As chief information officer and senior vice president at software vendor Bentley Systems, Claire Rutkowski spends a great deal of time talking to Chief Technology Officers and other tech-minded people in AEC firms. Earlier this summer she hosted a panel at the Environmental Financial Consulting Group's Technology Leadership conference on what technology for remote work means in the future, as some firms transition to bring some workers back to the office. Rutkowski took the time to chat with ENR Senior Technology Editor Jeff Rubenstone about how technology is enabling long-term remote working, and what managers must learn to run a hybrid office. The transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

新利luckENR：在这里，我们已经在Covid-19的中断了一年多，许多公司仍然让员工在家工作，或者开始将他们带回办公室。您在本特利系统（Bentley Systems）和您定期与之交谈的行业公司中，您对此有何经验？

Rutkowski：现在这是一个不同的世界。我们从大流行中进入一个世界，员工对他们的期望很高，并且非常清楚他们不想每天进入办公室。他们想拥有一个混合模型。

很多人都从这个大流行的阶段出来，并重新评估他们的生活重点和所做的事情。合格的人才有很多竞争，许多合格的人才都在问，您有远程或混合选择吗？

我认为大多数公司都认为他们将不得不去混合以吸引合适的人才，但要注意的另一件事是，我们不知道Delta变体会发生什么- 与此同时，生活仍在继续。企业一直在继续，已经满足了可交付成果，尽管人们想到了“我必须看到你知道你在工作”，但我认为人们在整个大流行中都意识到，在许多情况下，生产力提高了，不下降。

ENR: Being present in the office was a key part of many office cultures before the pandemic, with managers walking cubicle rows to confirm everyone is getting work done.

大流行，大多数人都在办公室。经理们确实上下行，看着人们的肩膀，坐在设计评论中，并看到事情的进展。在大流行期间，每个人都很遥远，所以我想知道管理远程同事的技巧。或者，如果他们还没有弄清楚，那么现在的证据变得非常明显。

But I think they're actually in for a harder time than that, because pre-pandemic was a level playing field, with most people in the office. Most people out of the office, working from home, is also [a level playing field]. Now we're going to get into a time where 70% of people want to be in or out, a hybrid [arrangement]. And some are going to be all the way at home and some are going to be all the way in the office for most companies. And it's not a level playing field anymore.

因此，经理将不得不学习这些技能。“所以现在我必须管理远程？我必须亲自管理，我必须让每个人都感觉公平和一样。”这是一组完全不同的挑战。这是一个全新的球游戏，我认为这将需要训练。这将需要真正专注于人们不必处理的不同事物。

他们将必须成为确保办公室中没有A团队和B团队遥不可及的人。他们将不得不确保当他们开会时，他们不仅会有那天的所有“办公室”人 - 他们将不得不小心他们如何保持团队在一起，因为它赢了在一起，但这也不是每个人都分开，而且[远程工作]也不会遥不可及。它将介于两者之间。

新利luckENR：您认为遥远的工人对不够快速的要求感到焦虑吗？持续的怀疑经理认为每个进入办公室的每个人都默认情况下更多地在球上？

Exactly, and I think that's something that managers are really going to have to watch for. They're going to have to mediate relationships between the people on their teams to make sure they are alert for resentment or jealousy, or that somebody who has chosen to be remote is kind of gradually shutting down, feeling less included and becoming disengaged. Because if the people who do not come in the office start feeling disengaged from the people who do then then you're going to see a loss of productivity and you don't want that right? I mean, purely from a work perspective. Lack of engagement is a lack of productivity is a loss of profit margin and revenue.

So I think managers are going to have to continue that understanding and empathy, and so are the leaders of the companies that used to have everyone in the office and decided to go hybrid. They can't choose to go hybrid to attract talent but then resent it everyday. Because that's not really fair either.

新利luckENR：还有过度劳累的问题，不愿抽出时间在这个行业的大流行之前。您有一些工作文化，没有人愿意始终被视为没有完全参与，这在扩展的工作中会带来更大的压力。

去年和今年，我已经谈论并通过电子邮件和写信给团队中的人们比以往任何时候都多。无论是在大流行的开始还是以后，我都可以说人们在疯狂的时间像在网上一样，听起来很累。而且我知道大流行的压力以及周围的一切也要考虑到。

And that may have been some of it, but I think it was also was they were really afraid that they were going to be let go. And so I found myself in the kind of unusual position of having a mandatory "all hands" in which I told everybody to stop working so hard.

我以前从未做过，但是我知道他们正在工作不健康，我不得不明确地说：“看，没有人看着你的虚拟肩膀。”我明白了，正在发生事情，所以让我们找到一种在工作和家庭之间缓冲的方法，我给了他们一些建议，然后这是一封有关自我护理的电子邮件。没事是可以的。可以取消当天的会议。如果您只是感到焦虑和压力，那么您不必打开Dang摄像机，您知道吗？因为我知道有些人发现精神疲惫。

新利luckENR：您是否在与CTO和其他公司的其他行业的对话中看到了更广泛行业的焦虑迹象？

我认为人们一般都被烧毁了。他们不仅承受着尝试保持动力并跟上截止日期的压力，而且还远程做到了，不得不进行虚拟设计评论。如果他们足够幸运，也许他们正在使用虚拟现实，但否则，一切都更难做到。正是不知道接下来会发生什么[Covid-19]的总体不确定性。这很累。

新利luckENR：您是否感觉到，一年多来，公司和管理层开始适应新的状况？

从好的方面来说，我确实认为公司已经通过大流行意识到他们的同事可以信任远程生产性，因此他们现在对此更加开放。他们必须利用许多数字协作工具，并习惯于异步通信。

I think companies are much better equipped to handle it and have the right tools at least to handle it. And so the emphasis, as it did for me, moves from tools and skills and equipping people to care about and support people, mental health, engagement, and inclusivity, particularly from middle managers, to level that playing field. I would like to think that makes the AEC industry a more inclusive and better place to work overall.

新利luckENR：施工通常被视为在新技术和管理风格上的曲线背后。您认为该行业将适应这些新的工作方式吗？

在大多数情况下，人们将在这里拥抱机会。我认为这不仅是强制返回办公室或启用混合工作模型或允许人们完全遥不可及的选择。这是一个领导挑战。但这也是一个领导机会，是首席执行官的机会

首席执行官会说：“在过去的一年半中，我见过大家工作。我相信您可以为您和家人做出正确的选择，以便您想花费时间以及您想如何工作。但是我也相信您将在工作中专注并有效地工作 - 无论您在办公桌上工作，还是在家工作。”

我认为这样做的首席执行官会更容易吸引和保持人才，使员工的敬业度和士气将有所改善，他们将提供更具包容性的工作场所。我认为，只要他们能与经理制定正确的日程安排，他们会感到更加受到支持和欢迎。

对我来说，这是一个“瘦”的时刻。您要这样做还是要向后滑？

克莱尔·鲁特科夫斯基（Claire Rutkowski）于2016年从MWH Global加入Bentley，担任首席信息官，负责向全球7000名工程专业人士提供IT战略，服务和支持。她现在负责本特利的全球IT组织，塑造并在其全球业务中提供了技术议程。