work from home

 

Employers are giving workers the work from home days they want

• Employers that have increased the number of remote days they offer have done so out of concern for worker productivity and retention, an economist says.
• But some employees feel there are too many remote days, and younger workers are keener to go to the office to build up their social and professional networks.

More than two years after the start of the covid-19 pandemic, US workers are closer than ever to getting the remote-work arrangements they want. The difference is largely gone not because employees are wanting fewer remote days, but because employers are offering more of them, with the average number of days per week employees are invited to work from home rising from 1.58 days per week in January 2021 to 2.37 days per week in June 2022.

What does the future hold for remote work?

The increased embrace—or tolerance—of remote work also comes as a potential recession looms. Will remote work trends withstand a downturn?

Slashing office spending is one way for employers to cut costs. But a recession typically brings about layoffs and higher unemployment, so management may gain the upper hand eventually.

Hybrid working: What is the best way to resolve conflict between remote employees?

• Remote working has created a shift in dynamics for employees.
• Without face-to-face interactions, it can be harder to manage conflict.
• 'Drama' in offices has transferred to technological tools like emails and workplace messaging services.
• Below are tips for how to resolve these issues and an exploration of how being open to other peoples' perspectives can help.

Silvina Moschini is in the business of remote work. As the founder of SheWorks!, a digital platform focused on remote working opportunities for women, and president of Transparent Business, a remote workforce management company, her entire career has focused on running remote teams. Why had her employee not felt compelled to say anything? “I told her that I would be sad if she leaves, but I am even sadder that she didn’t bring the topic to me, and that she had to go through all this stress to tell me she wants to leave.” Her colleague was upset by a leadership change that had happened in the organization, and didn’t want to be seen as undermining her manager. They worked things out.

Even the most thoughtfully designed distributed workforce can have hiccups when it comes to dealing with tensions and conflict, from identifying it when it happens, to dealing with it quickly.

Why conflict can be hard to manage remotely

While some conflict can aid innovation, it needs to be dealt with productively. Otherwise, it risks triggering our “fight or flight” response—and there’s not that many places to run to in an office.

Even teams that are used to remote work can struggle to productively deal with arguments. Technology can make it difficult to talk those things through, from connection glitches interrupting conversations, to not having a full sense of what another person is working on or their context, and not being able to process the full richness of their reactions, as you would face-to-face. “When it comes to working remote and hybrid, you have to pay for the stuff that used to come for free, The company has been largely remote since it began. since we are not in the office, we are having less drama. [But] that is not really what is happening

How should you deal with conflict at work?

Click here to find out today.