Remote Working in the Triangle: August Newsletter π»
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Happy August, co-remote workers of the Triangle! To start us off this edition, I thought I'd share a few pieces of interesting research related to remote work that's just come out. The first is a study published in Nature on hybrid work. With many companies now trying to bring employees back to the office, and employees pushing back against those efforts, the hybrid model β a mix of a few days in office and a few days WFH β is emerging as the most common compromise. Still, some stubborn managers are still trying to push a five-day in-office arrangement, arguing that it damages collaboration, productivity and career development. Fortunately for workers, this study once again provides ammo for remote work advocates. Using a randomized sample at a tech company of full-time in-office workers versus hybrid workers working from home two days a week, it found that hybrid working "did not affect performance grades over the next two years of reviews" and "found no evidence for a difference in promotions over the next two years overall" and no loss of productivity. However, there was a big difference in employee retention. The study found "that hybrid working improved job satisfaction and reduced quit rates by one-third. The reduction in quit rates was significant for non-managers, female employees and those with long commutes." When replacing an employee can easily cost a company upwards of $20,000 in recruitment, training and lost productivity costs, it seems that improvement in retention alone is worth having a hybrid policy over a full-time in-office mandate. The second bit of research, which I found even more interesting, was published in the Harvard Business Review, and it relates to control of one's time as an employee. One of the biggest benefits of remote work is not just being able to forgo that commute to the office, but also the greater flexibility it gives you with your time. This study looked at job satisfaction as it relates to amount of time worked, and the flexibility of that time. Conventional wisdom might suggest that the less amount of time you have to work, the more satisfied you are with your job. But this research found "that the number of hours people worked was not related to how satisfied people were with their jobs." For those who had more control over their time, having scarce amounts of time "did not undermine their job satisfaction as much as it did for those who had less control over their time." It concluded: "The driving factor behind worker satisfaction seems to be how much control over their time workers feel they have. Employees are not resisting the office because they donβt want to work or want to work less; instead, they want to be able to control their time β to do some chores between Zoom meetings, for instance, or get more regular exercise instead of spending 10 days per year (or almost a year of oneβs life) commuting." Mangers often have their own unspoken incentives for pushing return-to-office mandates that have little to do with employee satisfaction or financial performance β ie, to justify expensive office space they're already locked into renting, to assert power over employees, or to use WFH as a scapegoat for unrelated poor financial performance. These new bits of research may not be enough to persuade managers with these incentives, but it is good to have even more ammunition in the fight to keep remote work! What we're up toI've gotten some feedback over the last few months about what we can do to improve our events. First is to have more regular, predictable co-working events -- as in, at the same time in the same place -- so you can get used to seeing the same people and having a more set routine. You might notice we've started trying to implement that, with pretty regularly scheduled events in Clayton, Fuquay, Apex and Frontier RTP. But we could still use some help with organizers in different parts of the Triangle (in Durham and Chapel Hill especially), so again, if you'd like to be an organizer, please get in touch. And the other bit of feedback is that you'd like to see more evening, after-work events. I hear ya there too. I know co-working isn't everyone's jam, but many would still like to get out and mingle with other remote workers even if you're not co-working with them. To that end, join us next Friday night for our first pub crawl, starting at Bark Bar and winding through downtown Cary! Finally, as I said in the last newsletter, we'd also like to start having events with speakers, so if you or anyone you know might be interested in giving a talk at an event with remote workers and digital nomads, please get in touch. Also, a reminder that we have a Slack community. Any time you want to get out of the house for a bit, you can shout out in the 'impromptu-meetups' channel to see if anyone else wants to co-work with you...or grab a beer for that matter! Our upcoming eventsReminder that these are only the events already confirmed, and they are subject to change. We often post new events less than a week ahead of time, so be sure to follow us on Meetup to stay up on them as they're posted or adjusted. If you're interested in becoming an event host or joining our leadership team in another context, please get in touch!
Other events of interestIn the Triangle
(Disclosure: Some links below this point are affiliate links, meaning if you choose to make a purchase/booking after clicking one, we may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. If you do decide to make a purchase, please help support us by doing so via our link). Outside the Triangle
Know of an event you think should be included next month? Let us know! Venue Spotlight: Cup A Joe in RaleighA Raleigh institution since 1991, Cup A Joe is a nice spacious place near the NC State campus to get a few hours of work done. With freshly roasted coffee, mochas, smoothies, breakfast and lunch menus, come by any time of day, and try out their different daily special concoctions each day of the week. With NC State on summer break still for the next few weeks, it's a great time to check it out while there's ample parking and smaller crowds. (See website) August remote work reads
Thanks for making it to the end. If you enjoyed this newsletter, send this link to a friend so they can sign up too. And if you have any other questions or suggestions, write to us here. Happy working! Eric Fish PS - Here are a few more resources I've found useful as a 'digital semi-nomad': βSafety Wing - Short-term travel health insurance that covers you pretty much anywhere in the world and is easy to sign up for. βDonateβ |
Eric
Founder of Triangle Remote Workers & Digital Nomads
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