Remote - much more than a pandemic response

In the last post, metanoy positioned itself so that readers could find out what values and ideals we stand for and follow as a company. We already introduced our four standards: remote, organic, social and specific. Now let's go into a little more detail, starting with remote.

For our article on remote working, we need to go back to the 1980s. A key term for our topic is New Work. It was defined and developed by the social philosopher Prof. Dr. Frithjof Bergmann in his study of human freedom. (1) The focus was on making sense of the changes in the world of work that were already emerging at that time: How can we benefit from progress in our daily work? Innovative technology, demographic changes and new communication channels call for an adapted workplace - a call to use what is available to us to exploit every potential.

What exactly does remote mean? According to the definition in the Duden dictionary, it means "not in the immediate vicinity, but connected to each other (e.g. by computers and communications equipment)".(2) The idea behind this is to give the employee (almost) complete access to documents or the like from any digital device, with appropriate security measures of course. German legislation regulates remote working in two ways: Teleworking and mobile working. At metanoy, we focus on mobile working, but complement it with many of the positive aspects of teleworking, for example in terms of health. We also invest effort, time and money to ensure that our employees have an optimal and ergonomic workplace.

Since 2020, many employees have been introduced to teleworking as part of the coronavirus measures. For protection, to avoid large and small gatherings of people. New Work throughout Germany, but not from the philosophical approach that Bergmann had in mind, but rather as a means to an end. For us at metanoy, remote is more than just a measure to limit contact. Even before the coronavirus, we saw it as the working model of the future - for us, it's a new way of working that's worth trying out.

Why working remotely makes sense - for the environment and your wallet

• It's a fact that modern working from home is really good for the environment and city centres. If just 40% of the workforce worked from home just 2 days a week on a permanent basis, CO2 emissions from transport could be reduced by 5.4 million tonnes a year.(3) When it comes to CO2, it's obviously the right thing to do and better for the environment. When you look at other aspects, such as electricity consumption, it doesn't make much difference: whether you use your computer at home or in the office makes little difference to the environment. The comparison portal Verivox commissioned a study and had various calculations made. According to the portal's energy experts, a day spent working from home costs employees less than one euro per day on average. The cost is made up of the electricity consumed by a desktop computer (including screen, mouse and keyboard) and the energy needed to prepare lunch. "The additional electricity costs of working from home are likely to be less than one euro per working day," says Valerian Vogel, energy expert at Verivox.(4) However, these home office costs are tax deductible. New tax laws have been drafted for 2020/21, so it is now possible to claim a lump sum of 5€ per day for working from home.(5) Under these circumstances, it is even less attractive for employers to rent (several) open-plan offices.

Remote working offers employees a high degree of flexibility: almost complete freedom to manage their time, without the stress of missing the train in the morning or being stuck in a traffic jam. The working day starts flexibly and independently of company structures. Employer and employee enter into a relationship of great trust. In addition, it is possible to work from anywhere, because it is irrelevant whether the laptop is opened in Munich or Barcelona. Even employees who "only" work from home can organise their daily lives more freely thanks to remote working, a very family-friendly way of working. The time saved can also be used in many other areas, such as sport, further education or other social contacts or hobbies.

In order for remote working to run smoothly in the long term, it is necessary for the employee to have a complete workplace at home, ideally an office. In addition to the technical equipment, this includes a desk, a suitable chair, sufficient lighting and a stable internet connection. These are requirements that not everyone can provide. 
The "extra time", which is actually a positive aspect of working from home, can also become a burden. (Young) career starters in particular seek contact with colleagues in the office. Taking a coffee break together or going out for a drink after work may be missing for those who have not yet started a family and have fewer other personal commitments. It is therefore important to ensure that remote working does not become a psychological burden, as the workplace and its immediate surroundings are often an important social stabiliser. In general, the work-life balance should not be ignored; working hours should always be respected, even when in the middle of a workflow, as this is the only way for the employee to benefit from the "extra time". We also pay attention to this within the management team; we see it as our responsibility to ensure that our employees are doing well. "It is easy to work overtime when business matters are dealt with in your spare time and not recorded. The pressure to perform when working from home is often much higher as the visibility of work is compromised. [...] the lack of physical separation gets in the way of switching off."(6)

At the beginning of the pandemic, it was exciting for us to see how companies set up a remote working structure on an ad hoc basis. They switched to a concept that is now part of our everyday life. At metanoy, we're scattered all over Germany, and now the UK, and you wouldn't know it because we come together every day and work together - but everyone works from home or wherever their laptop is.
We help companies go digital, and it's not just about converting analogue working methods to digital. We have REMSKA in mind for our employees, but also for our customers. REMSKA stands for REMote working SKills for All. Specifically, it is about offering every employee the same conditions, whether through technical equipment(7) (digital workplace) or through appropriate training and education.(8) Above all, as an employer, we want to have a positive influence on the conditions in the workplace: we take the above-mentioned framework parameters very seriously in order to ensure a healthy working atmosphere. As a company, we are not confined to one location. With our concept, you can work together in high quality from anywhere.
 Everything takes place in designated, structurally anchored, virtual public areas. In this way, we provide unified, shared areas for the central management of all elements that are part of everyday working life. A team at metanoy can centrally access all necessary tools, systems and artifacts, work on them simultaneously and discuss them in meetings. This allows us to achieve an extremely high level of transparency and openness - from internal communication and central meeting calendars to file storage. We have several public (group) chat rooms, which means that if two people are discussing something, other people can read and take notice. For us, this has a touch of the open-plan office, but there are also 1:1 chat rooms, depending on what needs to be discussed. This authenticity is very important to us at metanoy: every conversation, every decision, every document is in the right place and can be understood by anyone who knows a little about the structure of the company. This is how we achieve a sincere, honest and open way of working. In work sessions, we work together on projects, fine-tune them, or consolidate individual work steps. For us, distributed collaboration means that a unit (a team) works with different tools and media. It doesn't really matter whether we work together face-to-face or remotely.

