What lessons have you learned over the past year about remote working?

That productivity is not dependent on location. Actually letting people work where they are most comfortable makes them more productive with better morale.

One of the things I've learned is that there is some misconception in the market about what you can expect with remote work, such as market flexibility. I think many don't actually understand the pros and cons of remote work until they start experiencing it. For example, if you're working remotely, you'll probably work 20-30% more than you would in the office because the assumption is that since you're not commuting, I can schedule a meeting at 8:00AM now. And then with the click of a button, I can summon everyone and have a meeting. So, there are psychological aspects involved that a lot of people still don't understand but they feel that remote working is something they want their companies to do.

We're all in different phases of our lives; we need to recognize and accept that. When I think back to when I started out, one of the greatest enjoyments of work was the social element and being able to make new connections. The idea that we'll all be remote now is great for this phase of my life. It works because I'm at a different point and have a comfortable place that I can work from. But the thought of working out of a pokey studio on East 60th St., and being told to work there for a year and half, just doesn't work. So we need to recognize where people are in terms of life’s phases. You can't forget the human component.

In the survey I did back in January, people were telling me that they felt overwhelmed. That was the specific word they used. And it was a combination of the pandemic and politics, as well as work priorities. As a leader, that was a good reminder that when it comes to what's good for an employee’s mental health and what the work priorities are, there's more to it. It was a good lesson learned—being mindful of that is a good practice to adopt. People have a lot going on in addition to what you're giving them to do day to day.

What's interesting to me about the pivot to remote working is we've gone from overwhelmed to saturated. They feel like their plate is full and they're absorbing as much water as they can. But sometimes that sponge can only take on so much water—how do you help them retain as much water as they need to without feeling like you have to wring them out just so they can do more.