It’s time to invest in your team’s remote workspace
Companies that master this aspect of the distributed employee experience will have a healthier, more engaged team.
Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, one thing is clear: you’re not going back to the way you worked in 2019. It’s time for organizations to carefully consider and invest in their employees’ workspaces, no matter where their work gets done.
Related: Remote work: 5 logistical issues companies need to address
This is not just an added perk – it’s a core part of your benefits package. Companies that master this aspect of the distributed employee experience will have a healthier, more engaged team, and will better navigate the Great Resignation plaguing organizations across all industries.
Investing in remote workspaces bolsters culture
Remote and hybrid work offers employees more flexibility than traditional work environments, but they’re not silver bullets for the employee experience without an intentional approach. The onus is on leaders to rethink how they support their team’s working environments outside of corporate office space.
This starts with providing your employees with a realistic budget to make their workspaces as productive, comfortable, and healthy as possible. There’s no “one size fits all” for productivity. Enable your team to choose the things that meet their unique needs, preferences, and working styles. This could be ergonomic furniture, a membership to a coworking space, or equipment to be productive on the go.
A robust workspace strategy is also key to building a thriving and diverse workforce. When employees are given autonomy to build their workspaces, they can manage their space and their time in a way that supports their wellbeing and priorities outside of work. This makes the workplace more inclusive to parents, those who care for their family members, or those with disabilities that make it difficult to commute to an office.
How to set your team up for success
Working remotely can have benefits and barriers, just like working in an office. To make the experience positive and sustainable for your team, ensure that expectations and best practices are baked into company culture and the onboarding process.
Assess needs for various spaces: Consider these three categories of spaces where work gets done: Primary workspaces, like a desk in a home office, are best suited for focused work, and likely require more equipment. In secondary workspaces, like coffee shops or coworking spaces, employees may have different needs for lighter work or 1:1 meetings. On-the-go, mobile workspaces can range from sidewalks and waiting rooms to trains and buses.
Communicate openly: Encourage your team to communicate their needs for doing their best work to you, their colleagues, family members, friends, and housemates that may share their space. This may help them determine that they’d prefer to join a coworking space.
Experiment with schedules: Give team members the autonomy to set up their schedules in such a way that enables them to do their best work. Whether that’s getting a jump start on the day, starting later, or taking breaks throughout the day to run errands, they should prioritize work outcomes over sticking to a rigid schedule.
Prioritize physical health: Create guides or offer resources to help employees choose the most ergonomic and healthy equipment for them. Ergonomic setups help maintain physical wellness, which increases cognitive engagement and productivity.
Don’t forget mental health: Model this behavior for your team. Taking breaks throughout the day to chat with a friend or family member, pursue a hobby, get some movement, or spend some time outside can help keep burnout at bay.
A commitment to a remote workspace strategy will be a key differentiator for organizations as they consider their overall benefits offerings in 2022 and beyond. This new way of work requires us to focus on how work gets done, not where.
It’s time to make both a financial and cultural investment in workspaces outside the traditional office. Focus on productivity and work outcomes instead of time spent behind a desk. You will build trust and increase retention, creating an empowered, healthy workforce where people of all backgrounds feel they can fully belong and contribute.
Betsy Bula is an all-remote evangelist with GitLab. Learn more about how to enable healthy workspaces in the Work From Home Field Guide by GitLab and Herman Miller.
Read more: