Over the past couple of weeks, I've been working on my master's, attending a conference (shout out to the really excellent Women in Product 24!), and battling the worst cold I've had in years. All of this has me thinking about remote work and why I love it so much, both for myself and for my product teams.
What's that? You don't see the connection? Well, it's because both my master's program and the conference are 100% online which means I can go to the sessions of the conference I want to attend, and then work with my partners on a paper due in one of my classes in the off-times. And I can do both of these things from my house without worrying about getting anyone else sick or interrupting a speaker with the constant coughing. I've even had the freedom to just take a nap, when I need one.
As far as I'm concerned, working remotely is great for workers, great for leaders, and great for companies. The pandemic showed us it could be done in an emergency, but now it's time to think about what that looks like long-term.
Why many PMs like being remote
I'm not going to pretend that every product manager everywhere prefers remote work, but certainly for some, it's very high on their list of requirements. PMs who are remote tend to love it because:
They already spend a good portion of each day in meetings with people from across the country and sometimes even the globe, and it's much easier to have meetings from home than to fight over an available conference room in the office.
They don't have a commute, which means a better work-life balance.
They can better handle being sick, which historically was an all-or-nothing choice between coming into the office (and get everyone else sick too) or staying home but getting nothing done. When they are remote, they can work when they feel up to it and lie down when they need a break.
They can schedule around the things that matter, like walking their daughter to school in the morning or running a quick errand in the afternoon, while still having the flexibility to get their work done.
They can work the way they want to work. Want a cat on your lap? Check. Want to play music loudly between meetings? Check. Want to wear your comfy pants and no shoes? Check.
Basically, for many people, working remote improves their quality of life and increases their happiness. And having happier workers is not just about being a good leader, it's also good for business. According to Forbes, happy employees are up to 20% more productive and highly engaged teams are 21% more profitable.
Why remote is also good for leaders & companies
In addition to the happiness boost, remote workers also benefit the company in other ways:
You get your pick of the best people, no matter where they live. No more settling.
No more snow days or bad traffic days.
Everyone is on an equal footing when we are a little square in a virtual meeting, which means we can somewhat combat the effect of the HiPPO in the room. It also means that it's easier to get everyone you need into meetings, even if they aren't in the same physical office as the rest.
According to Laura Mae Martin in her book Uptime, "the key to your best creative thinking is being alone and in silence." It's not the incidental meeting around the water cooler that leads to the best ideas; it's when we have quiet to put together two different thoughts that we get innovation.
It's cheaper! When you do need to have in-person meetings, it probably costs a lot less to fly everyone together a few times a year than to pay for an expensive office year round. Even paying for regular co-working spaces likely costs less in most cities.
Is there a place still for in-office and/or hybrid teams?
Absolutely! Maybe you have clients that frequently come into your office for in-person visits. Maybe your key users are physically close so using the office as a "home base" for visiting them makes sense. Maybe you have frequent complex issues that require all hands on deck, though hopefully this isn't a permanent condition!
And honestly, many people prefer to simply work in an office part or all of the time, whether it be because they can't or don't like to work at their homes or because they feel more productive when they are in a social environment. Having options for all kinds of folks is good!
In the end, we need to do what's best for our people so they can be at their happiest and most productive, and what is best for our companies so we can fulfill our mission and goals. Yes, remote work has challenges, but those can be tackled if we do it deliberately; in fact, I have a future post planned about that very topic.
In the meantime, I urge business leaders to give remote work a chance, even though the pandemic crisis has passed. Like everything else, we need to be willing to take a fresh look at how (and where!) to do business. We should experiment, get feedback, and then iterate. It's what we product people do best, after all.
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