Commentary: Think you would love fully remote work? Here are some things to consider

My company, a global fintech, has been fully remote since day one. 
As a fast-growing startup, remote work has allowed us to remain nimble and build our teams around the needs of our growing business and the markets with the biggest potential, rather than focusing on a ‘core’ market determined by physical proximity of our team.
In Singapore, the recent Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangement Requests recognised that hybrid work is here to stay, establishing a process for employees seeking to request it. The World Economic Forum predicts that by 2030, the number of global digital jobs that can be performed remotely from anywhere is expected to rise by roughly 25 per cent to around 92 million.
Personally speaking, remote work is my preference — but that’s not to say it’s for everyone. For those considering adopting the model, here are some things to consider.
While many like the idea of remote work, not everyone is suited to it. 
For obvious reasons, people who are self-motivated and comfortable with independence are better suited to this environment. Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2024 report finds that loneliness is higher among fully remote employees (25 per cent) and lowest among those working fully on-site (16 per cent), whereas hybrid workers fall somewhere in between. Perhaps that’s why many believe that introverts do best in remote work.
There are certainly downsides like screen fatigue and limitations when training new staff. Many employers fear that fully remote work could lead to poor team cohesion and difficulty managing performance. 
Common concerns I hear from employees include blurred work-life boundaries and lack of recognition and promotion opportunities. 
But for companies and individuals that are committed to exploring the fully remote route, there are ways to make the model work for you.
HIRING
When I am hiring, I make sure that interviews can weed out those who might not thrive with remote work. Take particular care to ensure that fresh graduates are prepared for the realities of virtual work and what these will mean, with questions like ‘How do you see yourself succeeding in a remote setup?’ 
Another important question I ask every candidate is: “How do you pick yourself back up when you have a rough day?”  
I find that their answer helps to indicate if they have high degrees of self-motivation and resilience or whether they rely on support and interaction with others to navigate day-to-day challenges.
DEFAULT TO TRUST 
In a digital age, culture is no longer defined by physical proximity. The Stanford Social Innovation Review defines community in much the same way: “Community is both a feeling and a set of relationships among people … Members of a community have a sense of trust, belonging, safety, and caring for each other.”
Trust is critical here, and this must start from the top. 
We trust that the laptops will turn on each morning, or that our coffee machines will churn out our morning brew. We don’t doubt the workmanship of the electronics manufacturer or the coffee machine company — it would be continually exhausting to do so. 
I’ve found that by applying this same reasoning to our remote workers, our teams reciprocate by bringing their best selves to the brainstorm sessions, reports, or virtual meeting rooms. 
For managers trained and acclimated in a “traditional” office setting where “seeing is believing”, the lack of visibility may feel uncomfortable at first. But the key to updating such a mindset is to first shift the emphasis to people’s output, rather than their presence.
My formula for doing this is simple: Trust people, empower them, and focus on results. 
ENCOURAGE OWNERSHIP OVER SHARED GOALS
Don’t get me wrong, it’s still important to have clear OKRs, KPIs, or whatever metrics work for your business. 
But how individuals go about achieving them should be largely up to them. 
When workers know that their role isn’t to chase individual performance targets but to contribute to the company’s shared goals, they develop a stronger sense of ownership over those goals. This isn’t unique to remote work, but this level of autonomy becomes critical in a fully remote workplace.
To strengthen this sense of collective progress, we use shared dashboards to display performance metrics which are developed and reviewed across teams. During quarterly business updates, we use company-wide polls so everyone can ask and vote for questions for our leadership team, encouraging openness about the organisation’s progress.
EMBRACE IMPERFECTION
This level of transparency can seem unconventional and even intimidating. As such, it only works in organisations that reject blame culture and see mistakes as opportunities for learning.  
Studies have found that acknowledging negative emotions boosts trust more than acknowledging positive emotions.  
Being intentional about authenticity and vulnerability matters. For example, we have a Slack channel called “We are humans” where all staff, from interns to C-suite executives, can post about mistakes and mess-ups they’ve made. This provides a safe space for all staff to both encourage each other as well as learn from one another’s challenges and disappointments.        
BELONGING AND ENGAGEMENT
A sense of belonging is key to driving staff engagement and satisfaction. There’s no denying the merits of in-person interactions – but many virtual platforms also offer opportunities for connecting over shared interests and creating fun experiences together. 
For example, we use the Donut app to randomly match willing co-workers in different parts of the world for a chat. We also have fortnightly ‘Beercase’ sessions, where employees gather online to showcase work and celebrate success over our favourite beers from the comforts of their own homes. 
Just like with any non-remote company, we’ve seen chat groups form for a range of personal interests like F1, book clubs, pets, and food.  
Not having to maintain physical premises also enables us to invest instead in shared travel experiences for the whole company. This past year, we have gathered to exchange ideas and celebrate business milestones in locations like Athens and Istanbul.
With more people demanding remote work and fewer companies offering it, our model also puts us at a unique advantage to find the best talent from anywhere in the world, bypassing barriers that may prevent skilled individuals from participating in jobs that require them to work onsite. 
Today, Primer’s global workforce spans over 35 countries. Investing in a physical base in each of these markets would be cost-prohibitive. But with a fully-remote workforce, we can be nimble in serving clients based in a wide range of time zones.  
In today’s increasingly interconnected, digitalised world, our business aspirations no longer have to be limited by geographical location. Going fully remote may give your organisation more of a competitive advantage — but consider the pros and cons carefully before deciding either for or against it. 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Kailash Madan is the head of global sales at Primer, a unified infrastructure for global payments and commerce.