Asynchronous Work: Is This the Future?

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Many companies have adopted a hybrid model of work in a post Covid-19 world. We all know that both remote and hybrid work allows for greater flexibility, allowing us to deal with our home lives and work responsibilities without materially damaging either. As with everything though, there are limits.

Some of the measures employees and companies take to ensure that employees and workers remain engaged and productive include the use of tracking software to ensure they are working and available for a set period on given working days. Sounds reasonable, right?

The problem arises when those same workers and employees experience increased frustration, stress, and anxiety — all factors which can have a detrimental effect on productivity — because they are aware of being closely monitored. This kind of tracking, therefore, undermines many of the advantages offered by remote working in the first place.

Luckily, promoting asynchronous remote work may provide a solution to this issue.

Asynchronous remote work allows employees to organise their own schedules so that they meet deadlines and satisfy a company’s expectations and goals promptly, without that organisation insisting that employees must be online for a specified period each day.

In the rest of this piece, we’ll look at the benefits of asynchronous work — particularly for those working remotely — and share some tips as to steps you might take to begin to foster a healthy, robust asynchronous work culture in your own company or business.

First, though, we must define asynchronous work.

The key difference between synchronous and asynchronous work lies in the amount of time we’re expected to be online, ready for work, and responsive to messages.

What is Asynchronous Work?

Asynchronous work is any work you can do at a time convenient to you, so long as that interval of time falls within a set period. It does not depend on collaboration or real-time communication. Instead, it relies on clear goals, clear standards, and shared commitment.

Asynchronous working helps you work more effectively and efficiently because you can more easily order and prioritise tasks to meet your team’s and the business’s needs. You won’t be expended to respond to work messages or emails immediately, only to do so within a reasonable timeframe. This makes it possible to attend to some personal responsibilities, whilst still prioritising your work.

Let’s imagine you usually begin work at around 8am so you can get your most vital or complicated tasks done by early afternoon. Then you might choose to run some personal errands for an hour before returning to work. This integration of your personal and professional lives is permissible when engaged in asynchronous work, provided you complete your work to the expected standard within the agreed-upon period and respond to any messages received in a reasonable time.

This contrasts with when you do more traditional, synchronous work, where you are expected to be online, contactable, and available for set hours each day.    

What is the Difference Between Synchronous and Asynchronous Work?

The key difference between synchronous and asynchronous work lies in the amount of time we’re expected to be online, ready for work, and responsive to messages.

Synchronous work relies on real-time communication. Workers are directed as to what they should prioritise by managers working within a hierarchical system. Managers and people higher up in the company also decide how to delegate tasks, when they must be completed, and the details of that work. One drawback of this kind of work is,  If a team member is unavailable, unresponsive, or offline for a while, it may halt the progress of a college who’s awaiting a response and thus hamper the entire team’s productivity.

Asynchronous work, on the other hand, does not depend on communication. Employees understand what is required of them and know the organisation’s goals. They know what deadlines to meet, how to prioritise, and how to delegate where necessary.  

Here are a few more differences between the two modes of working.

One Focuses on Goals and Results, the Other on Activity and Time

Synchronous work managers seek to control and measure employees’ time, activity, and productivity across each day.

If you’re tasked with managing a group of asynchronous workers, you must instead focus on setting clear goals and expectations. Once goals are defined and a deadline given, it’s the responsibility of the team to decide how they will deliver the expected results by the deadline. Typically, they can work in any way they choose provided all expectations are met.

Asynchronous Work Depends on Defined Workflows

Where synchronous work relies on back-and-forth real-time collaboration and regular team meetings to complete projects and tasks, asynchronous work depends on clearly defined workflows to work toward shared or individual goals.

Fixed Hours vs Autonomous Schedules

When doing asynchronous work, you can determine your own working hours, and you need not work at the same time each day. You also have no need to respond to all messages instantly.

Synchronous work requires you to come into the office or workplace at a set time each day, and stay until the end of your working day, no matter what needs doing.

Documentation Vs Repetitive Communication

Asynchronous work promotes a structured flow of communication, instead of the repetitive communication, instant messaging, and abundance of in-person meetings we see and experience when engaged in synchronous work.

Asynchronous work encourages transparency and documentation to minimise confusion and ambiguity and give people the best chance to work smoothly toward goals without facing unnecessary hurdles.

One Advocates for Control, the Other for Trust

Employees are afforded more freedom with asynchronous work and this model also places more trust in employees’ ability to deliver high-quality work in a timely fashion. In a more traditional synchronous work model, the system is more rigid, and workers must often ask for permission to proceed with work, or move on to another piece of work to make progress.

