You can show your hard work, even from home

Johnny C. Taylor Jr., a human resources expert, is tackling your questions as part of a series for USA TODAY. Taylor is president and CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management, the world's largest HR professional society. The questions are submitted by readers, and Taylor's answers below have been edited for length and clarity.

Question: My company has announced that we will all be working remotely permanently. I'm concerned that not having the usual office interactions will hurt my chances of getting promoted and being recognized in the company. How do I make sure people recognize my hard work? – Anonymous

Johnny C. Taylor Jr.: This is an important question. The saying “out of sight, out of mind” holds some truth. Leaders tend to promote the people they see in person; the ones they chat with in the elevator. These workplace relationships, and promotional decisions, are often built face to face.

Still, the pandemic has changed many office dynamics. However, one thing you should know off the bat: Whether you’re remote or in the office, your performance will always speak volumes. And you’re not alone. While many employers are reopening their worksites, there are some who are transitioning to a hybrid or all- remote workforce.

Given your situation, there are a few steps you can take to ensure your hard work is not overlooked.

First, communicate your concerns with your manager and discuss your company’s plans for recognizing stellar performance in a remote world. If you’ve got your eye on a promotion, I urge you to gain a clear understanding if that’s a realistic option.

There are many factors that go into a promotion – such as budget, effort, the ability to backfill your role and getting on the radar of the decision- maker. It might not be up to your manager alone.

Here’s what I recommend: Focus on relationship building. Try to participate in as many virtual get- togethers and optional meetings as you can so your peers and management have the opportunity to see your abilities and leadership skills firsthand. And even though you’re not physically in the office, you should act as if you were – always keep your camera on and be professionally dressed.

Contributing ideas, supporting teammates and taking a proactive approach when challenges arise will go a long way in showing why you deserve to be recognized.

Consider tracking your wins to demonstrate how you add value to your team and organization. It’s OK to brag a little bit when your performance review rolls around. And if the time is right, someday it could lead you to your promotion.

Remember: many companies are still trying to figure out how to walk into this new normal of remote work – balancing business needs while not losing traction around the things that matter, including employee engagement and recognition.

Q: I work at a fast- food restaurant, and every single co- worker around me is always smoking or doing other drugs and I seem to be the only one doing any work. Can I, as an employee who is not a manager, do anything to request a storewide drug test? – Robert C.

Taylor.: Given that you are not in management, I can fully understand how difficult of a situation this is.

First, take a close look at your employee handbook to see if your company has a drug use or testing policy. This could shed light not only on your current situation but also on whether your company conducts drug screenings of employees, random or otherwise.

While I would normally recommend you speak to your location manager first, it appears from what you’ve described that the manager doesn’t care about this behavior. I’ve worked in restaurants before in high school and college, and the manager would have to know about this. So, I think you should immediately reach out to your HR Department and, if they don’t have one, to the regional operations executive.

Workplace safety is paramount, especially in restaurants where a mistake in handling a dangerous piece of equipment can lead to great physical harm and even the death of a colleague. In addition, life- threatening foodborne illnesses are increasingly making the news and social media headlines. Companies have an absolute legal federal, state and local obligation to ensure their employees and their customers are safe. For these reasons alone, I feel you must escalate your concerns to management outside of the actual unit in which you work.

Hopefully, alerting senior management about this situation will create positive changes in your workplace and ensure no customers’ life is negatively impacted by the irresponsible conduct of some of your colleagues.