Tag Archive for: remote work

A Checklist for Women Moving Abroad to Work

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moving abroad to workMoving abroad for work is a fantastic way to expand your professional skill set, access more career opportunities, and enjoy exciting new experiences. And while it can be a daunting and challenging process, it’s one that’s very valuable from a personal development perspective.

The best way to minimise stress before a big move is to be prepared, so be sure to tick off these five steps if you’re planning to pursue a new life overseas.

1. Research visa requirements

Securing a visa is one of the most complicated aspects of moving abroad, so begin your research as soon as possible. If you have a job lined up, your employer may be able to advise you on the most suitable visa to apply for. In some instances, your employer may need to submit evidence to support your application.

Consider your long-term plans and how visa laws could affect them. Some can be extended or transferred into permanent residency visas, while others could prevent you from applying for permanent residency in the future. If you haven’t chosen a destination country yet, researching visas could help you decide where to move. For example, Estonia, Iceland, Luxembourg and Germany are some of the easiest countries to secure a work visa.

2. Examine your finances

It’s important to feel confident you’ll be able to support yourself in a new country, so examine your finances carefully and research financial matters in your chosen destination. Look into average living costs and compare them to your current living costs. Ask yourself what kind of salary you’ll need to live comfortably, and research the job market to determine whether that salary is achievable. This information will also help you to negotiate pay with a prospective employer.

You should also research other matters such as tax rates and pension schemes to get an accurate idea of your monthly take-home pay. If you expect to buy a property abroad, either immediately or in the future, research typical interest rates and criteria for loan approval.

3. Learn about local labour right

Each country has unique labour rights and it’s vital you familiarise yourself with the laws of your destination country. When you’re educated about your labour rights, you can make sure your employer is abiding by them and you won’t be faced with unexpected surprises if certain rights you’re used to aren’t applicable in your new job.

If you’re yet to settle on a destination, learning about labour rights in different parts of the world could help you decide where to move. Some countries have significantly better rights for workers than others, making them more suitable for expats looking for a new start in their career. Belgium and Greece are two of the highest-ranked countries when it comes to labour rights, with Finland following closely behind.

4. Budget for moving expenses

Moving abroad can be incredibly expensive depending on how far you’re travelling and what you’re bringing with you. On top of shipping any belongings, you’ll also have to consider the costs of transferring money, hiring storage space and insurance. When importing household goods and vehicles, don’t forget to factor in customs duty and compulsory quarantine costs.

If your move abroad will be temporary, it could be more cost-effective to put your household goods in storage and rent a furnished home. Those making a permanent move should compare average costs of new furniture and appliances in their destination country with the cost of moving their existing goods. If you’re moving abroad because your employer has transferred you or you’ve been headhunted, you might be able to negotiate a relocation package where your employer covers part or all of your moving costs.

5. Connect with fellow expats in your destination country

One of the best ways to prepare yourself for a move overseas is to chat to people who have gone through the process themselves and are living in your destination country. They can share tips, point you towards local resources or services, and even provide practical support to help you get settled in when you arrive.

You can find expat community groups online and via social media. Your employer may also be able to direct you to local expat groups, or it might host its own group if it regularly hires international applicants.

Look forward to new opportunities

Moving abroad is a complex process, but the five steps outlined above will help you prepare for this exciting new phase of your life.

(Guest Contribution: The opinions and views of guest contributions are not necessarily those of theglasshammer.com).

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How To Optimize Your Leadership Effectiveness When Working from Home

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work from homeOver the past few years, many companies have shifted their operations to a work-from-home model. While this has presented numerous challenges for managers and staff members alike, it has also created an opportunity to optimize leadership and team impact in unique ways. However, in order to do so, leaders must adapt to and overcome the unique obstacles of remote work.

According to recent YouGov statistics, women place more emphasis on the importance of job flexibility than their male colleagues. Not only do 57% of women say that flexible working hours are very important (compared to 44% of men), but almost three-quarters of female respondents (72%) said they want a flexible working location compared to just 57% of men.

When it comes to leadership roles, further research suggests that remote working arrangements give more women the opportunity to be in positions of responsibility. In fact, of the 129 remote companies surveyed, 29% had women in leadership positions (CEO, founder or president). Meanwhile, for traditional companies on the Fortune 500 list, this figure sits below 5%.

