5 cognitive biases to conquer in remote work

One trick our minds use to sift through everything thrown at us is to latch onto the first piece of information we get about a particular topic, decision, pattern. 

When the American workforce went remote in March 2020, it was sudden—and not necessarily smooth. Even though systems have since been implemented to address all these things, lots of people still latch onto that anchor. 

When we know what to expect, we know how to respond—and our brains like knowing how to respond. That's part of why shifting to remote work can be difficult: we've been working in person for years, decades in some cases, and it's hard for us to think of work in any other setting.

• Be aware of your preferences toward how you've done things in the past. Ask yourself:
• What's a process that made sense in person but may be holding you back?
• Who on your team would enjoy brainstorming ways to make remote work more fulfilling and productive?
• How can you involve your team in creating new remote traditions?

This is the mental shortcut that results in us seeking out, preferring, and remembering things in a way that suits what we already believe. The term has been particularly popular over the past several years, in reference to how people choose their news sources.

If you or your team don't love remote work, this means you're less likely to spot remote work successes—and more likely to spot shortfalls that you believe arise from your new working environment. We need to get away from this tendency to use remote work as a scapegoat.