In order for a team to have the tools and support needed to truly transition from an office environment to remote work, the first thing they need is trust. This means that organizations and managers need to actually trust their collaborators with delivering tasks and meeting goals, without having to monitor or enforce surveillance initiatives. Meanwhile, workers need to be accountable and trust that their employers are following ethical guidelines in terms of separating work from personal life.
However, trust can get tricky, real fast. Here are a couple of ways teams can support each other in the transition to really be remote rather than just transferring office culture to their home.
Are You Supporting or Surveilling?
See what comes up in the search engine when you look up “mouse jigglers”. Rather than get a whole slew of suggestions on how to use them, there’s more titles related to how employers can know that their collaborators are using them. There’s also a lot of legal jargon on whether it’s legal to check on this.
While organizations are legally allowed to check what their employees are doing on devices that are company-owned, this should apply to reviewing whether any concerning activities are being performed on these. But if we consider that many employees use mouse jigglers when they’re receiving packages or even cooking their lunch, then this is still a trust issue.
Let’s go back to when we were all in-office. Was anyone timing how long someone took when they had a bathroom break? If someone got up from their desk to get a coffee in the break room, would they be judged as slacking off? If you saw one of your teammates deep in focus, you surely wouldn’t call them over just to make sure they’re doing their tasks.
Just because someone’s not “available” doesn’t mean they’re not working. People deserve privacy and space, even during work hours. Some tasks require extra focus, without having to worry about getting pinged or added to a meeting they might not need to be in. Working remotely is the same as being in an office, so don’t expect people to be constantly “on call”. If you need them for something specific, schedule some time precisely for that.
Online Meetings Need to Be Functional
When working asynchronously, teams need to be as efficient as possible with their time and resources. If there is a time overlap, then key meetings need to be scheduled at that time. However, just because there’s time for a meeting doesn’t mean one needs to happen. Avoiding meeting burnout comes with having a structure regarding what needs to be a meeting, and what can be a post on Slack or an email.
Also consider that having cameras on all the time can be exhausting. Some people find that removing the view from their own camera is enough for them to better focus on the call. While others find that just listening without turning on their camera or looking at the others helps them stay on topic. If you want every person to prove that they’re online and listening, you can ask them to show their camera momentarily before shutting it off for the remainder of the call. You can also ensure that calls are not longer than 40 minutes as this usually becomes fatiguing for those listening. Have a meeting agenda and stick with it.
If someone goes over their time, they need to send the remaining bit via Slack, otherwise you might end with a call that’s an hour and a half long when it was only meant for 40 minutes. Finally, if there are questions that come up, these need to be answered swiftly or subsequently. This way nothing goes off topic.
It Takes an Entire Team to Make Remote Work Actually Work
Going beyond guidelines and meeting etiquette, building trust goes a long way when it comes to becoming a fully remote organization. Find ways to connect and get feedback from everyone regarding how everything is going. Should there be less meetings? Does anything need to be coordinated better? Is there a particular tool or training that could help?
When you trust each other to be doing what is best for the collective, then both sides can be sure that they’re on the same team and page. Don’t overcomplicate things. Instead, look for ways to better communicate and thrive.
