How to Thrive in the Virtual Workplace summary

Imagine you’re a CEO, and, after discovering the benefits of remote work, you’re completely sold on the idea. Eager as you may be to introduce working from home, there are a few key things to consider first.

You see, in order to excel in a remote setup, employees need a solid foundation. And that foundation is a well-established organizational culture. This consists of the principles, objectives, and processes that drive a company and its employees. It’s what helps people make the right decisions even when there’s no one supervising them.

So, we’ve discovered that culture is the foundation of effective remote work. But that’s all it is: a foundation. If you were building a house, this is when you’d add the walls, doors, and windows, not to mention the plumbing and electrical systems.

It’s the same with working from home. To create a thriving remote workforce, organizational leaders need to build on their culture with processes, tools, and strategies. If this is done well, any organization, big or small, can successfully implement remote work.

One of the fears associated with remote work is that people will feel isolated. And this makes sense. If employees spend day after day working alone, and never interact with their colleagues in real life, they may not feel connected to the company or their team. Plus, they miss out on the social connections that are possible in office environments.

But remote work doesn’t have to be isolating. And making connections shouldn’t be left up to employees. Leaders should do as much to connect a remote workforce as they do to help them work effectively.

As an earlier blink revealed, a benefit of remote work is employee flexibility and autonomy. Sophie Parry-Billings, an associate director at Acceleration Partners, learned firsthand just how valuable this is.

Sophie started working remotely in 2017, and, in her own words, it’s given her a “drastically better quality of life.” She’s gone from eating junk food after a tiring commute to having time to cook healthy dinners. She can focus for hours without interruption, and exercise during the day. Sophie even visits her out-of-town family more often because she can work from their homes.

It’s an unfortunate truth: work, whether it happens in an office or remotely, can be stressful.

No matter how great you are at committing to a schedule and creating boundaries, you’ll sometimes be faced with tight deadlines or difficult coworkers. Not to mention the fact that your personal life comes with its own frustrations. And stress from one area of your life can easily seep into another, especially when your work and personal life all happen in one space.