Remote working could mean loss of organic interactions

Managers are wary about the loss of rich inputs that often come out of water cooler meetings and coffee breaks.

While remote working models have several benefits for both employees and businesses, experts have noted that there are certain pitfalls that might arise.
Speaking in a session on the second day of the 2020 Remote Workforce Summit, Fong Tuan, director, HR & General Affairs, Samsung Electronics Malaysia, pointed out that working remotely is not a new concept for several organisations that have remained ahead of the curve.
"Some organisations, especially those in the tech industry, have been better prepared to switch completely to remote working than others," he said. "The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the move towards remote working, and suddenly everyone was jumping on the bandwagon because they have no choice."
However, not every organisation was ready for the shift both from an infrastructure and cultural perspective, he said. "Not many corporations were ready to activate their business continuity planning (BCP) for a nationwide shutdown."
According to Fong Tuan, the new norm requires the introduction of a new culture, which is a learning process and may require some time for businesses to get used to. The new distributed workforce strategy that organisations are implementing makes use of various remote working tools. However, businesses need to be wary of certain factors that will be impacted as a result.
"Be wary of pitfalls such as the loss of organic interaction, loss of passive input, and asymmetry of information causing expectation gaps," he said. "Many managers feel that employee interaction means arranging an online meeting. But, we have seen that such meetings are not always the most productive. Several times, employees will only attend the meeting for the sake of attending the meeting. For them, the real work starts or happens outside of these meetings."
Managers, he said, must manage the gap created by the reduction of communication and clarity of expectations. In addition, he pointed to the rich inputs that often come out of employees interacting with each other at the office face-to-face.
"We have all heard the term 'water cooler chatter' and 'coffee break brainstorming' before," he said. "There are some very brilliant ideas that come out of these meetings and interactions in the office that have suddenly been put on hold. This is exactly why organisations need to understand that the future workplace model cannot revolve completely around remote working, but will be a blend of both remote and proximity."
rohma@khaleejtimes.com