“Once upon a time, a for-profit social enterprise floated somewhere in the cloud. The organization welcomed those who couldn’t see, hear, or walk but possessed a vision and a thirst to achieve despite insurmountable challenges. Working for the company across six continents, everyone seamlessly connected in a nexus of technology. Together, they defied the odds, propelling the social enterprise to new heights. As the fully remote social enterprise continues to make strides with the support of remote workers from various disadvantaged backgrounds, the concerns of remote work’s critics become less convincing.” 

The story above is of Genashtim Pte Ltd, a 100% remote B Corp-certified organization with a social mission to provide sustainable employment for disadvantaged individuals, especially people with disabilities (PWDs). The company was founded by Thomas Ng in 2008 and has no physical office. It might sound outlandish, but Thomas figured out remote work years before the pandemic, creating a “pandemic-proof work model” which refers to the work-from-home model during the pandemic that allowed businesses to continue operating during COVID-19. The company is perfecting its remote work model as we speak. 

I am a PWD  and I started my remote career  with freelancing until I was employed by Genashtim in 2019. I am located in Malaysia, and this Southeast Asian country, like many other countries, isn’t disability friendly. I cut my hair at home because the salons in my area are not wheelchair accessible. It also means burdening my family – my sister needs to come, and my mom needs to help me get in and out of the car, not to mention wheel me.  

This is not only my reality – many PWDs are in the same boat due to an extensive lack of public accessibility in their respective countries. I need haircuts at most twice a year. Those who prefer to maintain short hair require a trim at least once every three months. When I can’t even go out to get a haircut twice a year, it requires no explanation on why I can’t go to the office five days a week. I also needn’t explain my “right to go remote”— a stance that remote work is everyone’s right, not a perk or a privilege for a select few. PWDs who walk a mile in my shoes and my PWD colleagues would assent to this. 

Many CEOs who initially praised and promoted remote work as a way to keep their businesses running during the pandemic have since changed their stance. They went from effusively speaking in favor of remote work to impugning it. Terms like “laptop class living in la la land,” and the labeling of remote workers as “moral failures” have been thrown around. 

As the pandemic becomes a part of the past, the faction is growing between companies like Genashtim that fiercely advocate for work-from-home or accommodate remote work and those who want it completely out. While some remote work critics fear remote workplaces, citing productivity issues and hours spent working, others say that it is unfair to certain service-based and manufacturing industries.   

This blog attempts to shed light on the necessity of remote work, the due diligence of remote workers, and remote work as a human right. 

Remote work productivity – say hello to remote productivity trackers! 
 

Putting in an honest day of work is a work ethic – remote or on-site. If productivity is the concern of remote work detractors, there are productivity trackers like Time Doctor that measure how many hours remote workers spend working. 

Although my department no longer uses Time Doctor, we use an Excel spreadsheet to encode our tasks for a workweek and encode anticipatory tasks for the next workweek. Every Monday, we have a touch base meeting where we tally up tasks done last week and outline what we will be doing during the present week. This way, productivity is tangibly measured by task completion rather than hours spent working. 

Not every hour in a 40-hour work week is purely occupied by work, whether on-site or remote. In fact, gossiping, water-cooler conversations, and noisy work environments are far less common in a remote work setting. As evidenced by Genashtim’s remote work model, there are feasible ways to ensure not only productivity but also peak performance. 

It should be noted that Genashtim is not a charity but a for-profit social enterprise, and employees are expected to deliver results. The company’s CEO issues a constant reminder: “If you try to get away by doing as little as possible, sooner or later, we’re going to find out.” Showing up and stepping up are pillars of this fully remote organization. 

There is no way one can sleep on the job, slack off, and be footloose solely because they work remotely. Because, at the end of the day, business means profit and if employees are not making consistently augmenting efforts, keeping them on board is insensible, whether they are on-site or remote employees. 

Remote work isn’t exclusive – it’s inclusive. 

The critics of remote work conveniently forget or choose to overlook the crucial fact that there are people who will never be able to work if it isn’t for the option to work from home. 

As a disabled remote worker, it’s quite unsettling to hear remote work being labeled as “immoral”. The argument against remote work is that “not everyone can work remotely, making it unfair to essential workers like drivers, food delivery persons, and workers on car assembly belts.” 

Undeniably, not all workers can work remotely. In the same way, not all workers can work on-site. PWD workers have been requesting work-from-home ever since internet technology boomed. Their requests were brushed off because “it’s too difficult and problematic.” Then came the pandemic and employers moved heaven and earth to make work-from-home possible. It’s not only biased to deny the right to go remote in the post-pandemic era but also ableist. This is an issue of equity – providing a lift for an equal playing field.  

The visually impaired cannot work as drivers or food delivery persons – wheelchair users can’t assemble products in an assembly belt – at least the existing technology doesn’t permit PWDs to do such jobs. A job is skill-dependent, and skills are diverse. When remote work was leveraged so companies could continue operating during the COVID-19 global lockdowns, essential workers didn’t have the option to work remotely either.  

Work should be acceptable in all modes available for everyone. Given the right workspace and facilities, every worker can thrive, and it is the employers’ responsibility to ensure the right conditions for work. If remote work thrived during the pandemic, it could work well in the post-pandemic era. Remote companies or companies with a remote division are proof of the viability of remote work.  

It’s true that not all jobs can be done remotely but there are “remote-capable jobs.” Remote-capable jobs are jobs across all sectors that can be done remotely with advancing technology’s assistance. If a job can be done remotely, I don’t see any moral issues with allowing it – customers don’t pay more just because the workers are in person.  

