Balancing the workplace scales
Context and relationships in remote and in-person work
Dr. Abdul M. Omari | February/March 2025 Footnote
Remote and in-person work options came to the forefront during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and have continued to be a hot topic for many employers and employees as a patchwork of policies dominate headlines.
It would be foolish to think I can solve this dilemma in one article. That said, I can provide some ideas to help employers and people leaders, in particular, as they consider the challenges and opportunities when making decisions about how — and where — employees work.
I’ve broken these ideas into three broad sections: context, relationships and considerations.
The importance of context
Context should always be at the forefront of employers’ and people leaders’ minds when deciding on an employee’s ability to work remotely. Letting the work lead is a good way to frame our thinking.
For example, it would be unlikely to consider a machinist’s request at a manufacturing company to work remotely — from home or on a month-long escape from a Minnesota winter — when the job requires being in a work facility. However, we should consider a marketer’s option if they are able to perform at the same, or a similar, level as when in our physical workplace.
If you are unsure about an employee’s context, here are some questions to get you started:
- Can someone perform their job outside of the workplace? Think creatively and outside of the box when answering this question. Do not fall into the “we’ve always done it this way” trap.
- What risks are heightened if an employee is working outside of the workplace?
- What might be missing from the employee’s performance by working remotely?
- How will working remotely be valuable to the employee? Think of helping with care for aging or disabled family members, the comfort of working in their own home, or even avoiding microaggressions.
- Have we historically struggled to recruit and retain employees from various demographics? If yes, could hiring from a larger geographic reach help alleviate this struggle?
- Is a new project approaching that would benefit from a specific team working in the office during the early stages? If yes, perhaps the team should come to the office for the first three weeks of the new project, before switching to a remote option.
Considering context also requires that we know the individual roles that are in question and the individual people in those roles.
Accounting for individual people, however, demands that we know our employees well and have relationships with them. Building such relationships requires intentionality, time, care and authentic interest.
The impact of relationships
Relationships can increase workplace happiness. They create a sense of belonging, connectivity to people and the organization, and are a key reason people thrive at work. However, relationships can also be harder to create and foster in the workplace because of age, political affiliation, gender, race, religion, titles, education level, neurodiversity, physical disabilities and more.
Subtle actions rooted in bias, microaggressions and — while less frequent — blatant discrimination, can lead to employees on the receiving end of those exclusive actions to be underemployed or passed over for promotions and raises. Those experiencing these actions may also feel a lack confidence and all of these factors may increase their desire to work remotely.
For some, knowing they could miss opportunities for career advancement or they could be underpaid and be underemployed, are not a deterrent from the desire to work remotely. Sadly, they are forced to choose remote work to avoid the negative personal impacts of being in a physical workplace where they have endured these experiences — knowing their careers and finances could be negatively impacted.
If you are considering ways to encourage your employees’ relationship to your organization, here are some questions to ponder:
- How do we ensure people are evaluated fairly — no matter their venue of work?
- What policies, and personal and professional training/development, do we need in place to treat employees as fairly as possible whether working in our physical buildings or remotely?
- Are we reducing affiliation bias to increase merit as the basis of evaluations?
- How do we build relationships regardless of work venue and differences between people?
Even when we feel we have a grasp on both the context and relationships in our organization, there are still other considerations that impact the discussion around remote work versus in-person work.
Some key considerations
There are both challenges and opportunities for working remotely and in-person that need to be thought through, particularly for employers and people leaders. Although there is no one-size-fits-all answer, there are things to consider when balancing the scales in your workplace.
Remote work opportunities:
- Access to a more diverse pool of talent.
- Easier to connect with others across an organization through employee resource groups.
- Employees can work in their physical comfort zone.
- Potential to have a seat at the table.
- Easier for people to accommodate unknowns, like sick children or the needs of family members.
- Ability to perform healthy activities during the workday (meditation, walks, workout, cook).
- Opportunity for working flex hours.
- Can be off camera if they are having a challenging day.
- Everyone gets the same access to tools and meetings, so it feels more equitable in some ways.
- Fewer office politics, such as missing out on important conversations just because you were not at someone’s desk.
Reducing affiliation bias by creating systems that reward measurable results.
Remote work challenges:
- Limited in-person interactions to learn more about people and their personalities, backgrounds or cultures.
- Missing tone or intention in written communications.
- Building real relationships and trust can take longer.
- Not everyone has the same quality of internet or a home office setup.
- Virtual meetings are not immune from bias, microaggressions and exclusive behaviors, like being ignored or talked over.
- Cannot see when someone is not being treated the same as others — and harder to be noticed and recognized for your work when you are not physically present with others.
- Less visibility with leadership (i.e., no way you will run into them in the elevator by chance).
- Creating strong team connections and culture when not in person.
- Developing authentic mentee-mentor relationships, which could lead to less advocacy for remote employees.
- Allowing some employees to work remote and not others could create a sense of hierarchy based on the department and/or position within your company.
Remote work is here to stay
While there are no easy answers or silver bullets for in-person and remote work, what we know for sure is the desire for remote work is not going away. Let us not forget, albeit at a smaller scale, remote and telework have been around for decades within various industries and global/transnational companies. As your organization continues to strike the balance and remain competitive, take into account context and relationships, and the many considerations presented in this article to guide your decision-making.
Dr. Abdul M. Omari is the founder and principal of AMO Enterprise, a consulting firm focused on forging leaders who value inclusion and belonging as cornerstones of success. You can find out more at www.abdulmomari.com. You may reach him at abdul@amoenterprise.com.
