the balance between personal work and life will also be a topic that needs attention.

During the epidemic, take the opportunity to embrace remote work

In fact, many domestic companies have long embraced remote work, and even companies without offices have appeared. The author sincerely hopes that Taiwanese companies, large and small, can improve their management concepts and technologies by embracing remote work.

Once again, remote work is a fake issue. The real issue is whether the management concepts and technologies of enterprises can be upgraded and changed to cope with the arrival of the digital new economy and society. Of course, if a company that was forced to work remotely during the epidemic can discover the benefits of remote work, it may be a loss and a gain.