Research

A fine LINE

Hybrid working may still be new in our workplace vocabulary, but the next evolution is already here. It’s asynchronous working – by Michelle Sturman

Most of us were programmed to be face-to-face in an office, five days a week, from 9-5. The fallout from the pandemic and the change to remote and hybrid working has left many businesses shell-shocked as they attempt to reassess how to run a company with a dispersed workforce. Many business leaders still like to cling to traditional office life, while staff prefer remote working.

But hybrid working has also brought new annoyances – think Zoom fatigue and constant digital notifications instead of face-to-face interruptions. And they are continuing to cause stress and burnout.

WASTING TIME

Workplace automation firm Zapier found that most knowledge workers expend more time on tasks not core to their job, reducing their ability to carry out impactful work. The US survey of 1,000 respondents found that 29% invested 4-5 hours a day on their core functions, while 18% only spent an hour or so on them.

Meanwhile, 81% stated they managed barely three hours a day on creative work and 76% achieved only the same amount of time on strategic business per week. Instead, 90% said they spent up to five hours per day checking apps such as Slack or Microsoft Teams.

The underlying issue is that wherever we work, we’re expected to be present during the same ‘office’ schedule. In addition, we live in a world which expects instantaneous Percentage of respondents who said they experienced pressure to be online at certain times

Source: Qatalog & GitHub communication – a problem exacerbated by remote working as managers can no longer physically ‘keep an eye’ on staff. The upshot is that if it means replying to an email or message at sunrise or joining a video call in the middle of the night, so be it – it seemingly is just the accepted nature of the beast in remote working terms.

FLEXIBILITY IS KEY

A study undertaken by Qatalog and GitHub surveyed 2,000 people in the US and UK about asynchronous working. In Killing Time at Work ’22, 54% of respondents have experienced pressure to be online during certain periods, while the same percentage said their colleagues are stuck in old habits. 63% believe their senior leadership prefers an ‘employees in the office’ culture.

An overwhelming majority (81%) were more productive and created a higher-quality output when there is increased flexibility over when they work. GitLab Head of Remote Darren Murph says: “Presenteeism was never a great way to measure the results of a business. In the post-pandemic world, with the rise of remote and distributed teams, there’s no such thing as showing up or clocking out.

“Work can happen as the sun turns, and the best leaders will reward results over hours. You do that by giving people agency and autonomy by default and coaching the skills to achieve their goals. This paradigm shift will define the workplace of the future.

The bottom line is that to a lot of people, the ‘traditional’ ways of working have never made sense. Some perform best early in the morning or evening; some are extroverts or introverts. A few can brainstorm instantly, but many require time to gather their thoughts.

ALL CHANGE

This is where asynchronous – or async – working takes over. At its most basic, it’s the ability to work to a schedule which suits an individual, allowing for a deeper focus on tasks and projects without constant interruption. The emphasis is shifted to outcome rather than activity.

Async isn’t about people only communicating whenever they feel like it, or staff members never attending a meeting or sitting on a conference call – although a move to async can help streamline and remove all those unnecessary meetings/calls.

In fact, according to research entitled Dear manager, you’re holding too many meetings, published in Harvard Business Review, 83% of employees prefer tools such as chat apps and survey forms as opposed to traditional one-to-one get-togethers.

Put differently, asynchronous working means employees aren’t expected to be available at the drop of a hat or work together simultaneously. Communication doesn’t occur in real time, although responses are undoubtedly expected within a reasonable timeframe. It can also reduce the much-loathed micromanagement by assigning extra responsibility and autonomy to an individual.

MAKING IT HAPPEN

Async does, however, require buy-in from the top down and the technology to ensure it runs smoothly. Indeed, recent European research from Sony Professional Displays and Solutions reveals that many businesses have trust issues and need to up their technology game.

Of those surveyed, 61% agreed async would create a better work-life balance and 42% think it is the future. Interestingly, 55% stated they did not believe their employer would entrust them to undertake their duties asynchronously, even under the provision of delivering results and meeting deadlines.

Also, well over half – 58% – did not think their company possessed the necessary tools to enable this way of working.

Luckily, there’s a myriad of online and cloud software and apps designed for asynchronous working and communication. There are messaging apps (Slack, WhatsApp and Google Chat) and collaboration platforms like Microsoft Teams, Google Workspace and Dropbox Spaces. Almanac, for example, is a collaboration platform built specifically for async working.

Also available are scheduling tools (Trello or Smartsheet); project management taskboards (Basecamp, Quip and Asana); visual collaboration whiteboards (Mural and Miro); and intranets like SharePoint and Yammer.

TRANSPARENT COMMUNICATION

Collaboration on documentation and workflow software is imperative for async, as it provides easy and instant independent access to all required information when necessary. The use of video is increasing in popularity as a way of communicating asynchronously, and there are plenty of apps like Vidcast to quickly record messages and add documentation.

Additionally, pre-recorded meetings and messages using platforms such as Loom and Soundbite, made readily available for team members to play back, are useful components of async. Clear and transparent communication that is documented and available through a shared pipeline is key.

As with most things, there are inevitable trade-offs and async is no exception – potential miscommunication, reduced contact with team members and lack of water cooler moments are a few of the cons. It undoubtedly won’t suit every company, team, employee or situation, and there are umpteen scenarios when synchronous working simply is the best option. A combination of both is certainly feasible. It’s surely a concept worth exploring.

Percentage of employees who prefer asynchronous tools such as chat apps and survey forms over one-to-one meetings

Source: Harvard Business Review

Asynchronous working means employees aren’t expected to be available at the drop of a hat or work together simultaneously