O
Remote Work Policies Should
Now Stress Flexibility
By Roy Maurer
April 2, 2020
rganizations are implementing remote-work arrangements for their employees due to the COVID-
19 coronavirus outbreak—many for the first time—and need to be able to outline expectations and
guidelines for working outside the oce.
Generally, remote-work policies cover eligibility, working expectations, legal considerations and technology
issues (www.shrm.org/ResourcesAndTools/tools-and-samples/policies/Pages/telecommuting_policy.aspx),
but, during these extraordinary circumstances, flexibility is paramount.
We’re undergoing one of the biggest changes in history in how people work, said Brian Kropp, chief of
research in the HR practice at Gartner, a research and advisory firm in Arlington, Va. “We have a set of
people who have never worked from home who are now doing it full time. We also have a set of managers
who have never managed people working from home. Under these circumstances, the policies shouldn’t
be thought of as managing productivity, but more a set of guidelines and norms for people managing and
working in a brand-new way.“
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Kropp said that employers should design their remote-work policies around outcomes, not workflows and
processes. “The idea is that employees are expected to accomplish their goals, but how they do it and
when they do it is flexible.”
Just applying a traditional telecommuting policy to all workers during this unprecedented situation will lead
to problems, Kropp said. “Look at your current policy and see what makes sense in this situation, and, if
you’re not sure, lean toward flexibility and trust as opposed to measuring and monitoring your employees.
If employees are not given flexibility, it will be harder for them in their personal lives and they will feel that
they are not trusted, which will come back to bite the organization when we come out of this.“
Gregory Abrams, an attorney in the Chicago oce of Faegre Drinker, said that being flexible with remote
workers right now is not only good management practice but necessary, considering the quickly changing
legal landscape.
“Clear policies are always advisable, but employers must be ready to adjust quickly as circumstances
change,” he said, noting that new Department of Labor guidelines could aect remote work. “Policies
should clarify that expectations are subject to change quickly and unexpectedly given the current climate.“
With flexibility as a guide, there are certain core elements of working from home that should be addressed
in a written policy.
