Over the past year, I've spoken with many classes about the shift toward remote work, which is increasingly becoming permanent. Companies are taking different approaches: some have completely ended remote work, requiring employees to return to the office full-time, while others have fully embraced remote work with flexible "essential hours" and virtual communication. As remote work remains popular, it's important to ensure that employee learning adapts to this new...

In the realm of remote work, the necessity of taking a lunch break often gets overlooked. Just like in traditional office settings these breaks are crucial for the health and productivity of remote workers. Let's explore why lunch breaks matter for those working remotely and how they contribute to overall well-being and efficiency.

In the age of remote work, the home office has become the new norm for many professionals. The appeal of flexible schedules, no commute, and the comfort of familiar surroundings has drawn countless workers away from traditional office settings. Amidst these conveniences, however, lies a lesser-discussed challenge: loneliness.

Return to office efforts are starting to wane.  Just 6 out of 158 CEOs in the United States have indicated their intent to prioritize the return of employees to full-time office work in 2024, according to a recent survey conducted by The Conference Board.

Earlier this month ASE released the results of our 2023 Workplace Flexibility Survey, and to no surprise, a majority of employers offer some form of remote or hybrid work. This new way of working necessitates that employers develop solutions to the challenges hybrid and remote work present.

Troy, MI – July 28, 2023 --- ASE, one of the nation’s oldest and largest employer associations, has released its 2023 Workplace Flexibility Survey.  The survey examines the current work arrangements offered by Michigan employers.  Data shows that the most common flexible work arrangement offered is remote work.

According to FlexJobs’ 2023 Work Insights Survey of over 5,600 people, 96% of workers believe a remote or hybrid work arrangement is best for their mental health. Only 4% of workers thought being in an office full-time is best for their mental health. A decreased stress level was the top reported health benefit of remote work.

About half of workers are not fully engaged in their jobs, according to a study conducted by Gallup. This means they are only doing the minimum required to get by – not good for employers. This drop in employee engagement has happened two years in a row. But why?

Opponents of remote work often cite lack of engagement and reduced productivity as reasons why they prefer employees in the office. While work habits have changed since the influx of remote work in 2020, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s changed for the worse.

Since the start of the COVID pandemic employers have changed the definition of work to include working away from the office and usually (not always) in an employee’s home. To accommodate a productive and legal work from home policy, HR Morning, an HR consulting firm, identifies five pitfalls to avoid when creating your policy.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2020, many employees began working from home. Although some companies have gone back to in-person work, other companies have realized they are able to function just as well remotely, without any negative effects on productivity.

A recent article published in CCH HRAnswersNow Expert Insights looks at the issue of FMLA coverage for remote workers. In this case, a person worked from their home which was well outside what could be reasonably considered within the coverage area of the FMLA.

As the pandemic has put immense pressure on government employees to deliver public services, new research finds that teleworking has improved team performance. 46% of government employees who telework—both fully remote and hybrid employees—say their team’s performance improved during the past two years. Only 35% of in-person government workers say their team’s performance has improved during the period, according to new research from Eagle Hill Consulting.

MRA, one of ASE’s sister associations located in Wisconsin and Illinois, released the results of their latest Hot Topic Survey on Remote Work and Inflation.  The survey revealed that remote work has become one of the most valued benefits companies can offer.

Elon Musk recently met with the staff of twitter and during that meeting he talked about his 7-word rule for working remote – “if somebody is exceptional at their job.”

As employers move further into remote work arrangements (full-time, part-time, hybrid) with their employees, a basic understanding of the state’s workers’ compensation law is important.

We are still waiting for the moment where we feel confident to say the worst of COVID is behind us and it’s downgraded to an endemic.  When that happens, we will take stock of the pandemic’s legacy on the workplace.  A recent working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research makes the case that remote work will be one of those artifacts from the pandemic.

One of the number one arguments I hear against remote work is maintaining the workplace culture that was established prior to COVID. But I think, in some cases, if the right adjustments were made, culture was improved or at least maintained.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic hit, remote work has been the biggest trend impacting the way businesses operate. There is one growing group of workers: digital nomads. These are people who embrace a location-independent, technology-enabled lifestyle. Unlike regular remote workers, who tend to stay in one place or shuttle back and forth between their home and a vacation retreat, digital nomads travel and explore the world while working.

The pandemic and tight job market might have your organization considering bringing on remote employees who live far away from your office location. But this can create lots of questions for hiring managers. Before jumping in, read these pros and cons.

Michigan’s business leaders see robust growth ahead in the state’s economy during the next six to 12 months and plan a return to in-person office work in the 3^rd (48%) and 4^th (31%) quarters of this year, according to a quarterly economic survey completed by Business Leaders for Michigan. Only 10% have already returned.

In ASE’s latest COVID-19 Business Impact Survey, over 52% of Michigan employers report that some staff will work remotely on a regular full-time basis after the pandemic, if their job allows it. Nationally, more than 80% of employers describe that their organizations’ shift to remote work during the pandemic has been successful, and nearly 40% have reported an increase in productivity, according to a recent Pearl Meyer survey.

More than two-thirds (68%) of U.S. workers prefer a hybrid workplace model after the pandemic ends, according to Prudential’s Pulse of the American Worker survey, conducted by Morning Consult in March. Of those surveyed who have been working remotely, 87% want to continue to work remotely at least one day per week post-pandemic.

A recent EPTW poll showed that 61% of respondents were feeling zoom fatigue, and now there is research to confirm that it’s real.  Stanford Virtual Human Interaction Lab (VHIL) examined the psychological consequences of spending hours per day on video platforms and found that video calls are tiring people out – creating zoom fatigue.

Can you believe it’s been nearly one year since the pandemic closed offices and forced remote work?  We’ve all had to make adjustments over the past year.  There have been varied levels of success with remote work, much of it dependent on how well the organization was able to adjust and embrace employees working from their homes.