3 new jobs created by the remote work movement

Remote work has gained massive popularity in response to the global health crisis, but the concept has proven itself to be a lot more than just a brief pandemic trend. Not only does remote work increase employee productivity, but employees also report they feel happier when they are able to work from home.

With more and more companies opting for a remote work model, there is also an increased demand for dedicated professionals who help implement, manage and maintain a productive remote workforce. This development has seen the rise of completely new job profiles.

Here are 3 new jobs that were created by the remote work movement.

Making the switch from in-office to remote is quite the challenge. That’s why many companies engage the help of a remote work consultant. These experienced professionals help businesses come up with a plan for a seamless transition to a hybrid or fully remote concept for their employees. 

Remote work consultants may also be the right fit for businesses that don’t want to go fully remote just yet, and seek to introduce a hybrid system that sees some of their workers work remotely, while others stay in the office full time. These different approaches might cause some feeling of inequality amongst teams or disrupt the workflow between different departments. 

Depending on the individual needs of the company, the consultants may assist with varying aspects of the transition, including (bot not limited to) the following:

• Setting up compliance guidelines

• Implementing a remote work policy

• Managing remote employees

• Introducing a remote work communication and productivity strategy

• Improving the remote hiring and onboarding process

• Consulting on global benefits for remote employees around the world

After making the switch to a hybrid or remote work setup, it is crucial to continuously observe the process and identify potential roadblocks early on. That’s what a remote work manager, sometimes also referred to as Head of Remote, is responsible for.

The remote work manager is there to ensure the remote work program runs smoothly. This might relate to employee communication, the hiring and onboarding process, or the work distribution across multiple remote teams. Even employee development and global benefits might be part of the remote work manager’s job description. 

It is a rather versatile job profile, including people management, but also requiring a deeper understanding of company goals and business processes. That’s why professional experience in both HR-related areas as well as business development or communication are ideal to be hired in this new position.

Working remotely has shown to increase the general happiness and well-being of employees, but it also bears some risks for distributed teams. Feeling isolated or not part of a team can take a toll on employees performance and ultimately, their mental health. That’s where a well-being or culture manager comes into play.

Culture managers are responsible for defining and managing company values - and making sure they don’t just sound good, but actually have a positive impact on the employees. Challenging existing work processes and communication patterns is a crucial aspect of a culture manager’s everyday responsibilities, paired with representing the employee’s needs and demands before the leadership level.

In addition to that, culture managers are also involved in the hiring process, and are often seen as advisors to the HR team when it comes to choosing a new candidate for a remote position. Based on their defined values and company culture, they help determine whether an applicant is a good fit, not only in terms of professional experience and education, but also from a personal point of view.