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Remote working is when your staff do their job from home or somewhere else away from your main workplace. Employees might work from home full-time or do a mix of remote and in-office work.

Remote work isn’t suitable for every role or business. But for many businesses it will benefit both the business and its employees.

This page helps you understand how to support and manage your remote staff.

Benefits of remote work

Remote work can have many benefits for businesses and workers.

Increased flexibility and morale

Remote work helps staff balance their work and personal lives. It’s particularly beneficial for parents, carers and people with a disability.

Working from home also eliminates commuting time and costs for your employees.

All of this can improve staff satisfaction, which makes them more likely to stay at your business.

Lower costs

Remote work helps you reduce your costs for office space and utilities. A partly remote workforce might let you downsize to a smaller, cheaper office.

Some businesses choose to go fully digital, with every employee working remotely. This means they don’t need a permanent central office at all.

Access to more talent

Remote work means you can employ people outside your local area, including regional or interstate workers.

Being able to work from home is also an attractive perk for many jobseekers.

This helps your business get the best person for the job, no matter where they live.

Business continuity

Remote work can help you keep your business running during natural disasters, emergencies and other disruptions.

Your business is less dependent on a physical office, so staff can keep doing essential work even your main premises is shut. They can keep working even if they can’t travel and might be able to temporarily adjust their working hours.

Having remote work systems already running and tested means your business can recover quickly after a disaster.

Digital tools for remote work

The right digital tools are essential to keep your remote team connected, productive and secure.

Communication tools

These help your staff stay in touch when they’re not in the same location. For example:

  • video conferencing software for meetings
  • instant messaging tools for quick updates and questions
  • email software.

Collaboration tools

Cloud-based collaboration tools let your staff work together on tasks and documents in real time. For example:

  • shared file storage
  • software that lets you collaborate on documents, spreadsheets and other files
  • project and task management tools
  • shared calendars
  • virtual whiteboards for planning and brainstorming.

Managing remote staff

Use the same management practices for remote workers that you do in person. Here are a few specific things to consider.

Set clear expectations

Many employees work more efficiently at home thanks to fewer workplace distractions. However, it’s important to be clear about what you expect from remote workers.

Make sure your remote staff understand:

  • their role and responsibilities
  • their work hours
  • expectations for availability, including how to let others know when they’re not online
  • performance expectations.

Having written agreements or remote work policies helps make sure everyone has the same understanding.

Communicate regularly

Regular communication helps remote staff feel supported and connected. Use your videoconferencing software and other communication tools to:

  • check in with individual staff members
  • hold team meetings
  • give clear instructions and updates.

Build trust and accountability

Trusting staff to manage their own work can improve engagement and performance.

Focus on outcomes and results rather than measuring the time staff spend at the keyboard. Don’t force employees to install screen or keyboard monitoring software – these tools are bad for staff morale.

Recognise your employees’ good work and address any issues early, not just during formal performance reviews.

Support wellbeing and mental health

While working from home can be beneficial for employees’ mental health, some workers may feel isolated. Others might struggle to separate their work and personal life.

Support your remote workers’ wellbeing by:

  • encouraging them to take regular breaks
  • promoting reasonable work hours
  • talking to staff about how they’re finding remote work
  • scheduling online activities and social chats
  • giving them the option of coming into the office (if you have one).

Legal obligations

Your workplace obligations are generally the same for remote staff as for on‑site employees.

This includes:

Work health and safety

You must provide a safe working environment, even when your employees work from home or another location.

This means you need to identify and manage any health and safety risks, including employees’ workstation setup at home.

Cyber security

Remote work can increase the risk of cyber incidents.

To protect your business:

  • ensure staff only use secure devices, networks and tools
  • keep devices and software up to date
  • have clear policies for using business systems and devices
  • train staff to recognise common cyber threats, such as phishing
  • make sure staff know how to handle sensitive information. For example, not accessing private customer data in a public place.

Reviewing remote work arrangements

Review your remote work arrangements regularly to check they are still working for your business and staff.

You might like to:

  • ask staff for feedback
  • review productivity and outcomes
  • update tools, policies and processes as your business changes.

Be flexible and look for ways to improve your approach to address any issues.

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