Remote Working Tips and Tools

I turn on the computer and there they pop. The three Google Docs that I was working on yesterday now have my colleague’s comments appended. I chat with him in Slack to clarify what he meant. It only takes two minutes, even though we’re an eight-hour plane ride away.

Next tab is for Trello. That’s where we brainstorm ideas for our content calendar. I do it while my colleagues are sleeping, and they add ideas while I’m having breakfast.

Once we week, we catch up on Skype to get on the same page. It’s easy. It’s effective. And it’s flexible for everyone.

And we’re not alone in these habits. In the 2015 PGi Global Telework Survey, a whopping 79 percent of surveyed knowledge workers around the world worked outside the office. And the trend of working remotely – whether as an employee, an entrepreneur, or a freelancer – is only expected to grow in the next decade.

Naturally, the number of tools meant to assist in remote work is also on the rise. Dailybitsof.com asked nine remote workers what tools they use daily. Here is what they shared:

Japanese Workers Really Distrust Their Employers

A long economic slump has broken the once-unshakable devotion of the "salarymen."

Lifetime employment sounds like a great thing, but not if you hate where you work. That seems to be the plight of Japanese “salarymen” and “office ladies.”

Only 22 percent of Japanese workers have “a great deal of trust” in their employers, which is way below the average of eight countries surveyed, according to a new report by EY, the global accounting and consulting firm formerly known as Ernst & Young. And it's not just the companies: Those employees are no more trusting of their bosses or colleagues, the study found. By contrast, about two-thirds of workers in India and Mexico had a great deal of trust in their employers. 

The EY study confirms other research, including Aon's employee engagement survey and Edelman's annual trust barometer, and comes as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been looking to shake up Japan's hidebound corporate culture. The irony is that Japan was identified as a high-trust society by Francis Fukuyama in his 1995 book, Trust: The Social Virtues and the Creation of Prosperity. That may have been true once, but Japan's long economic slump, which had already begun by the time Fukuyama's book came out, seems to have worn away that goodwill.  Read full report on Bloomberg

How a values-driven culture will help your business attract and retain top talent

Much has been made recently about millennials in the workplace, and with good reason: they are now the largest demographic in the workforce, and more than half are considering leaving their current position within three years, according to a 2015 study conducted by Elance.

These statistics can be alarming to business leaders attempting to build a committed and engaged employee base.

As a result, many companies are scrambling to implement targeted strategies that will attract and retain the generation’s top talent. The focus has been in the development of benefits and programs that speak directly to the oft-discussed ideals of millennials with regards to community involvement and positive social impact.

However, engineering an organization’s culture to attract a specific demographic is a dangerous game that could result in an unstable foundation. Instead, the culture must be driven by what the firm values, and must be rooted in its vision and business purpose. Read more on Globe & Mail

How would you define your company’s culture? A 4Cs Employee Survey from Insightlink can help you.

Engagement and Purpose-Driven Work - A Natural Fit!

Back in the days of the dinosaur, the Bob the caveman would leave home, go to work, and eight hours later bring home a brontosaurus for his cavewoman, Sally, to cook. That was his purpose – he was the hunter and gatherer.

In 2016, a few things have changed. Sally has joined the ranks of the hunter/gatherer, and, depending on who arrives home first, Bob is cooking the Bronto-burgers.
However, there are things that have not changed. Employees are still looking for a purpose to their lives. Consider the fact that employees spend 40 hours/week, 160 hours/month, and 1920 hours/year working, mostly away from home doing a job for someone else's profit. Their reward – a modest paycheck, time off when sick, time off for a little fun, and a gold watch upon retirement (if you’re lucky).

So the desire to have a purpose for all this time away from family – beyond the paycheck – is extreme in an increasing number of employees. “I know my job is to tighten this screw on this doohickey, and do it well, but why am I doing it? Why is it so important? That word – important – is what is paramount to these employees. They want to believe they are doing something important. Bringing home a dino for the family was very important but tightening screws, maybeeeeee not so much. Read full article on Examiner.com