
When the Society for Human Resource Management surveyed managers about remote work last year, 42 percent reported that they often overlooked remote workers when handing out assignments - not for punitive or intentional reasons, Mr. The hope is that intentional efforts to include remote workers can help battle managers’ tendency to favor in-person employees. Bonding opportunities like virtual happy hours are great, for example, but if they’re announced last minute, people in different time zones or those with caregiving responsibilities often can’t join. Burke calls “intentionality” in their approach to team events. HubSpot also encourages managers to embrace what Ms. That means being very clear upfront about how the team should work together and encouraging people to chat about their out-of-office interests and pastimes.
#WILL REMOTER WORK AFTER WATER SOFTWARE#
The software developer HubSpot, based in Massachusetts, trains managers to work with distributed teams, with an emphasis on conversations that establish team cohesion and build personal relationships, said Katie Burke, the company’s chief people officer.

“We’ve been intentional to create experiences so that out of sight doesn’t mean out of mind, which was a big concern for some,” said Erin Pheister, Nationwide’s senior vice president of talent and organization effectiveness. Nationwide also created a fully virtual four-week leadership course available to workers at all levels of the organization. Nationwide Insurance, which early in the pandemic moved a majority of its 25,000 workers permanently to hybrid or full-time work-from-home arrangements, trained managers to facilitate career development for associate workers, creating templates for conversations about workers’ skills and interests and pairing them with mentors or company resources to help them reach their goals. Some companies have also started training managers to help remote workers forge their career paths. Those assigned to meet with the senior employees had better performance reviews at the end of the summer and were more likely to receive job offers. Others met virtually with fellow interns, and some were assigned no extra meetings at all. Choudhury and his colleagues randomly assigned some interns at a global bank to take part in one-on-one video meetings with senior executives.

These companies took the time to compile information and practices in handbooks or guides that employees can consult from anywhere paired remote workers with mentors outside their department so that they could speak frankly without endangering team relationships and created what he called the “ virtual water cooler.” Prithwiraj Choudhury, an associate professor at Harvard Business School who focuses on the changing geography of work, said he had seen three common practices at companies that managed remote work successfully.

Taylor Jr., chief executive officer at the Society for Human Resource Management.

“We’re beginning to hear from employees, in particular young employees who are - believe it or not - concerned,” said Johnny C. Some of their employees are also giving more thought to what long-term remote or hybrid work might mean for their futures. Now, as they plan for what work will look like going forward, they’re paying more attention to what it means to build a career without the traditional opportunities for networking, mentorship and visibility that come with a full-time physical office. Companies have become more open to remote work during the pandemic.
