Many companies who offered remote work are now requiring workers to return to the office, at least part of the time. I am seeking career experts to share their thoughts on what types of remote jobs are most likely to stay fully remote permanently? Why is this job likely to stay remote?

There is plenty of discussion about whether to bring people back into the office. Remote work activists will tell you that motivated, talented and engaged people can work from anywhere. Traditionalists will tell you that Teams meetings and Zoom calls don’t make up for the collective energy of a co-located team.

The real question isn’t  “What jobs can be remote or remote first?” You need to decide if remote work is right for both the job to be done and the person doing it.

What needs to be considered before making a decision

• Does a central workplace add value? Can people get their work done? Are there places for people to meet in both large and small groups? There are also plenty of financial considerations. Offices and facilities mean overhead costs.
• Are other parts of the organization going to be located in the same central offices? Inter-team communication is often easier when people see and can get ahold of others quickly. If the other functions of the company are done elsewhere, there’s less advantage to having
• Is talent and what you bring to the team more important than physical proximity to the office? By hiring remote workers you vastly expand the potential pool of employees. This also applies to geography, where it makes sense to have people local to different time zones or able to speak the local language.Is the work made up of mostly individual tasks, with each member of the team doing their own work and calling for very little interaction with teammates? This could include creative work like app design or copywriting, but can also mean jobs such as customer service reps or IT, where everyone is focused on clearing tickets. If there’s very little sharing of information, or no formal brainstorming between team members, there’s no need for everyone to be in the same place at the same time.
• Are leaders competent in coaching, offering feedback and developing skills at a distance? Even the best remote workers can become disengaged and ineffective without the right guidance, reward and recognition. Remember that people don’t quit jobs, they quit bosses, and this has remained (and become even more true) as more people work remotely.
• Are people expected to work remotely forever and never be in the same place at the same time, or is there a plan to get people together physically at least once in a while? Studies show that even occasionally gathering together means people form and maintain relationships that make remote work more effective. Assuming that just because people can work remotely doesn’t mean you never bring them together.

The truth is, no two team leaders or organizations will answer these exactly the same way. That’s as it should be. There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. Where and how people work should be based on the work to be done and the talent and drive of the people doing it.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Wayne Turmel
Co-Founder and Product Line Manager

Wayne Turmel is the co-founder and Product Line Manager for the Remote Leadership Institute. For twenty years he’s been obsessed with helping managers communicate more effectively with their teams, bosses and customers. Wayne is the author of several books that demystify communicating through technology including Meet Like You Mean It – a Leader’s Guide to Painless & Productive Virtual Meetings, 10 Steps to Successful Virtual Presentations and 6 Weeks to a Great Webinar. His work appears frequently in Management-Issues.com.

Wayne, along with Kevin Eikenberry, has co-authored the definitive book on leading remotely, The Long-Distance Leader: Rules for Remarkable Remote Leadership. Wayne and Kevin’s follow-up book, The Long-Distance Teammate, offers a roadmap for success not just for leaders, but for everyone making the transition to working remotely.

The latest book from Wayne and Kevin shows leaders how to design a team culture that has a one-team mindset and gets great results under hybrid-work conditions. You can pre-order The Long-Distance Team: Designing Your Team for Everyone’s Success now.