About Buckhead reporter. (Sandy Springs, GA) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (April 2, 2020)
BH 10 | Commentary Facebook.com/TheReporterNewspapers ■ twitter.com/Reporter_News Reporter Newspapers Our mission is to provide our readers with fresh and engaging information about life in their communities. Published by Springs Publishing LLC 6065 Roswell Road, Suite 225 Sandy Springs, GA 30328 Phone: 404-917-2200 • Fax: 404-917-2201 Brookhaven Reporter | Buckhead Reporter Dunwoody Reporter | Sandy Springs Reporter www.ReporterNewspapers.net Atlanta INtown www.AtlantaINtownPaper.com Atlanta Senior Life wwwAtlantaSeniorLife.com CONTACT US Founder & Publisher Steve Levene stevelevene@reporternewspapers.net Editorial Managing Editor John Ruch johnruch@reporternewspapers.net INtown Editor: Collin Kelley Editor-at-Large Joe Earle Staff Writers Dyana Bagby, Hannah Greco Creative and Production Creative Director Rico Figliolini rico@reporternewspapers.net Graphic Designer Quinn Bookalam Advertising Director of Sales Development Amy Arno amyarno@reporternewspapers.net Sales Executives Jeff Kremer, Janet Porter, Cory Anne Charles Office Manager Deborah Davis deborahdavis@reporternewspapers.net Contributors Robin Conte, Kathy Dean, Kevin C. Madigan, Phil Mosier, Carol Niemi, Judith Schonbalc, Jaclyn Turner Free Home Delivery 60,000 copies of Reporter Newspapers are mailed monthly to homes in ZIP codes 30305,30319,30326, 30327,30328,30338, 30342 and 30350 and delivered to more than 200 business/retail locations. For delivery requests, please email delivery@reporternewspapers.net Honored as a newspaper of General Excellence © 2020 with all rights reserved Publisher reserves the right to refuse editorial or advertising for any reason. Publisher assumes no responsibility for information contained in advertising. Any opinions expressed in print or online do not necessarily represent the views of Reporter Newspapers or Springs Publishing, LLC. Commentary: How you work may never be the same 2020 is not off to the start many of us expected. Anxiety is high and social distancing restricts much of what we rely on. But I have some good news: The way we work may never be the same. Recent efforts to fight the spread of the coronavirus means the number of people working from home—also known as “telecommuting” or “remote work”—has skyrocketed. This time last year, only about 11% of employees were telecommuting. Most people (76% , according to 2019 Atlanta Regional Commission commute data) were driving alone to work every day. Despite advances in technology, the 9-to-5 office “workweek” remains the same as it was in the 1960s. We haven’t tapped into the power of virtual con nectivity on a large scale yet. Until now, of course. And while this may feel like a forced experiment, it is also a tremendous op portunity. Imagine what could happen if working from home just one day a week becomes the new normal. Of course, not everyone can or will choose to telework. Service and indus trial jobs don’t have the luxury. But everyone who does will benefit both themselves and everyone else. People who work from home will save 168 hours every year. That’s seven full days every year to spend with fam ily, work or relax, rather than drive a car. That change could decrease traffic deaths and congestion. Lead to reduced carbon emissions directly and from less traffic. Save businesses and fami lies money. But will companies keep their em ployees teleworking once this crisis is over? Yes, though It probably won’t be for five days a week for weeks at a time. Many local organizations have al ready been encouraging telework. Mer cedes-Benz USA and Cox Enterprises both use part-time remote work to re cruit and retain the best people. Howev er, many companies worry about mak ing such a big shift in their cultures. Even experienced managers need train ing to connect their teams from a dis tance. The transition to remote work is not about technology. It’s about leader ship. This is why 2020 could change ev erything. Organizations that were once slow to change now face a choice: tele work or shut down. Employees are be ing trained and IT systems tested. This isn’t an ideal situation to start telework ing, though, and it’s been bumpy so far (more on that in a second). But if things settle down and people see what’s pos sible, the workweek could finally step into a new era. To telework well, meetings need clear agendas. Managers need to set clear expectations. Employees need to be responsible for their performance. These are business practice improve ments companies would love to see happen regardless of work locations. Businesses are having growing pains as they transition to teleworking. It’s hard to put into place quality, sustain able systems. But there are a lot of great resources out there to help you and your colleagues. Businesses and man agers must make expectations clear, and teams must communicate effec tively. This is a crucible by conference call. Take the time to build buy-in, make this the new normal, and equip manag ers for success. Hold dedicated training sessions. Bring in experts. Try things SPECIAL Johann Weber is the program manager for the Perimeter Connects program of the Perimeter Community Improvement Districts. out. Build a formal policy based on what works for your company. Use vid eo calls just to let team members catch up and socialize. The most important thing for every one to remember: This is not an opti mal situation. Be patient with each oth er. You or your colleagues may be stuck balancing work and taking care of chil dren. Everyone is stressed that they will get sick or a loved one will. A lot of the ordinary “rules” for good telework practice are going to be bent or broken. The hours that people will be available may change day-to-day. But if we do this teleworking thing right, it will improve our jobs and our quality of life. Less stress. Less pollu tion. More time with family. Better em ployee productivity. The reality of work in 2021 may be something to celebrate. Reporter Newspapers ReporterNewspapers.net YOUR LOCAL DAILY NEWS ONLINE - EVERY DAY
