It is not a secret anymore that remote working has become the new normal for the majority of people around the world. Even though the vaccine becomes widely available, many companies have already decided that remote work is here to stay. Some may even continue working in a hybrid format, but few of them return to full working from an office.
And the last year of the pandemic, which also made remote work the new normal, came with consequences also. Remote work was not something many people knew how to relate to and adapt to but something they all yearned for. It came with both advantages and disadvantages for many people who were forced to shift immediately from office work to work from home. A change so abrupt can seriously damage your working style, flow, productivity, and creativity.
However, after over a year of working remotely or from home, some conclusions can be drawn. In 2021, business owners, managers, team leaders, and employees alike need to focus on remote work creativity. Creativity might have been halted by last year, but in some cases, it was boosted considerably. Deciding upon where you are the most creative, in the office or at home, is not important anymore.
Remote work is here to stay because it brings many benefits both for employees and employers. People have already adapted to this new way of working. But creativity is something everyone should pay attention to in the following months. So, are you asking yourself why you should focus on remote work creativity in 2021? Find out the answer below.
If remote work is here to stay or not is already a question that has been answered. Remote work is the new normal, so team leaders and employees need to focus on boosting creativity during this time. While some people feel better and more comfortable when working from home, others have to adapt and create a dedicated working space. The main problem that was on the minds of most people was how to continue to be productive. Few of them have thought about creativity, which is so essential to every working process. Those businesses and companies that will create the means necessary to help employees boost their creativity will be the ones that will thrive.
Even though some might argue against working from home, it has indeed boosted the productivity of employees. This is because the traditional office space has evolved a lot during the last few years. Open space offices have become the new normal. But at the same time, they halted the creativity and productivity of many employees. There is always someone speaking, people are moving behind you, someone is asking you a question, and so on. Creativity is not something that happens in any environment or context. Instead, you need to be able to focus, to hear your thoughts, to be relaxed and at peace. You need to have the perfect environment that allows you to think and ideas to spark. And for the great majority of people, working from home has created just that.
When remote work has been established around the world due to the world pandemic, employees, team leaders, and companies alike are worried about productivity. After a life of working in an office, shifting to working remotely surely came with consequences. And most companies thought that the levels of productivity will decrease considerably, which comes with consequences for the entire business. There are many tips and tricks employees could apply when working from home to boost their productivity.
But as the focus of all people is on this, creativity is neglected. And the thing is that automation and artificial intelligence will boost the productivity of many employees. Why? Because it will make some of the processes more efficient and less time and energy-consuming. Employees will have time to focus on more complex and difficult tasks. So, productivity has become a thing of the past. Creativity is for the future. The time employees save after automating some of their tasks could be invested into processes that foster creativity.
Creativity is still a thing that is not entirely understood by companies and businesses. Many of them focus on the profits they make. And the thing that stays at the base of their profit is the productivity of the employees. Or so they think. But in a world where technological advancements are so diverse and where automation and artificial intelligence are more and more present, creativity is the one that will make the difference.
Yes, your profits will increase depending on how productive your employees are. But the world is wanting something more. To thrive, you need to come up with new ideas, with new and novel products or services. You need to change something to help the company thrive even more. What differentiates you from your competitors? Now it may be your commitment, your services, your products. But what should you do to keep the balance in your favour? Focus on remote work creativity. Productivity can be easily achieved by following a strict schedule, identifying your most productive times, and keeping distractions away. But creativity? How is it nurtured? It is a resource that is more and more scarce, but it is one of the most valuable ones. This is why companies need to focus on nurturing creativity and fostering a creative working process.
As we have mentioned earlier, most companies and businesses focus on boosting the productivity of employees who are working remotely. This is because productivity might be easier to measure than creativity. Productivity is often measured in the number of hours or resources invested in a task. Employees have to log in their working hours and managers can easily notice and measure their productivity. But creativity?
Creativity does not happen at command. Instead, to be creative, you need a safe and secure environment. You need to feel that your team manager understands the whole creative process and allows you to focus on it. Creativity cannot be done in front of a laptop, at an office, just as productivity is nurtured. Creativity means taking your mind off what you have to do and giving you the time and space to think freely about a topic.
It is therefore important, as writers say at this site, to avoid micromanagement and other techniques that halt creativity. Instead, as a team leader or business owner, you need to encourage your employees to think creatively. When they feel that you understand and trust the process, they will be more relaxed and ideas will spark in their heads. Remote work indeed poses some challenges, but team leaders can foster creativity by organizing brainstorming sessions. Moreover, employees could have some hours per week to allocate to boosting their creativity.
Remote work is here to stay and everyone is aware of this. Even though some companies have returned to working from an office, the great majority decided on a hybrid working style or they stayed with the remote one. The working environment is different now, after more than a year with a global pandemic. At first, everyone focused on productivity. There still are companies and people who do this and completely forget about creativity. Even though productivity is an important aspect, it will be boosted even more by the implementation of automation & AI solutions, as well as other tools being developed. So, creativity is the one that will make the difference between competitors. Creativity is the one that will make businesses thrive. Creativity is the thing that will make the world flourish, so make sure you choose to boost and nurture it as well as you can.