As well as this idea works for us, we are aware that a "real" meeting cannot be created digitally. Twice a year, we invite all employees to an event. We spend a few days together: eating together, working on workshops, playing games and talking - growing together as a team, getting to know each other. We think this is important to make remote working work even better. 
We also meet digitally with all employees on a regular basis for team-building activities, such as an online escape room. People come together without a specific work background, solve puzzles together, laugh, and have a good time. We also have a coffee corner, a digital space where people can talk about personal things. We also have a sports program for our employees twice a week. The goal of metaFit is to actively counteract the daily routine in front of the computer, for example through yoga or other stretching exercises, everyone in front of the computer, with a webcam of course. We think our concept is really good, but we are always looking to evolve - both as a company and as an employer. One idea is to allow employees to work directly with each other in co-working spaces in the future. Other promising ideas are waiting to be refined and implemented.

Obviously, not every profession can be performed remotely. Tradespeople, nurses, doctors, caregivers, garbage collectors, and retail workers, to name a few, will need to travel to their workplace. However, there are many jobs and professions that worked very well remotely during the pandemic. This makes it all the more surprising that there are still employers who want to go back to the old model, even though the benefits are clear. Perhaps it would at least make sense to consider a hybrid approach?


However, we do not see a hybrid model as rigidly sticking to an inflexible solution of "X days per week maximum remote", but rather as a flexible solution based on demand. It must be possible - or become possible - to work together across locations, regardless of where individual employees live. It is up to the individual to decide when and how remote working is the right choice. While this requires a degree of personal responsibility and self-reflection, it also provides flexibility.

In this way, social contacts are maintained, but unnecessary travel, which costs time and emits CO2, can be avoided. At metanoy, an important factor for the good implementation of our remote working model is that every employee has a high-quality camera on his or her PC, so we don't just write and talk to each other, we also see each other - even if it's only eye contact at a distance via a screen: we see each other, smile at each other and thus have real social contact.

A study by the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) in Nuremberg, Germany, concluded that 13% of employees' productivity decreases when working from home.(9) However, the same IAB study also shows that motivation increases by 22%, partly due to the time saved by not having to commute, for example. metanoy can only report positive results and we have found that our employees work very effectively. There is no deterrent to applying for a job with us because you would have to move away from your familiar surroundings for the new job. On the contrary, working remotely means a high degree of flexibility, trust and ownership. Weekly meetings or Jour Fixes provide some structure, but independent time management is possible. This takes work-life balance to a new level. Eating lunch together or picking up the kids from school, sports or daycare can be arranged without having to take a full or half day off. The elimination of the commute to work is not only a relief for nature, but also an enormous improvement in time management.

In summary, the idea of a hybrid model seems to be very promising for the masses: less work in the office, more work from home. Nevertheless, there is still a workplace, a place where employees can meet. It is a model that could be implemented in many areas. It would ease the burden on the environment and city centers, and give employees more flexibility.

At metanoy, we want to be pioneers in the field of 100% remote working and serve as a working example of how effective and future-proof this way of working is. We are proud of our concept and hope to inspire one or two employers.

The next post will be about organic: another important cornerstone of our values.

1. Vgl.: Bergmann, Frithjof: Neue Arbeit, neue Kultur. 2017.
2. https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/remote (25.01.2021).
3. Quelle: Das hat die Berliner Denkfabrik IZT im Auftrag von Greenpeace errechnet. Zur ganzen Studie:  https://act.gp/31c7XZP (30.10.2021).
4. Siehe: https://wohnglueck.de/artikel/corona-homeoffice-stromkosten-36182 (10.01.2022).
5. Vgl.: https://wohnglueck.de/artikel/corona-homeoffice-stromkosten (10.02.2022).
6. Siehe: https://www.capterra.com.de/blog/1934/work-life-blending (10.01.2022).
7. Vgl.: Report: Homeoffice: Was wir aus der Zeit der Pandemie für die zukünftige Gestaltung von Homeoffice lernen können. Zucco, Aline; Zucco, Aline; Ahlers, Elke. 2021.
8. Vgl.: Siegl, Anna: Remote Working Skills: Empirische Evidenz über die Relevanz und den Bedarf aus sechs EU-Ländern. Forschungsbericht im Rahmen des Projektes „REMSKA – Remote Working Skills for All“. Hamburg, 2021.
9. Vgl.: Josephine Hofmann; Alexander Piele; Christian Piele: Arbeiten in der Corona-Pandemie. 2021.