In this blog post, we will explore a variety of tips and best practices for optimizing leadership effectiveness while working from home. Whether you’re a seasoned remote worker or are still acclimatizing to the modern working world, this guide will provide valuable insights for cultivating productivity, engagement, and overall success.

Encourage constructive feedback/have individual check-ins

Among the many challenges of remote working is the potential feeling of disconnectedness between team members. When in-person meetings happen less frequently and those impromptu morning catch-ups go by the wayside, it’s harder to form meaningful professional relationships with your teammates.

While it’s incumbent upon each team member to make a concerted effort to form these bonds, ultimately the manager has a pivotal role in generating that team spirit and feeling of belonging.

There are a number of ways in which this can be accomplished, but organizing one-to-one check-ins can be a great starting point. Encourage your staff to come to these meetings with honest feedback about things the team or you as an individual could do differently to enhance their wellbeing in the workplace.

Not only do these regular meetings provide the opportunity for virtual contact, but they’re also a great way to ascertain the thoughts and feelings of the team. If they feel able to provide feedback and know that it’s going to be taken seriously, that can go a long way to helping them feel part of the bigger picture.

Balance the company’s needs with the people’s

One of the biggest battles for any business owner is striking a balance between pursuing long-term goals with the individual needs of their employees. Often, owners and managers can become preoccupied with setting KPIs and tracking metrics that the human element to the world of business can be an afterthought. Essentially, leaders need to consider how they can support staff to have a healthy split between their work and personal lives, whilst also ensuring the company continues to move forward.

For some, work and life has been easier to balance since working remotely, with the removal of commutes giving professionals some extra time back each day. For others, the expectation to always be ‘online’ and constant temptation to check back in after working hours makes it difficult to detach themselves from their professional responsibilities.

According to research, women are more likely to do informal work to promote DEI within their company. Female leaders are also more likely to support the ‘people’ side of the business, advocating for the wellbeing of their colleagues and offering support in managing their workloads and personal challenges. However, while this ‘extra-curricular’ support can be invaluable to employees, it can often lead to female professionals overburdening themselves and sacrificing their own wellbeing as a result.

As a manager, it’s important you lead by example, and set your own boundaries when it comes to working hours. You should make it clear when you can and can’t be contacted for work-related issues – consider setting your hours on your digital calendar or workplace communication platform. Not only will this provide clarity around when people can expect a response from you, but it will also hopefully encourage them to do the same, and keep a clear distinction between work and personal life.

Develop your communication skills

Strong communication is one of the most important aspects of effective leadership, but this can be more difficult to demonstrate when face-to-face conversations are no longer an option. When exclusively communicating to colleagues via online communication tools, there is more opportunity for words to be misinterpreted, which could mean they end up having a harmful effect on the team. At the same time, you want to make your presence felt as a leader, and avoid going days without having any contact with your colleagues.

To get the most out of these digital communication tools, it’s important to understand the role of different platforms. For example, you may not need to organize a virtual meeting to discuss a minor query about a piece of work. Not only is this disruptive to your colleagues’ schedules, but the message is likely to be diluted when communicated in this way. Think carefully about the appropriate times to use emails, instant messaging platforms, phone calls or video conferencing, to streamline your communication and have a more positive impact on the wider team.

By: Elizabeth Fletcher – She writes posts designed to help businesses and employees to come together and create a productive, healthy workplace. She believes that good communication and collaboration are key to a happy working life.

(The opinions and views of guest contributions are not necessarily those of theglasshammer.com).

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OP-Ed: International Women’s Day 2022: Burnout, Sustainability and What Matters?

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International Women's Day 2022Many companies focus myopically on International Women’s Day. This year #BreaktheBias and
 gender and climate are the annual themes, depending on your source. But, as founder and fifteen 
years in here at theglasshammer, it is hard to believe that these slogans and themes that come and
 go every year create any change at all. People wants Acts, Not Ads from companies, and
 professional hard-working women are tired of the lip service and want to see the talk, walked.

As 
we enter year three of the global pandemic, with so many of us doing extreme amounts of work, 
and some of us also still balancing childcare with covid related closures of daycares and schools, 
isn’t it time to ask ourselves how can professional women and men (and especially anyone who 
has second and third shifts with kids and aging parents) do balance and self-care, better? What 
matters? And what role do firms have in creating the workplace of the future that we are ready to 
be in, now? This International Women’s Day, the manifesto should be to take a day off.
 Tomorrow the work will still be there!

