2013, Pennsylvania, The US. Working virtually in front of a fireplace at a hotel lobby in Pennsylvania. Photo credit: Erika Pursiainen, UNICEF Innovation Unit, NYHQ

My last blog post discussed simple tools our team uses in our everyday work at the UNICEF Innovation Unit in New York. This time my topic – virtual work – is especially current for our team. At the moment, we are having “virtual January” which means we can choose where we want to work, be it at home, at a library or on the other side of the country. Virtual work is a must to survive and keep up with the momentum in this ever-changing world, not only for us but also for all international teams.

Virtual work is a must for today’s organizations

Working with our country offices and helping them find new, innovative solutions to better the lives of children in their own countries requires effective virtual work. Virtual tools can be very effective in international work, but they must be learned and practiced. Even though virtual tools save resources in terms of time, travel, and money, and offer important real-time connections they are still often neglected by organizations that are not that agile and rely on the traditional ways of working (although one might say that virtual work is traditional work nowadays).

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