I wanted to share a short excerpt from my book The Everything Guide to Remote Work:

“The assumption that remote work is ‘work, but online’ is wrong and misguided. Equally, assuming that remote collaboration is ”collaboration, but online’ is incorrect. Remote collaboration is different because, when done right, it starts with zero assumptions and builds a totally new understanding of what it means to get work done as a group. Here’s an example. In the location-based work way of thinking, teams might ask, ‘How frequently do we need to meet to make sure everyone knows what everyone else is doing?’ There’s an assumption that the team needs to meet. In remote work, the question might become, ‘Do we need to know what everyone else is working on, and if so, what’s the best way to do it?’

“When you adopt a remote collaboration mindset, you can think clearly about what you want to accomplish with a group and what’s the best way to accomplish it together within the constraints of remote work. When you get rid of assumptions about what collaboration ought to be, then you’re more open to what it could be.”

If you’re working a remote or hybrid-remote job and your employer or manager has never addressed the fact that remote work isn’t simply “work that’s now online,” then you’re not set up for success. For remote work to work, leaders have to operate differently. The two most important areas where they can have an effect are in collaboration and communication.

And here’s the crux of it: Being a manager in a remote work organization gives you an incredible opportunity to get these things right. You have a chance to totally rethink how your team does business. When it’s done well and with compassion, your team will have lower turnover, higher productivity, increased happiness, and better wellbeing. How could any manager not want that?