Remote Work Is Having Its Moment

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve fielded dozens of inquiries from companies across the globe that are transitioning their workforces from the office into the home. For many, this is a new, difficult, and scary transition, one in which the stakes are high. As I and many of my other Forrester colleagues have been telling our clients: How you treat employees during this time will have long-term effects on employee experience (EX), talent acquisition, and brand perception. You can’t afford to mess it up.

Luckily, we’re publishing weekly content to help your organization successfully transition to remote work. Here’s just a snippet of some of the research we’ve published on remote work so far:

  • A guide to essential technology for remote and quarantined employees. Geared toward IT professionals, this short webinar is available free of charge on my blog and provides an overview of the most important technology you need to ensure employees are successful working from home. Hint: It’s not just collaboration tools. You need to think holistically about technology enablement.
  • An update to our #pandemicEX survey. If you’re not aware, our #pandemicEX survey aims to understand how employees are experiencing the pandemic, and it includes a number of questions related to remote work. The early results are encouraging: Employees are increasingly confident that their organizations will support them with the flexibility they need to deal with the crisis, and most employees who have the option to work remotely are handling it well.
  • A home office checklist for newly remote workers. My colleagues Martha Bennett, Paul Miller, and I put together a checklist for workers that are going remote for the first time. It includes useful best practices for setting up your own office as well as the necessary technologies to remain successful. We’re also doing a webinar on this checklist on Monday, April 6. Register here.
  • Best practices for network and capacity management. If you’re an IT professional, you’re working overtime right now to make sure that you have enough capacity to handle demand on VPN servers and collaboration tools. My colleagues Andre Kindness and Art Schoeller have published a set of best practices to help you handle the increased demand.

Stay Tuned For Upcoming Research

Over the coming weeks, look out for additional research on remote work. Some of the main themes we’ll be covering include:

  • Remote work culture. Loneliness is one of the biggest challenges to remote work, so how do you keep employees feel connected, collaborative, and engaged?
  • Brain-based insights for productivity at home. Working from home comes with its own host of challenges and distractions. We’ll be publishing guidance on how to remain productive while at home, based on neuroscience and psychology.
  • Home security. Your data is now outside the four walls of the enterprise. We’ll be publishing a set of best practices for ensuring security of personal and business data.

Want To Learn More Or Participate In The Research? Contact Us

If you’re interested in gaining more insights on remote work, Forrester clients can always submit an inquiry request to inquiry@forrester.com. I am also currently looking to interview organizations that are going through this transition, so if you’d like to tell me your story of moving to remote work, send me an email at ahewitt@forrester.com.

Thank you — and I hope you’re all staying safe, healthy, and sane at home.