{"id":46460,"date":"2023-08-24T17:59:43","date_gmt":"2023-08-24T17:59:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.atlantictraining.com\/blog\/?p=46460"},"modified":"2025-09-05T07:48:19","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T11:48:19","slug":"8-remote-work-strategies-every-employee-needs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.atlantictraining.com\/blog\/8-remote-work-strategies-every-employee-needs\/","title":{"rendered":"8 Remote Work Strategies Every Employee Needs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although it seems like remote work is all the rage, even the \u201cnorm\u201d right now, you\u2019re not alone if you\u2019re still adjusting to managing a team remotely.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Back in January 2019, it was estimated that <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20240419072024\/https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/technology\/3862069-nearly-30-percent-of-work-remains-remote-as-workers-dig-in\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">4.7% of work was remote.<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Now, that rate is about <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">12%<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, depending on the industry and time of year.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That rate isn\u2019t likely to decrease either. It\u2019s estimated that about <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20240413140849\/https:\/\/www.upwork.com\/press\/releases\/upwork-study-finds-22-of-american-workforce-will-be-remote-by-2025\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">22% of the workforce will be remote by 2025.<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> That means roughly every 1 in 5 employees will be conducting their careers from home.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Suffice it to say- remote work isn\u2019t going anywhere. All things considered, we are still in the early days of widespread remote work. It\u2019s to be expected that many companies, managers, and employees haven\u2019t yet caught up to this new landscape for work.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By staying ahead of the curve and optimizing remote work now, you can give yourself and your remote team the best chance to thrive in your working environments. As a manager, you\u2019re able to keep a pulse on the state of your team, so make sure you\u2019re in tune to what their needs are and how you can best support them.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re ready to adopt some new strategies to help you and your team thrive in a remote working environment, here are some simple but effective strategies you can start implementing now.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1. Study and Understand Remote Work Trends<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the first priorities you should focus on is understanding trends related to remote work.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many employers were shocked to find that, not only does remote work <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">save the company money<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, but employees are <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">generally more productive<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> when they are able to work from home.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Employees may have different distractions when they are working from home, but that hasn\u2019t shown to dampen productivity. Instead, employees report feeling more satisfied with their new work-life balance.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This being said, understand that many employees may have to step away from their desks to tend to kids, pets, and other elements of their homes when they work from home. When they are allowed to do so freely, it results in better outcomes for both the employee and your company.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you study remote work trends, you\u2019ll be able to anticipate the needs of your team. For example, a lot of survey data is showing that <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">hybrid work is surpassing remote work for popularity among employees<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Knowing data like this could help you reevaluate your work environments to fit employee preferences.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2. Adopt an Early-and-Often Communication Strategy<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One key benefit of working in the office is the natural social interaction you get with your team and the ability to read body language. Since working remotely limits these elements, be sure you adjust your communication with your team.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As in, you\u2019ll likely want to communicate with them early and often each day. Checking in often can help flesh out any issues and catch them early so they don\u2019t turn into bigger problems.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Refine your writing skills too, especially if Slack or email will be your primary way of checking in. Instead of simply asking \u201chow are things looking today?\u201d create a process to assess how they\u2019re actually progressing each day.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Make sure your employees know that you are a resource for them as well. Just because they work from home does not mean they should experience less support or be unable to ask questions and collaborate. Make yourself available to hop on calls and answer questions via email often.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">3. Optimize Training Materials and Onboarding<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If it\u2019s been a while since you\u2019ve updated your <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.atlantictraining.com\/course\/remote-work-success-strategies-training-course\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">training materials<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and onboarding process, be sure you do so with a specific focus on remote work.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might want to record some new videos, provide updated resources and software, and audit existing procedures to better fit a remote working environment.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The utilization of new software can also help streamline remote work. Take the suggestions of your employees about what features they like in software too.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Employees should have easy access to training materials, so they always feel like they can review or refresh information as needed. When work is remote, it\u2019s all the more important that SOPs are documented, so they can easily be referred to at any time.<\/span><\/p>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.atlantictraining.com\/catalog\/?sort=relevance&amp;dir=asc&amp;limit=24&amp;f%5Bsearch%5D=remote%20work&amp;f%5Bid_course_type%5D=2%2C1\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-46461 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.atlantictraining.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/19-1024x576.png\" alt=\"click to see our remote work and productivity titles\" width=\"680\" height=\"383\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.atlantictraining.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/19-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.atlantictraining.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/19-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/www.atlantictraining.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/19-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/www.atlantictraining.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/19-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.atlantictraining.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/19.png 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px\" \/><\/a>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">4. Prioritize a Strong Culture<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Just because your team is remote doesn\u2019t mean they shouldn\u2019t have good rapport with their coworkers. Make efforts to prioritize a strong work culture, whether that\u2019s through virtual events, designated Slack channels, or activities done online.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An easy way to start implementing a positive culture is to create a \u201cwater cooler\u201d Slack channel where people can check in about non-work related topics. Maybe create separate Slack channels for people who have pets or kids, so employees can bond over shared experiences in their lives.