What we’ve Learned About Remote Work
How technology is putting people at the heart of virtual workplaces
Remote work is not a new concept and was already high on the agenda for some organizations. But the events of the last year meant swathes of office workers experienced at-home working for the first time – and they liked it. In Microsoft’s 2020 Work Reworked survey, people said they would like to continue working from home an average of two days a week.
Many business leaders were sceptical about how productivity would hold up in a remote and hybrid working environment, but the last year has shown that with the right resources, it’s business as usual. According to the survey, 97% now cite flexible working as a top transformation priority, and 93% expect some form of hybrid working to continue.
But it’s undeniable that this is an issue that needs careful consideration. Uprooting everyone from the office and consigning them to individual workspaces does have its drawbacks. People can feel disconnected and reduced to little more than an avatar. The Microsoft Work Trend Index also found that while remote work might have resulted in high productivity, it doesn’t tell the story. The numbers hide a reality of people losing the separation of work and home life, and the erasure of personal boundaries.
It’s an issue that requires proactive management, but when 60% of managers reported feeling unprepared to empower remote employees, how can businesses keep everyone happy?
That’s where a new breed of technology comes in: Employee Experience Platforms (EXP) such as Microsoft Viva.
Mass disconnection
Initially, the migration to home working was met with a tide of surveys and op-eds praising the virtues of abandoning the office. But it wasn’t long before a darker side emerged.
In fact, 70% of remote workers reported increased stress levels since working from home. And 40% said their mental health had deteriorated.
The top three challenges of remote working cited in the survey were:
Missing company culture
Maintaining team cohesion
Coping with increased siloes
Further, 60% of respondents said they felt less connected to their team after switching to home working. Constant interruptions, such as from shared or rented accommodation or caring for young children while also trying to work, were also a problem.
Tracking down team members to answer questions was a key concern. So was ‘unnecessary communications’, including meetings, emails, and calls.
Home working serves to highlight the contradiction of modern connectivity: Both more connected, and more isolated, than ever before. People are perpetually distracted but craving human connection.
Prioritizing employee experience
From a workflow perspective, tools like Microsoft Office 365 and Microsoft Teams give knowledge workers everything they need to conduct business remotely.
What’s missing is the experience of work. Everything that contributes to our growth and wellbeing as people. Everything that makes us healthier and happier – and more productive as a result. So, it’s perhaps ironic that the solution to this experience deficit may be technological. Microsoft’s Viva platform has applications across four pillars – Viva Connections, Viva Insights, Viva Topics, Viva Learning – which equip managers with the tools they need to empower employees for the world of hybrid working.
Viva Connections builds a branded, personalized gateway for the latest news, conversations, and tasks within the organization to nurture a coherent culture online.
Viva Insights analyzes privacy-protected work patterns to discover how work habits can be tailored to individuals – such as automatically marking people as ‘busy’ during their most focused hours.
Viva Topics uses AI to help organize and find organizational knowledge so it’s easier to track down – and experts suffer fewer interruptions.
Viva Learning integrates learning material from LinkedIn Learning, Microsoft Learn, and elsewhere to promote ongoing training, even away from the office.
Reimagining how we work
The mass migration to home working provided a unique opportunity to reassess how we organize work. The issues addressed by Microsoft Viva are at least as old as digital workflows. They are merely more pronounced in a remote working context.
Employee Experience Platform’s aren’t a silver bullet. But they are a valuable tool for adapting to hybrid working, and fostering the wellbeing, connection, and focus people need to succeed.
Find out more about Microsoft Viva, and how it can help to improve human connections for remote and hybrid working
