I think one of the biggest challenges every workshifter goes through when they transition from an office to a remote working environment is the feeling that you have lost access. Access to project updates. Access to people. And perhaps most critical to the workday - access to immediate answers.

This was a challenge for me when I started working remotely. There were many days when I felt like my productivity came to a grinding halt because I was missing some tiny (or not so tiny) nugget of information that made it impossible for me to finish what I was working on.

Looking back at it now I realize that in most instances I could have probably just figured it out myself and continued on. But more often than not I was still in that mental state where I felt like I needed to walk over to my colleague's desk and get an immediate answer to the "problem."

I think that one of the biggest things I've learned as a workshifter is the ability to work independently and take projects as far as possible without additional input.

When you're in the office it's tempting to just rely on other people to help you complete that thought and figure out the next steps. As a workshifter you mostly rely on technology to communicate with the mothership. Whether it's emails, phone calls or video chats, chances are that you're not always going to get an immediate response. Sooner or later, instead of waiting for the return phone call or email, you find a way to adapt to the new environment.

I believe this type of independent work ethic is a valuable quality in any employee - whether they work in an office or not. If you've found this to be a challenge in your working environment, perhaps consider mimicking a workshifting setting to help encourage your employees or team members to start taking this further themselves, instead of immediately demand answers.

What do you guys think? Does workshifting breed an independent workforce?

Photo Credit: Melissa Leon