That the Covid pandemic provided an enormous jolt in the arm of remote working has been well documented. A recent study from Australia’s La Trobe University highlights how the number of remote workers jumped by around 20% as a result of the pandemic.

The paper explores some ways people who have continued to work remotely can do so effectively. The findings emerged from a number of focus groups involving both managers and non-managers from a wide range of different sectors.

Negative experiences

Interestingly, the majority of participants had a negative experience of working remotely, although this was often due to the extreme lockdowns in place in Australia, with particular stress coming from childcare and school closures on top of learning how to work in a new way.

Participants also reported a distinct blurring of boundaries, along with invasions of privacy and a sense that work was impinging on caregiver responsibilities. This led to a pronounced sense of exhaustion among managers and non-managers alike as working hours typically rose.

There were also various physical health concerns, with respondents reporting that weight gain was a particular issue, as was increased musculoskeletal pain. There were also concerns around mental wellbeing, with this having a knock-on effect on productivity as people would sometimes feel isolated and disconnected from work.

Positive impact

Things were not all bad, of course, and a number of positives emerged from the focus group. For instance, work-life balance was improved as the flexibility of remote working allowed people to better accommodate exercise, parental responsibilities, and household chores.

The use of online conferences and seminars also improved people’s professional development as it made access to such events easier, especially if they would otherwise be held overseas. The respondents also enjoyed the use of online platforms for meetings and reported increased team bonding as a result. Indeed, these platforms also seem to have improved communication within and between teams too.

In the post-Covid world, the researchers argue that the best strategy to optimize working from home will likely include management support of flexible work hours; provision of the necessary equipment with ICT support; regular online communication; performance management adjustments; and manager training.