The shift in remote work
We didn’t even call it Remote Working back then
Way back when sometime when I took my first steps to freelancing and I was beginning to work from home, it felt like a bit of a dirty word. I had to justify it or play it down when I talked about it. When I was working, I felt like I had to hide the fact that I was working from home not to mention that I had a family that I was working around. With two younger children, at times that was hard.
When I signed my first ongoing client for my virtual assistant work in 2011, I recall vividly two occasions where this surfaced. When I was having a phone conversation with one of my new colleagues, the first thing I did was apologise in advance for any interruptions or noise from the kids that might happen (which didn’t even happen). They dismissed it and told me it wasn’t a problem – you’re working from your own home, you’re helping us, you’re flexible, it’s what we need. Then, a year or so later we were sat at my dining room table discussing some finance plans with my youngest, then aged 4, sat on my lap. She was happily dunking her carrot sticks in her houmous, I was worried about her being there, but I had no choice as she’d been sent home from school. The meeting was fine, the work got done.
Another new client came along, and our initial call was interrupted very briefly by my daughter waltzing into my office and asking me a question. I thought I’d blown it. But no, it turns out other people have kids and totally understand.
Still, I had these niggles about hiding that I worked from home, that I was a mum. I thought I wouldn’t be taken seriously even though I was doing the work for clients and they were taking me seriously and that it was in fact ok.
A gradual change in attitude
Then gradually, bit by bit, my confidence and approach started to change. I decided that if anyone had a problem with my availability or how I work, they probably wouldn’t be looking for a virtual assistant anyway and they wouldn’t be the right fit as a client. As I changed, there was also a cultural change and a huge rise in remote work and therefore more people working from home. Then more recently high-profile campaigns for flexible working, to help make whatever demands our domestic arrangements have on us less of a barrier to working.
The shift
Fast forward to 2020 and working from home is a necessity for so many. The Coronavirus pandemic has closed offices and workspaces, some of which will never reopen again. I’ve not worked in an office since 2007, but I can’t imagine that much has changed there, maybe less paper.
For some, being able to work from home has been an eye-opener, an insight into the hallowed ground of a well-balanced work/life balance for the first time. For others, a struggle as they juggle homeschooling and home working. Some people are no doubt missing colleagues and connection. Others are enjoying the time away, the change, the reassessment of priorities….and the work still gets done either way. There are pros and cons, but this recent shift to more remote working could change the shape of work forever.
Anecdotally, I’ve heard of businesses that won’t be renewing their office leases or that are looking for smaller offices, for part-time use. They don’t need the huge costs now they know they can do it without a physical location. There are companies like Twitter that have made remote working an ongoing option for their staff from now on. There must be others that are going fully remote. All the barriers and concerns these companies had about productivity, accountability and communication when their staff asked for working from home or flexible considerations have vanished; they had to make it work. Adapt or fail. They found out that the systems could cope with it, after all, the dinosaurs evolved, everyone got on board – because there was no other way.
The future
What will it look like when we’re out the other side? Will remote working continue to be an essential rather than a nice to have? What does the future hold for roles like mine – a virtual assistant? Will it be necessary to specify that something is ‘virtual’ or ‘remote’ unless it’s physically customer-facing or location-specific?
Since 2011, I’ve worked with people who are new to remote hiring, not-for-profits that operate as fully virtual organisations, as well as remote-first companies like Toggl. If you have any questions about working with a virtual assistant, drop me an email.