Work Together Anywhere

A Handbook on Working Remotely -Successfully- for Individuals, Teams, and Managers

Lisette Sutherland, Kirsten Janene-Nelson

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781119745242
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business Communication
• Edition: 1

"An excellent guide on how teams can effectively work together, regardless of location."
—STEPHANE KASRIEL, former CEO of Upwork

IN TODAY'S MODERN GLOBAL ECONOMY, companies and organizations in all sectors are embracing the game-changing benefits of the remote workplace. Managers benefit by saving money and resources and by having access to talent outside their zip codes, while employees enjoy greater job opportunities, productivity, independence, and work-life satisfaction. But in this new digital arena, companies need a plan for supporting efficiency and fostering streamlined, engaging teamwork.

In Work Together Anywhere, Lisette Sutherland, an international champion of virtual-team strategies, offers a complete blueprint for optimizing team success by supporting every member of every team, including:

• EMPLOYEES advocating for work-from-home options
• MANAGERS seeking to maximize productivity and profitability
• TEAMS collaborating over complex projects and long-term goals
• ORGANIZATIONS reliant on sharing confidential documents and data
• COMPANY OWNERS striving to save money and attract the best brainpower

Packed with hands-on materials and actionable advice for cultivating agility, camaraderie, and collaboration, Work Together Anywhere is a thorough and inspiring must-have guide for getting ahead in today's remote-working world.

PART I
SETTING THE SCENE

Some of the Who, What, Where, and Why of Remote Working

As noted earlier, Part I aims to succinctly convey the terrain in which remote workers and employers find themselves—as well as a bit of what brought them there. Chapter 1 takes the viewpoint of the worker, sharing just what makes the remote option so appealing. (In a word: flexibility.) Chapter 2 demonstrates what a win-win for employers that flexibility can be. And for the more skeptical readers—or those who answer to more skeptical figures—that chapter shares both some common concerns about the remote option and possible solutions. The Part I EXTRAS section continues that discussion with “Frequently Asked Questions,” whose answers cross-reference where in the book more information can be found. And “At a Glance” encapsulates some of the many ways to replicate online the benefits of working on-site—material covered in detail in chapter 8.

As for further down the road, individuals ready to move forward can head to Part II—Individuals Working Remotely. Managers ready to move forward can head to Part III—Successful Remote Teams 101: Transitioning and Hiring. Those managers already in remote waters can seek out Part IV—Successful Remote Teams 201: Managing Remote Workers and Teams.

CHAPTER 1
Why Are Individuals Going Remote? Workplace Flexibility

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“A lot of what we’re looking at is not new. It’s just that technologies make working from anywhere possible for a lot more people.”

—PILAR ORTI, director, Virtual not Distant¹

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Most of this book tells you how you can make a success of working remotely, whether you’re a team member, a team leader, or flying solo. But before we get into that, some—especially managers—might wonder how it’s possible to get valuable work out of unsupervised employees. The answer to that question has multiple aspects, the most significant of which hinges on why workers seek remote employment options in the first place. We’ll return to both questions later in this chapter. But to best understand the full picture, let’s take a look at what kinds of people work remotely.

Some Terminology on Remote Working

Individuals who work remotely can be full-time telecommuting employees, contract freelancers—even digital nomads. [Note that all terms identified by bold italics are included in the glossary.] They typically fall into one of three “employee” types: telecommuter, self-employed, and business owner.

A telecommuter is someone who works remotely (usually from home), either full time or part time, on a fixed team for one company. According to research firm Global Workplace Analytics, a typical telecommuter in the United States is forty-five or older, college educated, and works as a salaried, non-union employee in a professional or even management role. He or she earns about $58,000 a year and most likely works for a company with more than one hundred employees. (In addition, 75 percent of employees who work from home earn more than $65,000 per year, which puts them in the upper eightieth percentile of all employees, home or office-based.)²

Many remote workers are self-employed freelancers. They run mainly service-based businesses and usually work with more than one remote client, whether simultaneously or consecutively. (As noted in the sidebar to follow, Upwork and Freelancers Union define freelancers as “individuals who have engaged in supplemental, temporary, or project- or contract-based work within the past twelve months.”³)

Some self-employed freelancers are also small business owners, whether solopreneurs or entrepreneurs (with a few remote employees or contractors).

Any of the above could also be a digital nomad : those who use portable technology to maintain a nomadic lifestyle.

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The Five Types of Freelancers

Originally, the term “free-lancer” described a medieval lancer for hire, one not sworn to defend a particular lord. Today there are five main types of freelancers, defined by Upwork and Freelancers Union as “individuals who have engaged in supplemental, temporary, or project- or contract-based work in the past twelve months.”

INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS (40 percent of the independent workforce/21.1 million professionals): Rather than having a steady, full-time employer, these “traditional” freelancers do project-based freelance, temporary, or supplemental work.

MOONLIGHTERS (27 percent/14.3 million): Professionals with a primary, traditional job might also moonlight doing freelance work—perhaps for lower-paying non-profits whose missions they support.

DIVERSIFIED WORKERS (18 percent/9.3 million): Some cobble together a living from a mix of employers. For example, someone who works steady hours as a part-time receptionist might also wait tables, drive for Lyft, and write freelance articles on the side.

TEMPORARY WORKERS (10 percent/5.5 million): This category includes those with a temporary employment status, whether that be one day as a film shoot makeup artist, several weeks as an office or warehouse temp, or several months as a business consultant.

FREELANCE BUSINESS OWNERS (5 percent/2.8 million): A freelancer can also be a solopreneur (with no employees) or an entrepreneur who employs others (usually between one and five employees or subcontractors).

Source: Upwork and Freelancers Union, “Freelancing in America: 2017.”⁴

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Though working on-site is still the norm in certain sectors, not all telecommuters are seen as an anomaly in their department. Indeed, some companies have turned the concept of “normal” employee on its head, and have teams partially—or even entirely—made up of remote workers.

Remote teams...