Test 2

Some really interesting information coming out of Gallup a few weeks ago regarding employers accommodating remote work:

[A] 2016 U.S. Government Accountability Office report on federal telework stated that the agencies it studied "had little data to support the benefits or costs associated with their telework programs. All of the selected agencies could provide some supporting documentation for some of the benefits and only two could provide supporting documentation for some of the costs."

Gallup analytics has the data.

And the data are clear: Remote work not only improves outcomes and employee branding but is a policy that the most talented employees desire.

Remote Work Is Becoming More Common

Remote work is on the rise. The number of hours spent working off-site is increasing, as is the number of workers. In 2012, Gallup data showed 39% of employees worked remotely in some capacity, meaning they spent at least some of their time working away from their coworkers. In 2016, that number had grown four percentage points to 43%. And of those who do work remotely some of the time, the percentage of time spent working remotely increased from 2012 to 2016 as well. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) found a threefold increase in the number of companies offering remote work options between 1996 and 2016.

All too often I hear people (read: management) poo-poo the notion of remote work based on the idea that to be effective/productive, one must be present in the workplace. I wholeheartedly disagree, and the data supports me:

Engagement is not an exercise in making employees feel happy -- it's a strategy for better business outcomes. It is true that engaged employees are more enthusiastic, energetic and positive, feel better about their work and workplace, and have better physical health, but engagement isn't a perk for leaders to dole out, it's a way leaders can improve KPIs. As decades of Gallup research shows, when employees are engaged their performance soars: Highly engaged workplaces can claim 41% lower absenteeism, 40% fewer quality defects, and 21% higher profitability.

And job flexibility increases engagement.

Gallup discovered that engagement climbs when employees spend some time working remotely and some time working in a location with their coworkers. Weekly face time with coworkers and managers seems to affect engagement: the optimal engagement boost occurs when employees spend 60% to 80% of their time working off-site -- or three to four days in a five-day workweek. It's worth noting that five years earlier, in 2012, the optimal engagement boost was experienced by workers who spent less than 20% of their time working remotely.

Gallup finds that this group -- those who work remotely 60% to 80% of the time -- is also the most likely of all employees to strongly agree that their engagement needs related to development and relationships are being met. Perhaps counterintuitively, they're also the most likely of all employees to strongly agree that someone at work cares about them as a person, encourages their development and has talked to them about their progress. This group is also the most likely of all employees to strongly agree they have a best friend at work and opportunities to learn and grow.

My emphasis.

The biggest barrier that I have encountered is administration and/or management that hold onto the "traditional" notion of a work environment. They hold a mis-conception that someone "working at home" is sitting around in their pajamas and not getting any work done. But, in our data-driven age, we are able to monitor the productivity of our staff, whether they are in the office or working remotely.

In our unit, I absolutely support working remotely for staff that are full-time exempt employees.

For example, when we are expecting bad weather (which never happens in central-Pennsylvania winters), I encourage folks to take their laptop home in case they are not able to make it into the office the next day. The same suggestion is made for staff who might be coming down with a cold or the flu. I regularly tell our team that, even if it's only a couple of hours of work that can be accomplished, it's worth it to not fall behind.

Gallup illustrates this well:

chart via Gallup

This is where that "cares about them as a person" comes into play. I would rather someone stay home when their kid is sick, and still feel like they can get some work done. I'd like to think that staff appreciate the flexibility and understand it comes from a place of caring. I know that I appreciate that.

Also, for me personally and somewhat selfishly, I am incredibly productive when I am working at home. No meetings, distractions, or interruptions.

Except for the occasional dog that requests to go outside.