Remote work, working from home, freelancing, telecommuting…whatever name we give it, is not a new phenomenon. Let me explain.

I recently gave a presentation at an event in Budapest…let me say it was an amazing experience to come along side people passionate about remote work. Represented were remote workers, professors and students from Corvinus University in Budapest, and decision makers from the halls of government. All were interested in learning and advocating for remote work.

In preparing to speak I came across two articles that gave me some perspective on the history of remote work. What amazed me was how much remote work has been an integral part of our lives from cave man days to today.

I was also struck by how similar the concerns regarding remote work in the 1970s are to what we hear today. As noted in the above mentioned articles, The Washington Post (1979) in the US shared these three reasons why working from home is not ideal…

• How do we know they are actually working?
• How will they stay connected with the office and team members?
• How will they handle all the distractions of working from home?

Fast forward to today…Millions of people globally work remotely, a high percentage being employees of organizations, not just self-employed, freelancers, or digital nomads.

Research shows these people:

• Are more productive
• Experience a better work/life balance
• Save organizations money on office space and equipment
• Save time and money on driving back and forth to the office
• Leave a smaller environment footprint

And this is all made possible by advances in communication technology. However, many organizations still offer the same objections as to why remote working should not be considered…46 years later! Fortunately, research (and experience) has proven the objections offered no longer need to be issues.

So what might be the root of these concerns? Let me offer some suggestions

1. Lack of trust
2. Lack of understanding regarding the technology available.
3. Concern over employee’s lack of self-motivation or self-leadership.
4. Unwillingness to give up control.

Are these concerns actually valid? Do those things really describe the work habits of remote workers? Only one way to find out…ask remote workers. That’s exactly what we did. Over the past year we interviewed and surveyed over 200 remote workers in North America and Europe. We wanted to know, from their perspective, what they knew was key in being successful as remote workers. The results? They identified, in this order of importance:

1. Tech savvy
2. Communication
3. Self-leadership
4. Trustworthy
5. Taking initiative
6. Adaptable
7. Confidence
8. Empathy

Notice the top 4 they identified. The very competencies that counteract what was just noted as being the root causes of organizational skepticism.

Remote work is not a new phenomenon, but it has evolved, and the tools enabling it to happen effectively have developed to levels beyond what our predecessors could have imagined. And, work will continue to change and evolve, as will the technology enabling it to be even more effective.

These 4 things, communication, self-leadership, trust, tech savvy, all lay a foundation that will prepare you for whatever the future of work looks like. So let me ask, how might we…

• build our communication skills? Are you reading books that challenge you? Are you taking every opportunity possible to speak publicly? Are you honing your writing skills?
• become more self-led? Are you taking the initiative to get better at what you are already good at? Are you continually challenging what you know? Are you taking responsibility for your own decisions and actions?
• become people worthy of trust? When you say you are going to do something, do you do it? Are you honest, do you demonstrate integrity?

All these things are under our control, and only we can truly own them.

*Note…I’ve decided to start numbering my blogs for ease of reference. I was shocked to see this is already #65!