| 0s | In 1979, IBM was making headlines by becoming one of the first Fortune 500 companies |
| 7s | to allow employees to work remotely. |
| 9s | That’s right, nearly 40 years ago the corporate giant adopted this modern outlook on work. |
| 16s | In fact, IBM found the practice to be so successful that by 2009 40% of their 386,000 employees |
| 25s | |
| 27s | Fast forward to 2017 — IBM tells its thousands of remote workers to relocate to an IBM office |
| 34s | |
| 37s | But what caused IBM to reverse a seemingly successful policy? |
| 40s | It was the belief that locating teams in the office would make them |
| 45s | more productive, innovative, and agile. |
| 48s | But is working from home really less effective than working from a traditional office? |
| 53s | According to Gallup, remote workers put in longer hours and are more productive than |
| 58s | |
| 60s | So why are we still debating this? |
| 62s | The truth is, for all of its benefits, working remotely can have its struggles — |
| 67s | typically in forming relationships and career development. |
| 71s | A recent Harvard Business Review study states that many remote workers feel like their non-remote |
| 76s | colleagues don’t treat them equally and don’t believe they fight for their priorities. |
| 81s | But the reality is that remote work is the future. |
| 86s | 51% of workers would change jobs for a role that offered them flextime and 37% would make |
| 93s | a move for a role that allowed them to work remotely at least part-time. |
| 96s | But perhaps the issue isn’t with remote work — |
| 100s | It’s how we manage and work with remote employees. |
| 103s | For managers and coworkers are to develop successful relationships with remote workers, |
| 109s | they all have to make changes. |
| 111s | No one likes to feel like they’re in the dark, so start by setting expectations. |
| 116s | Clear and honest communication is even more important for remote workers. |
| 121s | Remote employees don’t have the luxury of being able to swing by your desk to ask questions, |
| 126s | so be sure to schedule consistent check-ins. |
| 128s | Pick up the phone or connect over video to make the conversation more natural. |
| 134s | Have trust and confidence in your remote workers. |
| 138s | Just being in the office does not guarantee that an employee is being productive. |
| 142s | By changing your attitude and management style, you can make remote work work for your team. |
