Stories | The Forum | Why asynchronous work is rising

Decorative image — The five 'W’s of asynchronous working
Get your head around this increasingly popular workstyle with our handy guide
Written by
FORA

When should you be able to work asynchronously?

One of the key benefits of asynchronous working is that it allows for flexibility. For example, mass customisation business Cimpress tells staff that roughly 90 per cent of their workflow should be dedicated to focused, solo tasks, and the other 10 per cent to meetings – but otherwise lets them design their days around personal commitments like the school run or health appointments. This has resulted in 57 per cent of employees moving away from traditional 9-to-5 hours.

Tools like remote workspace platform Confluence, virtual whiteboard Miro, project management app Trello, and secure cloud management system Box are proving integral in keeping meetings to a minimum.

“If we form good habits around documenting information in a place that's communal, it means people can see it, they can learn from it, and they can add to it,” says Cimpress’ chief financial officer Sean Quinn.

But even fully remote companies would struggle to work asynchronously all the time. While it can be tempting to quash every meeting, Remote’s van der Voort says “sometimes, it’s just nice to talk with each other”.

Illustrations by Ana Yael

KEEP EXPLORING

Life at Fora

Do not disturb: find your focus in these 5 distraction-free spaces

Future of work

Ideas to change the world: Na’amal

The big stretch: Can your business adopt flexible working?

The five 'W’s of asynchronous working

KEEP EXPLORING

Do not disturb: find your focus in these 5 distraction-free spaces

Ideas to change the world: Na’amal

The big stretch: Can your business adopt flexible working?