Why Remote Working is the Answer to any Business

Impact on individuals, families, companies and society

I used to own and run a rather large company and although I was the CEO, my employees would always look at me like I was a bit of a reckless bad boy.

Even more, the first time I brought up the idea of remote working, people around me were shocked. Everyone thought I was out of my mind that I would suggest to send staff to work-from-home when we could have them in full operation comfortably in the office.

Yes, comfortable for the management team to feel in control and to justify everyone’s salary. As a remote worker myself, I experience first-hand the true value of quality work over quantity, in other words, the amount of hours at work. I also believe happier individuals are more productive.

Here I put together 6 points on why remote working is the ultimate answer to pretty much any service-related business:

1. Quality

Focus on the quality of people and quality of work. The Quality of the person in my time and his/her integrity will dictate the result, by choosing the right staff, the work will be delivered well no matter where he/she does it.

2. Fulfillment

  • Working remotely maximizes the time you can spend on other activities that make you feel fulfilled.
  • Spend time on fitness, art, kids, friends. This will enrich you as a human being, those human beings your boss would want to work with. Let’s face it, life is more than work and work shouldn’t become your life.
  • Working remotely doesn’t mean that team will never meet, meetings will become more casual and familiar, while they will be treasured and reserved for important discussions only.

3. Improvements to society that you probably didn’t think of

  • Reduced CO2 emissions due to reduced mobility.
  • Improved Circadian Rhythm. Lack of Sleep is a killer, believe me on this. Sleeping is the low hanging fruit to optimization physical and cognitive perfomances.

We all need 8–9 hours or even more sleep based on the level of activity we undergo. Remote working is project-based by definition and flexibility will allow the extra hour of sleep that will make you a better person, eventually improving your family relations and making your society a better place to be. Think about a society of sleep-deprived grumpy people…. if I am forced to wake up at 5 am every day and commute 90min to my office, chances are I will be one of them too

  • Better resource and financial distribution over countries rather than urban areas.
  • For companies, there is optimal access to human capital, as cheaper talents are available out of urban areas.
  • For employees, there is a democratic access to high-level workplaces. Top professionals living in away from urban areas will now stand a chance to work for top companies in the world.
  • Reduced absenteeism. Yes, being physically absent we will feel a stronger obligation to be morally present.
  • People will be forced to work digitally leading to more eco-friendly habits. There will be less paper and less stationery used, therefore less wastage.
  • Less traffic-related stress. I don’t think I need to elaborate more on this — I have had enough missed busses and rude taxi drivers.
  • Better and more controlled nutrition. At the office, you are often forced to “social eat” what’s available close to the office, which is usually commercially processed.
  • Traveling will now be easier. Travel allows you to learn and once again making us better humans, companies, and society. Allowing people to work while traveling will bring incredible value to the company. I call it cross-pollination. Allow people to travel and spread the culture.
  • More family time. Family becomes the cellular and most important units of society.

4. Debunking Myths

  • No interaction: False. Working remotely will give you more time for meaningful interactions rather than warming your chair browsing facebook.
  • No control on team: If you don’t trust the person you hire because you can’t have control, do not hire him/her.
  • No company culture creation: False. The challenge is on the team building, Company Culture is engraved on rock.
  • Alienation: False. Virtual calls can give life to your job and being able to change working locations will create less alienation than working in a cubicle

5. Solutions to potential challenges

  • Invest in the highest notch software solutions for teams interaction. I love Slack and Trello but there are many available
  • Foster a habit of sharing resources among people to build teams.
  • Assign creative hours to foster mental activities.
  • Celebrate victories, even online.
  • Set a day for physical gatherings with the team and if not possible do it online.
  • Give a sound medical coverage across the distributed team to give safety.
  • Leaders should communicate more and get closer to the team members. Use your newfound time for this. There are human beings on the other side of the terminal.

6. My Oath and advice to entrepreneurs

  • Build culture with your team and engrave it on the rock. With a sound culture and vision, teams will transmit the company values to new joiners.
  • Utilize management tools to make your team work properly, don’t settle for less.
  • Do have weekly or bi-weekly social interactions with your team and find a way to hang out together. Working remotely should put emphasis on each working staff, more so than ever.
  • Promote gym and sports memberships. Take care of the health of your team members.
  • Create tasks with realistic deadlines. As long as the team meets them…they can rock climb, surf or mountain bike for the rest of the day!

Conclusions:

What I am describing above is the end of a 11 months journey swinging between Hong Kong, Thailand and Sicily.

I have been exposed to amazing example of first generation high profile nomadic entrepreneurs, from tech gurus to movie directors to financiers and stock brokers. This is a bit of our dream coming true, being able to retain or profession and jobs and being able to work from amazing locations, surrounded by like minded forward thinkers.

Nomadism is not just swinging around but rather cross pollination, humans will be able to travel while working. Contact us or book a meeting with our consultants to understand the real deal of digital nomadism, how to remote work efficiently and ensure your administration are in order even if you are out of your home country.

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