Remote work is now firmly established as the new normal. As per Buffer’s 2022 survey, 97 percent of those working remotely would like to continue for the rest of their career, at least some of the time.
Notably, more than half (57 percent) of this group has been working from home for two years or less, a change that occurred due to the pandemic.
Admittedly, the switch to WFH is significant and transforms several aspects of the workplace experience. Therefore, feelings of isolation are commonplace, despite the benefits of lower commute times and better work-life balance.
Social isolation is undoubtedly a powerful demotivator. Yet, these 11 work-from-home quotes may provide the ideal antidote to inspire managers to improve their teams’ remote performance, engagement, and well-being.
1. “People are more productive working from home than people would have expected. Some people thought that everything was just going to fall apart, and it hasn’t.”
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO, Meta Platforms Inc. Remember that remote working can improve productivity and the model can still facilitate the employee-centric workplace.
2. “If you are working on something exciting that you really care about, you don’t have to be pushed. The vision pulls you.” – Steve Jobs, Co-Founder of Apple.
The purpose of an organization and the value of the task at hand is an excellent tool to inspire remote workforces.
3. “We like to give people the freedom to work where they want, safe in the knowledge that they have the drive and expertise to perform excellently. Yours truly has never worked out of an office, and never will.” — Richard Branson, Founder of the Virgin Group.
Keep in mind that several business leaders and decision-makers regularly worked from remote locations, even before the pandemic. There is no reason the same should not apply to an average employee.
4. “Keep a team chatroom open. There is nothing more important in a group remote project than casual communication. Not just official emails and work updates, but the ability to sit back and chat.” – David Rabin, VP of Global Commercial Marketing, Lenovo.
This quote from David Rabin reminds us to value watercooler conversations, small talk, and other essential elements that reinforce interpersonal relationships in the workplace.
5. “We can handle real live difficulties, it is the imaginary ones that cannot be conquered.” – James Borg, author of Mind Power.
Without external voices constantly reminding us about the real-world environment, it is easy to make mountains out of molehills when working from home. Try to proactively avoid this.
6. “One of the secret benefits of using remote workers is that the work itself becomes the yardstick to judge someone’s performance.” – Jason Fried, founder of Basecamp.
This work from home quote reaffirms that the office experience was always supposed to be about the work, which is now increasingly the case in a remote environment.
7. “I know not all that may be coming, but be it what it will, I’ll go to it laughing.” – Herman Melville, author of Moby Dick.
Resilience is one of the key lessons to learn from this WFH period, and this quote tells us about the importance of humor and not taking oneself too seriously.
8. “Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.” —Judy Garland, American actress and singer.
WFH has greatly empowered each and every remote worker. Use this opportunity to demonstrate and augment individual strengths.
9. “To start building your remote culture, establish and share some basic rules. The first and most important rule is mutual trust between the company and its workers. The rules after that? As few as possible.” – Larry English, author of Office Optional.
WFH employees must be confident that the organization has their best interests at heart. Additionally, organizations should aim to increase empowerment and be wary of micromanagement.
10. “Encourage all of our employees to have a disciplined schedule for when you will work, and when you will not, and to stick to that schedule.” – Dan Springer, CEO of DocuSign.
Routines and discipline do not only apply to nine-to-five hours. Encourage employees to bring the same focus to schedules and safeguard wellbeing.
11. “Successfully working from home is a skill, just like programming, designing or writing.” – Alex Turnbull, Founder of Groove.
Do not worry if the transition to WFH is more challenging than expected. Remote work is a paradigmatic shift, and employees need to ease into it, like anything else, with the proper support.
Final Thoughts
These quotes contain a handful of expert learnings that help us to find our bearings, garner inspiration, and wade through those darker moments that affect every one of us.
Also, they remind us to work on ourselves, find new meaning in what we do, and align our skills better to our daily deliverables to maximize the value of remote working.
As Scarlett from Gone with The Wind would say: “After all, tomorrow is another day.”
Eager to enhance the performance of remote contact center agents? Check out our article: How to Support the Future Contact Centre Agent