Overwork and Burnout


There is work and then there is overwork. Chances are if you are reading this article, you have 
spent at least some of your career in the overwork zone. You probably work in financial, legal or
 professional services, in technology firms, big pharma, manufacturing, media or Fortune 500.
 You are probably a go-getter, highly ambitious and very successful. You probably have engaged
 some of the usual methods and possess some of the characteristics often needed to get to the top, including old fashioned hard and long work, a
 competitive nature, cognitive smarts, higher than average EQ to read the room, and a belief that
 improvement is always possible. Possibly three generations of professional women are reading 
this article with similar, yet evolving, culturally programmed definitions of success regarding wealth, status
 and career ladder climb concepts.

Is the extreme achievement mindset in sync with your life
goals, your health and mental wellness? Is overachievement about meeting other people’s 
standards or earning your worth?


Dr. Devon Price, like many of us, came to his senses regarding extreme productivity after a health
 emergency. He insists that we should stop valuing ourselves in terms of our productivity at
 work. In the book, Laziness Does Not Exist, he affirms that ‘we don’t have to earn our
 right to exist’ with overwork and endless achievement.

Advice includes to listen to your body and to forget grinding away all the time to meet arbitrary
 standards. By reframing what being ‘lazy’ means, versus the allure of validation through
 achievement, a healthier, happier you can emerge.

“Laziness is usually a warning sign from our bodies and our mind that we need a break.”

In an interview with NPR, he discusses why we rationalize working so hard, and how asking for 
help, and helping others to helps us, prevents tiredness from overwork but also facilitates us to be better
, due to feeling less exhausted as “our brains take micro-naps either way.”


It isn’t just you.

In several recent studies, isolated overwork came up as the most demotivating factor and biggest
 reason people are quitting jobs. This isn’t new news. Back in 2017, Inc magazine reported on employees 
quitting when leaders overwork people, show zero empathy and don’t respect time when people
 are out of the office living their lives, but it is further accentuated by the pandemic. 
Microsoft conducted an employee indexing survey of 30,000 that resulted in a study called
 “The Next Great Disruption is Hybrid Work – Are we Ready?”

By looking at trends including 
desire for flexible work and hybrid structures, the study reiterated what their CEO Satya Nadella 
called the hybrid work paradox. This study reveals that while people want more flexibility and remote 
options, they also seek deep human social connection. The same study reveals that high
 productivity is masking employee exhaustion and overwork. It states measurable uptick over the
 course of the year –  February 2020 to February 2021 –  on volume of emails sent, 66% increase on 
people working on documents, and meeting usage on teams increased in volume and time on
 meeting applications.

Uncovering your own Competing Agendas

Isn’t it time you figured out what you want for you? Start with your values. Take a look at what
 matters to you on this worksheet – literally, pick ten words that mean the most and then rank them
 1-10, with one being what you value most. Are your actions matching your values? Are you
 living a humdrum existence while your top value is adventure? Are you spending fourteen hours 
a day at work when your top value is family? Now is a great to re-evaluate what matters to 
you. Be yourself, everyone else is taken as the adage goes.

If you had trouble thinking about how all of this meets reality, or deciding what your values are
, or felt conflicted, that is part of the journey too. Hyper achievement and superhuman
 productivity are sometimes part of deep developmental gremlins that have made their way into 
our heads over time, so we can’t see any other way to be, making them our base operating 
system with everything else being an app on top. Kegan and Lahey, Developmental 
psychologists at Harvard, really have a superb method in their book, Immunity to Change, to 
help you figure out what your unconscious mind is doing to you while you happily goal set in
 your conscious mind all day long regarding work, fitness and home life. We are all a product of 
whatever beliefs and paradigms that we have accumulated throughout our life and if your
 granny/dad/mother/friend told you words to live by, chances are you are doing just that, 
implicitly following some guidelines without even knowing.

What are your saboteurs? There is another easy way to find out what is going on inside your own 
head by taking this short quiz on “How we self-sabotage” by Positive Intelligence. It is key to
 understand what is going on with yourself and what your self-talk is likely to be telling you.
 Let’s start with the gremlins. If you have something like hyperachievement as your top saboteur,
 then it is likely you will justify the overworking with sentences like ‘I must be effective and 
efficient, and ’emotions get in the way of performance.’ Or if you have a high control saboteur,
 you might be telling yourself things like, ‘well if I don’t do it, who will?’ Or, that people need
 people like you to get the job done. Show yourself some compassion and a great book to
 understand how to even begin to approach such a daunting task is Radical Compassion by Tara
 Brach. It is normal to feel your feelings and that includes joy.

