Remote Work & Office Work – Discovering the Mutual Benefits

Whilst remote working has brought many benefits – increased flexibility, reduced travel costs, and resulting lower pollution – it has come with its own set of drawbacks. For example, it can be hard to create the same dynamic during an online meeting since the majority of the meaning in our communication is conveyed via body language. Limited ability to see and interact with other people on a conference call reduces non-verbal communication methods such as physical posture, hand gestures, and use of space.

This not only makes online calls less enjoyable but also makes them less effective. The discomfort and uncertainty that many people feel in an online context drives them to say less and reduce their engagement. In groups that are unfamiliar with one another, it is not uncommon to have prolonged periods of silence where each participant fears being the first to speak.  This disfunctional dynamic can be reduced if everyone has a web-cam and keeps it turned on. However, this is not a complete solution since facial expression is only a small part of one’s body language.

Compare this situation, the American savanna tumble-weed scenario of awkward silence, with what happens when you bring the same group together for an in-person discussion. Being able to break off into smaller groups and develop personal rapport will lead the same group of people to socialise and now often speak too much. This increases communication effectiveness but can reduce productivity due to a split focus on work and interaction.

This is an intriguing dichotomy – resistance to talk versus talking too freely.  This contrast highlights an interesting and perhaps relatively unanticipated impact of virtual working. The more constrained we feel by the online world, the more we react by seeking increased interaction in the physical one. The increased efficiencies gained through virtual working may be lost due to increased socialisation in the physical workplace.

There is a need to capture the best of both worlds – the focus and productivity of online calls and the fun and connection of in-person meetings. This need might be satisfied by making the online world a bit more physical and vice versa.

There are a number of ways that this might be done.

To make the virtual world more physical, consider implementing break out rooms to simulate the break offs from the bigger group that happen naturally in physical settings and enable one-to-one interactions and relationship-building. Alternatively, consider implementing a routine whereby at the beginning of online meetings, if participants are unacquainted with each other, attendees are asked to participate in a 5 minute game to simulate the informality and connection that would occur during physical meetings.

To digitalise in-person meetings, with the view to increasing productivity and focus, it may be an idea to utilise some of the tools that would be used online. For instance, rather than using the ‘Post-it Notes on the wall’ technique to brainstorm, you could instead use online brainstorming software. For example, Miro is a program that functions as online sticky notes for sharing ideas digitally. Attendees could login to the same shared working space and together contribute to building a wall of digital sticky notes. Digital checklists are another useful online tool that can be used to track tasks to be completed by all attendees. This is much like an agenda slide at the beginning of an online presentation, and may help attendees at an in-person meeting to retain focus on the task at hand and to limit their natural desire to socialise.

Final thoughts

Virtual and in-person communication both have their virtues and vices. Driving improvements in the working world post-COVID will depend on our ability to leverage the benefits of each. This post has suggested some ways to do this, from virtual breakout rooms and online icebreaker games to online sticky notes and digital checklists.

Do you have some other suggestions for how we might harness the combined benefits of remote and in-person work? Please post your ideas in the comments.

Sukhi R. is a graduate from Warwick Law School currently studying an MSc in Business with Consulting at Warwick Business School. She has a keen interest in the business psychology of consulting and plans to enter the industry in the near future.

Image: Unsplash

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