In-Office vs Remote Work

Asynchronous work is more often advocated by companies that do remote work, than by companies based in more typical office environments. That does not mean that many hybrid or remote work companies don’t adopt the more traditional synchronous work mode, albeit in an adapted form.

It’s time to find out what the advantages of asynchronous work are, and why they make it especially well-suited for remote work.

Why is Asynchronous Work Great for Remote Workers?

Asynchronous work is particularly beneficial for remote workers and teams. We’ll now investigate some of the reasons why in more detail.

It Affords Greater Flexibility

Workers can exercise more autonomy and have more freedom under a system or work culture which uses, encourages, and promotes asynchronous working practices. This means:

• Employees can organise their schedules so they can work at times when they are at their most productive.
• They can choose convenient times to deal with messages and emails, so long as you address them within a reasonable period.
• They can integrate some of their personal responsibilities into their day, provided they always put their work responsibilities first, and always complete their work on time and to a high standard.

It Boosts Productivity

Each team member is encouraged to work during their most productive hours in an asynchronous work environment. There are also fewer workplace interruptions because asynchronous work can most often be done remotely.

There is also not as much communication involved because once the responsibilities of each team member are assigned, deadlines agreed upon and company goals explained, there’s little need for much further communication, save perhaps to answer questions that may arise as a project progresses. This prevents communication bottlenecks and allows you to work more efficiently and finish projects faster.

Everyone is given a set of responsibilities, and it is then up to them to take initiative to ensure they can successfully complete and deliver on tasks assigned to them.

Everyone can Thrive

 Asynchronous remote work allows room for many different people to thrive. For example:

• Introverts who like to get into a flow state and beaver away will have better opportunities to do so in an asynchronous work environment.
• Extroverts can schedule coffee shop meet-ups with colleagues to get the social stimulation they need to do their best work.

It’s Inclusive

Geographic boundaries don’t matter in an asynchronous work culture. Companies are free to recruit collaborators, freelancers, and employees from anywhere and without having to worry about other limitations, such as disabilities or childcare needs. It doesn’t matter if some people have more demands on their time than others, or work on a different schedule because people can work when it best suits them,

This very inclusivity allows for collaboration across continents and time zones which promotes greater productivity and helps you build a more diverse workforce, full of people with different backgrounds, skills, and experiences.

It’s Good for Mental Health

As an asynchronous working environment removes the stress of having to be constantly online, available, and responsive to messages you will experience less stress. This has significant advantages for your mental health. You will also have a better opportunity to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Plus, you won’t face the same degree of judgment from co-workers for not working longer than you would in a synchronous working environment.

Read our post on how to maintain a healthy work-life balance for more.

Next, we’ll share tips on how you can go about fostering an asynchronous work culture.

Best Tips to Build an Asynchronous Work Culture

There are some simple things you can do to create an asynchronous work culture. Here are our best tips.

• Promote transparency – This means ensuring everything is correctly documented and well-organised, and that discussions include all team members. All information should be stored in one easily accessible place all workers can access, so they know where to look when they’re stuck and need to keep making progress. Record answers to frequently asked questions clearly in the information hub so everyone can see the answers.
• Use asynchronous communication – Practice getting out of the habit of putting important information in emails or instant messages. Instead, put that information in the information hub to encourage collaboration. This makes it less likely that information needs to be repeated more than once across several emails, and thus allows for a smoother, more efficient workflow. You will also all but eliminate communication bottlenecks.
• Provide clear deadlines and guidelines – When everyone knows what’s expected of them, and when deadlines are, they can schedule their workload effectively and be more productive. You should work with your entire team to decide upon deadlines. Setting clear guidelines can include asking workers to confirm when they’ve accepted responsibility for a given task, letting people know how long you’ll wait before expecting a reply to a message, detailing what communication channels you’d like people to use, etc.
• Use appropriate tools – Choose the perfect technology to promote and facilitate asynchronous work, including the right communication tools and the right project management software. Check out our post on project management software for some ideas.
• Cut out unnecessary meetings – You should only schedule meetings when it’s vital to do so, and you should only invite relevant team members. If you consider the purpose of the proposed meeting, you may find it is better replaced with a presentation or report your co-workers can then give feedback on. Cutting down on meetings will help save time and energy and will also ensure everyone experiences a smoother workflow.  

Wrapping Up

We’ve covered what asynchronous work is, how it differs from more traditional synchronous work, and how it may especially benefit remote workers.

Are you ready to establish a culture of asynchronous work at your workplace — whether that be in an office or at home? We hope you can use the tips shared here to help you begin.

Good Luck!

Do you find it difficult to work effectively from home? Read our ‘Simple Guide to Staying Productive When Working From Home’.