In short, honor yourself on International Women’s Day by taking stock of what matters to you now, and how closely your own life feels aligned to that.

We are starting a Spring coaching cohort in May for sustainable success in 2022. Cost is $3,999 
per person and includes a yearlong program with 6 sessions of executive coaching, peer coaching
 and career development training. Limited spots, contact nicki@theglasshammer.com and write
 spring coaching cohort in the title of the email.

By Nicki Gilmour, Founder and CEO of theglasshammer.com

Nicki founded theglasshammer in 2007 to inspire, inform and empower professional women in their careers. We have been the leading and longest running career advice online and in person media company in the USA for professional women in financial services.

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Want to Work Virtually? Now is the Time to Make it a Reality

work virtuallyMost of us have become incredibly comfortable within our own four walls over the past several months.
If you were someone who used to commute to an office every day, the first few weeks of the pandemic might have felt particularly unsettling as your routine was upended: No corridor chit chat where you found out what was really going on behind the scenes with a particular deal; no lunches with colleagues to get caught up on projects.

And then, you might have realized that you were able to plausibly replicate those experiences, making them work virtually, whether through video calls, Slack channels or a combination. In fact, you might have decided that working remotely would be an ideal option—not just for you but for your company as well.

If so, you’re not alone. In fact, a June Yahoo Finance – Harris poll found that 54% of respondents are currently working from home due to changes from COVID-19, and half of those believe it’s better than going to the workplace.

Many organizations are still encouraging their employees to work remotely, at least for the time being. But others are slowly starting to urge them back in the office, mistakenly believing it’s a necessity for productivity.

If you’re one who has seen the benefits of remote work over the past few months—or has always hoped to try a new flexible schedule—now is the time to seize on the opportunity. Here is your six-point plan to talk to your manager about formalizing a remote work plan.

1. Get the facts.

While companies pivoted to remote work because they had to, the truth is that a large number of jobs lend themselves to being done virtually—in fact, one analysis by the University of Chicago says that’s the case for 34% of U.S. jobs. Add to that the fact that a Gartner survey found that 82% of company leaders say they plan to allow at least some remote work going forward, and you can make a solid case that remote work is the wave of the future.

2. Prove your productivity.

No doubt you’ve been showing your worth to your company day in and day out during the pandemic, but now is the time to quantify those achievements. Start a document that highlights some of your biggest wins over the past few months, whether it was securing a new client (or keeping one from jumping ship), implementing new processes or even overseeing a remote intern.
While you want to make sure that your eventual contract specifies output in work product and goals, rather than hours, some managers still equate productivity with time worked. Track your hours for the next few weeks so that you can show your supervisor that you don’t see remote work as a chance to slack off. Again, you don’t want hours to be the ultimate metric, but it can help assuage concerns from a boss who still values face time as a measure of production.

3. Outline how your responsibilities can be managed remotely.

If you routinely collaborate with others, your supervisor might be concerned that a lack of face time can hamper your projects. Talk to key colleagues about how they feel about replacing in-person meetings with video calls or commit to coming into the office one day a week for an all-hands-on-deck meeting.
Find out how your supervisor wants to hear from you—whether it’s a quick check in at the beginning and end of the workday, or a detailed weekly progress report.
Prove you’ve done your homework and your plan is solid.

4. Document your work environment.

Women can be at a disadvantage when they request remote work because a supervisor might assume you will be shouldering the burden of extra domestic duties while at home. Couple that with the fact that many kids won’t be returning to a full-time classroom, and you need to make clear that your time working virtually will be spent doing exactly that, not overseeing school work.
Show your supervisor that you’ll have a private office where you can take professional video calls and agree on the hours you’ll be working. The onus is on you to check in frequently to allay any concerns your colleagues may have.

5. Offer a trial period.

Sometimes its’ easier for a boss to say “yes” if they know it’s only temporary. While you’ve already essentially been doing this for the past few months, they might have been looking forward to assembling the whole team. Offer to give it a try until the end of 2020, for example, and then the two of you can re-evaluate how it’s working on both sides. Remember that it’s a two-way street; you want to make sure you are getting the support you need and that you don’t feel your opportunities for advancement or to work on prime projects are being restricted by not being in the office.

