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By Mike Leigh

Executive Summary: What is the best remote working policy for your company? Why have a policy at all?

Where to work?

Recently, Walt Disney Company reported that they were requiring all their employees to return to the office Monday through Thursday each week. Their reasoning was that an innovative and collaborative company like Disney needed to have everyone present face-to-face. Disney was the latest large company to ask employees to return to the office for at least part of the workweek.

As the pandemic has wound down, businesses large and small are trying to figure out what their policy should be regarding remote work. One extreme is a 100% remote workforce and no central office. The other extreme is having all employees work from the office every day. Most companies are settling for something in the middle, trying to balance teamwork and collaboration with the needs of employees who want to work from home.

Every company, every department, and every job are unique. The needs of every employee are also unique. When is comes to the physical location of each worker, why lump everyone into the same policy?

Some will say a policy is necessary so everyone is “in the same boat” and is treated the same. If that was true, why do some people have offices and others have cubicles? Why are some employees paid more than others? Or have different working hours?

A better solution is to review each role in the company and define what the requirements are to fulfill the responsibilities of that job. Can the work be done remotely? Is in-person collaboration needed? Are there times the team needs to be in the office? Can the company be flexible on where the work is completed?

Once the requirements are defined, ensure they are clearly understood by whoever fills that role, and discuss when those requirements can be flexible. Then based on the needs of the employee, a mutual decision can be made of where the work will be done. If an employee’s needs do not match the needs of the job, then look to help the employee transition to a different role.

Taking these actions for every job in the company is more work than having a standard, company-wide policy, but it’s the best route to achieve greater motivation, engagement, and productivity.

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As for those who think that working from home will cause employees to skate and productivity to drop, that can indeed happen. However, setting clear performance standards and holding employees accountable is a leadership issue and not a work location issue.