The Future of Remote Work in 2022

[Amy]

2021 was definitely a strong year in the working remotely world, with many of us set to continue to work from home in 2022. For a lot of people, work moved from the kitchen table or the couch in 2020 to a longer term solution, whether it’s a better desk, a co-working space or just a more flexible way of working. And now, as we go into 2022, work continues to evolve, but what can we expect from the future of remote work? Well, we’re not claiming to be clairvoyant but we were very inspired by some of the points made over on the Work In Progress blog, by Sally Zhang, and here are some tips based on some of those predictions. 

Our remote working tools will get better at capturing emotion

“The more people are communicating, the less isolated they feel, which is especially important with remote work. And with [communication] tools, we’re collaborating more synchronously, which allows us to move much faster and become more efficient. But aside from the technical features, there’s still a question mark about reading people’s emotions in the same way you can in person. How do I build emotional trust even though we’re virtual??”

—Sophie Leroy is an associate professor of management at the University of Washington Bothell. Her research investigates the effects of interruptions on our ability to have focused attention. 

I know it’s not the same, but working with a team who are very emoji friendly definitely helps to keep my mood up throughout the day. Emails always felt too formal and a little intense to me, but Paper notification, especially if they’re accompanied by a little emoji can really help you to feel you are reading your teammates comments in the right tone. If the future of work looks to be remote for you, try building digital conversation with a personal touch using Emojis, they make a difference 😁

Want some other Paper tips to keep your team in the loop? We’ve got you! 

Do you use emojis when you work on Paper docs with your team? 

We’ll re-examine how and how often we meet 

“Many companies are now on the hybrid model. In a hybrid world, it's really important to make sure you're giving equal airtime to people on the screen and people in the room […] It also makes more sense to have frequent, shorter check-ins with people. So maybe two or three 15-minute check-ins in the course of a week [works best]. ”

—Kim Scott has amassed years of knowledge and experience in communication and culture in the corporate world. 

If you’re not using Capture yet - you should be. Share updates with your team quickly, but still with that human touch. Tools like Capture are the future of remote working, allowing for quick updates without heavily interrupting workflow. It means that not everything has to be a meeting or an email, there is an in between that keeps you in the loop, but also keeps you in the picture - literally. Check out how Amelia uses Capture here. 

We’ll learn to be even more resilient

“Remote workers will have to continue figuring out how to lead a balanced life. Stability and consistency are hard to attain in our lives because our routines have been lost and disrupted. Since stability is kind of tricky to find externally right now, you have to start looking internally. […] Pause in a way that feels right for you. It’s important to slow down and think about how you’re feeling right now.”

—Roger Leu is a mental health clinician based in the San Francisco Bay Area. His technique focuses on individualized and gradual healing.

We’ve definitely all learned a lot over the last two years on how to keep the lights on when things are a little all over the palce and that can only come from being resilient. We’ve changed where we work, how we work, when we work and we’re still getting it done! So why not take some of the thinking out of your daily tasks and use our Cheat Sheet to keep you on track? 

Will you be working from home this year? How do you think the way you work will change in 2022?