6. End on a high note.

Ultimately you want to show your manager that your remote work is mutually beneficial. You don’t want to end the conversation from the positon of being a supplicant, or sacrificing salary or title for this new arrangement. If COVID-19 has shown anything, it’s that remote work can and does work. Use this new realization to approach your boss with a solid plan that documents your continued value—even in the virtual world.

by Cathie Ericson

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How Remote Work Helps Boost Your Company Culture

Guest Contributed by Michael Volkmann

Only 10 years ago did the idea of remote work seem like an outlandish proposition.

Recently, however, the tide is beginning to shift. With remote work becoming more feasible, and employees becoming more receptive, remote work is due for a boon.

For some, remote work is still a strange idea but the benefits are becoming obvious. With companies as large as Yahoo! taking part in the remote work revolution, its appeal is growing rapidly. While many employers are still doubtful about the logistics of remote work, the cultural trend towards it is apparent. What are the benefits of remote work? Some are more apparent than others, but all in all remote work is cost-effective and productive for companies of all sizes.

One of the more obvious benefits of remote work is the reduction in cost for most businesses. When the bulk of a business’s employees telecommute the need for an office is greatly reduced. Decreasing the need for a large office with multiple cubicles has a positive effect on a business’s finances. While the monetary side of it is nice, the important part might be how it affects the culture.

In telecommute environments, there are less office politics and more working. Those companies that have large telecommute employee bases are oftentimes immune to the machinations of office personalities. There is less self-aggrandizing and less cutthroat behavior. The culture of remote work typically leans toward a more progressive and open view.

Those environments are generally less about ladder climbing and more about the work speaking for itself. The benefit of less office gossip and interpersonal drama is immense as it tends to lead to friendlier interactions and work-focused employees. When the weight of office drama and expectation is lifted from an employee they tend to perform better and are happier. In the new age of work, happiness is very important to employees.

Those who work in remote companies post the highest job satisfaction ratings. What employers sometimes fail to realize is that office culture can weigh heavily on employees and reduce the comfort they feel doing their job. By taking the office away, companies can create very positive and uplifting work environments.

On the subject of money, businesses that use remote work forces typically post higher profit margins. This is due to a number of reasons, but one of the largest is the lack of expenditure. This, coupled with higher productivity, leads to an inevitable increase in revenue. Another strong factor in this is that remote work also leads to less employee turnover.

Companies that use telecommuting have more satisfied employees that are less likely to quit and, because of their increased productivity, are less likely to be fired as a result.

Companies that adopt early are in for an evergreen opportunity for profit. The reduced cost and better productivity of remote work is creating a business environment that is ideal for revenue generation. This is helping the popularity of the model tremendously. In a few years telecommuting will go from being a fringe idea to the secret for a growing revenue-generating business including companies such as WordPress, Toptal, and many other tech companies.

On the employee-focused side of things, there are a number of great benefits as well. One thing that helps employees tremendously is the reduced cost of not having to go to an office. No more shopping for work-specific clothes or burning all that gas driving to and from work. For those that work telecommute jobs, traffic becomes a thing of the past.

Being able to work in the comfort of your own home without office politics or over-eager managers gives employees a comfortable work environment. This can also improve the health of employees as they can focus on the most crucial tasks and get more done than if they had the luxury to chatter with coworkers in a traditional working environment. This also works well for aging employees as the physical requirements to go to work lessen tremendously.

For new families as well, telecommute work can provide a way to generate income while not being away from their families. This employee-oriented style of work creates a positive environment while also being a more generous employer strategy.

With a positive impact on both profits and employees, remote work is clearly a beneficial pursuit. The remote revolution is coming in fast and companies keeping up will be rewarded greatly. The strategy of telecommute employment pays off incredibly well. It is a more positive environment for both owners and employees than a traditional office environment.

The numbers for remote work and the feedback from employees strengthens the argument. The new age of work is heavily focused on employee happiness and satisfaction. No other strategy accomplishes this like telecommute work. As remote work continues to grow, and technology follows, remote work will become the rule. The world is ready to work from home and you should be too.

About the Author

Michael Volkmann is a tech entrepreneur with a focus on business operations and finance. He has worked with many small businesses helping them with their M&A for over 6 years. When not in front of the monitor thinking about the future of AI and robotics, he spends his time snorkeling and traveling.

The opinions and views expressed by guest contributors are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of glasshammer2.wpengine.com

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