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">5. Get Feedback More Often<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your employees should feel like feedback is easy and accessible to them, not just at performance reviews.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Giving your employees frequent and constructive feedback can help boost their performance and give them further clarity on their job. This is also a great time to validate things they are doing really well. Since this feedback doesn\u2019t always come up naturally when working remotely, make sure you carve out the time to do this.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You should also get frequent feedback from your employees on how you can<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.atlantictraining.com\/blog\/how-to-develop-the-best-leaders-and-managers-with-online-training\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> improve your performance as a manager.<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> By being open to frequent feedback, you\u2019ll help make everyone\u2019s work experience better and provide more support where your team needs it.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">6. Try Different Time Management Techniques<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although time management is important for everybody, not every team member will adopt the same techniques to be <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.atlantictraining.com\/blog\/how-to-increase-employee-productivity-with-online-training\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">at their most productive<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Provide several different time management trainings and tools, then allow your employees to experiment and see which ones work best for them.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some employers even allow their employees to choose their own \u201cproductivity hours.\u201d As in, even though the business\u2019s hours may begin at 8am, some employees may find that they work best in early mornings, so they choose to start work at 6am. Others may find that they are most productive in the evenings, so they choose to start working at noon.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">pros and cons to letting employees choose their own schedule<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, but if your business model allows it, it could be a great way to leverage the productivity and brain power of employees, so you get them when they are at their best in the day.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">7. Prioritize Good Ergonomics<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although it may be tempting to work from the couch each day, providing your employees with ergonomic resources will help protect their health and <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">improve productivity.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Providing your employees with ergonomics training, monitor stands, ergonomic chairs, or standing desks can help them be more comfortable while working at home. Although it may seem like a big cost upfront to provide a full work-from-home environment for them, it could save the company a lot in workman\u2019s comp later if you\u2019re able to avoid injury through poor ergonomics.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even though you can\u2019t control how they choose to work, you can provide training that educates them on the best ways to protect their health while working from home. You can even shoot some automatic reminders to get up and stretch every hour, or encourage them to take a walk during their breaks.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">8. Emphasize Self-Management and Work-life Balance<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite what some employers are nervous about, it\u2019s been shown that employees often <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20240427123514\/https:\/\/thehill.com\/business\/4110598-remote-employees-work-longer-and-harder-studies-show\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">work longer hours<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> when they are working from home. Although this may contribute to the increase in productivity after moving to remote work, you\u2019ll want to be sure you\u2019re prioritizing work-life balance for them as well.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As a manager, you should be setting the example for a healthy work-life balance for your team. Remind your team to unplug from their work day, educate them on employee benefits like PTO, and provide training that helps them manage their workload in a healthy way.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Work-life balance is key for employee satisfaction and low turnover rates at a company. Don\u2019t assume that this gets easier for them just because they\u2019re working from home. Make an active effort to make work-life balance a key aspect of company culture.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Self-management is also key for remote work. When employees are given the space to self manage, they often do. Be sure that your employees feel you trust them to self manage and that you prioritize their wellbeing.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All in all, remote work has been shown to offer huge benefits to both employers and their staff. From cut costs, to better work-life balance, and improved productivity, it\u2019s no wonder that remote work is only expected to increase in the coming years.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now that you\u2019ve learned about these remote work strategies you can provide for your employees, create a plan to start implementing them. From there, get feedback on how things are going. Remember that this is still a new chapter in the history of work and so you can adapt and change your procedures as you learn more and your staff evolves.<\/span><\/p><p>We have a huge library of training courses that cover these important topics. Everything is broken down and easy to comprehend making your responsibility to provide training as an employer much easier and actually cost effective. Get connected with us and see how with just a few questions, proper training can really elevate production.<\/p>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-46357 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.atlantictraining.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/21-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"Add high quality training videos to your LMS or use ours! Learn More.\" width=\"680\" height=\"383\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.atlantictraining.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/21-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.atlantictraining.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/21-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.atlantictraining.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/21-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.atlantictraining.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/21-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.atlantictraining.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/21.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px\" \/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Although it seems like remote work is all the rage, even the \u201cnorm\u201d right now, you\u2019re not alone if you\u2019re still adjusting to managing a team remotely.Back in January 2019, it was estimated that 4.7% of work was remote. Now, that rate is about 12%, depending on the industry and time of year.That rate isn\u2019t &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":46499,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-misc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atlantictraining.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46460","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atlantictraining.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atlantictraining.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atlantictraining.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atlantictraining.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46460"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.atlantictraining.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46460\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62116,"href":"https:\/\/www.atlantictraining.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46460\/revisions\/62116"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atlantictraining.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atlantictraining.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atlantictraining.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atlantictraining.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}