Remote work enables the “forgotten workforce” to become active economy units, directly increasing a country’s economic capacity. The forgotten workforce refers to individuals who are employable but are excluded from mainstream employment due to their disadvantaged background. Besides PWDs, the forgotten workforce includes:  

• Refugees  

• The LGBTQAIP community  

• People with communicable diseases  

• Ex-convicts  

• Seniors  

• Slum/interior area dwellers  

• People with mental health issues  

• Introverts 

• The neurodivergent community  

• People with special needs 

The time to go remote is NOW! 

Women from restrictive and oppressive cultures can work and earn from home. Without such an option, these women will be completely at the mercy of the patriarchal structures that work against their empowerment. In cultures where women are expected to manage a job, a house, and a family simultaneously, working from home is a boon. Such working women can juggle their work responsibilities and domestic duties with less stress by working from home, and they also can spare time for self-care.  

Dismantling the cultures that don’t favor women’s empowerment takes a long time. Women cannot afford to wait until these cultures wear off to gain financial independence. If remote work helps women in oppressed environments acquire economic standing, I don’t see how critics’ negativity toward it is valid. 

In the same way, PWDs cannot wait until ableist attitudes change and full public accessibility manifests before earning. Refugees cannot wait until peace is restored in their home countries before sustaining themselves. Not everyone can afford to wait for utopia before pursuing self-betterment. If they have the means to uplift themselves, they should leverage every opportunity, and encompassing support is crucial – including remote work. 

People living with HIV (PLHIV) are brutally stigmatized and on-site workplaces are not an exception. While HIV awareness campaigns educate and medical treatment like antiretroviral therapy advances, remote work not only helps PLHIV earn but also reduces their exposure to discriminatory in-person workplace attitudes.  

During torrential rains in Chennai, India, IT workers kept their companies above water by working from home. Employers deferred return to the office (RTO) policies so their companies could continue operating during the heavy rains and then chained them back to their cubicles once the storm clouds cleared up.  

It seems unfair to limit remote work to emergencies only, especially for those who rely on it for their livelihoods. Making it available as a regular option rather than just an emergency measure would be more equitable. 

Reviving ecosystems and preventing environmental decline – the X factor of remote work. 

My favorite story from the global lockdowns during the pandemic is about the Himalayan peaks in the northern Indian state of Punjab being visible to the naked eye for the first time in 30 years as air pollution ceased. 

Nature heals itself if given a chance. I saw water lizards the size of crocodiles walking down the road in front of my house as human activity ceased due to humans locking themselves up at home, petrified of the coronavirus’ terrifying rampage. These elusive creatures typically avoid encounters with humans – however, they reclaimed what’s rightfully theirs within months as humans gave them their space, as nature intended through co-existence.  

Clean air. Drinkable water. Pristine greenery and water bodies. Life-sustaining climate. Good quality and natural food. All these are the rights of all earth’s inhabitants – what facilitates those basic needs (hint: remote work) is a human right. Remote work not only has great potential to halt the rapid degradation of the environment, but it can also potentially reverse the deterioration. 

In just two years of removing petrol vehicles from the roads, the Himalayan range was able to show off its majestic existence. Imagine more years of significant numbers of people skipping the commute and performing remote-capable jobs from home and the positive impact it will have on pressing environmental issues that require immediate, and constant remedial action.  

So, it’s clear that remote work can aid environmental protection and preservation. ESG goals, a green mindset, and responsible business can all be interweaved into the tapestry of remote work and combined to champion sustainability. 

Conclusion 

Remote work can work when business leaders cultivate the right leadership style, mindset and organizational culture and goals – Genashtim is a testament to this. By integrating the required internal processes, workflows, and communication channels, the company continues to thrive. 

The argument that everyone shouldn’t have the option to work from home because the option isn’t available equitably to everyone isn’t made from a social justice viewpoint. It’s consequential to understand that not all workers’ circumstances are equal. Some are at a significant disadvantage, and to level the playing field, equalizing platforms are required. Remote work is one such equalizer. Denying this equalizer to individuals who need it most is neither a semblance of equity nor equality. 

JEDI Jobs: Bridging the gap between sustainable employment and disadvantaged individuals through remote work. 

Though it’s disheartening to see acute opposition to remote work, JEDI Jobs, a remote work portal continues its service to revolutionize the workplace and empower the disadvantaged. 

Armed with a pandemic-proof work model devised 12 years before the pandemic, Genashtim’s remote job portal, JEDI Jobs specializes in connecting those from disadvantaged backgrounds to global remote employers.  

Understanding that our disadvantaged applicants have unique backgrounds, we have a specification column that lists various disadvantaged positions, making their distinct case more recognizable. It helps potential employers process their application with elevated sensitivity toward their specific needs.  

Remote work is not only for the disadvantaged – it’s for everyone. We welcome individuals seeking internships and a career shift, people with a nomadic lifestyle, avid travelers, and those keen on trying remote work. 

Ready to start your remote work journey? Register with JEDI Jobs here NOW! 

Catalyzing remote work, JEDI Jobs style 

Despite the disapproval of remote work, many employers still maintain remote work policies in their company for various reasons, including social responsibility, location, diversity, and inclusion. 

JEDI Jobs is poised to present high quality remote candidates and facilitate global remote employers’ organizational goals. 

Register with JEDI Jobs here NOW and advertise your remote vacancies!