Many companies are now shifting towards remote working. In addition, most are considering letting their workers work entirely remotely.
Can I Work Remotely Full-Time?
Yes. You can accomplish the same tasks you would in an office while working remotely. It helps you avoid commuting to work daily, saving you a lot of time and money.
Even in-house employees can seamlessly work remotely and still be a part of the company’s larger team. But bear in mind that while remote working offers flexibility, it’s not suitable for everyone.
Therefore, before you quickly decide on working from home, weigh out the perks and drawbacks first.
Remote working helps employees create a perfect life and work balance. It allows them to remain productive at work while still concentrating on their personal life. However, it’s not without flaws.
Although remote work has some pitfalls, most of them are manageable. Plus, the benefits are more than the drawbacks. Managers can ensure the productivity and effectiveness of teams by setting the right working strategies and supplying the employees with the right tools to facilitate working from home.
It is why individuals need to weigh the pros and cons before deciding.
Pros of Remote Working
Better Employee Experience
Since you don’t commute to work, you can spend more time with your family and friends. As such, you will enjoy working for your company. Remote working also ensures your general well-being. When employees have a great experience with a company, they will be more productive and successful at work.
Reduces Business and Infrastructure Costs
Remote working can be cost-saving for managers. Note that there will be no need to invest in many desks or equipment at the office for the employees to use. Plus, you’ll only rent a smaller space to accommodate the few employees that come to the office. Therefore, you save on the equipment and rent costs. One study
revealed that companies could save about $2000 on each employee that works remotely.
Better Work-Life Balance
Commuting from home to work can be exhausting, expensive, and time-wasting. But when working from home, you won’t need to endure traffic and other things that come with going to the office every day.
When you are well-rested, you are more productive and efficient. Plus, you get time to concentrate on other aspects of your life.
Recruit and Maintain Top Talent
Many employees today consider job offers that allow them to work remotely. And many workers are willing to quit their jobs to go remote, even if there is no salary increment.
So, allowing remote working shouldn’t even be a debate for companies if they want top talents on their team. Companies that offer remote working, whether full-time or partial, are top choices for many skilled candidates.
Offers Freedom
Traditionally, employees are required to work for at least 8-9 hours every day every week. With such a schedule, you can’t even do a personal errand or take a nap during your break when you need to relax your mind. You can only engage in these other activities after work or when you’re on leave.
But remote working offers a lot of freedom and flexibility. Note that you can create your schedule. For instance, you can decide to work during morning hours and do other things for the remaining part of the day.
So, instead of someone worrying about the standard time they spend at work, they focus on the work they do itself.
Cost Saving and Reduce Carbon Print
Individuals can save a lot of money annually when working remotely. For example, one wouldn’t have to spend on transport, vehicle maintenance, parking tickets, lunch in a fancy restaurant, and the costs of going to the office.
Plus, if you usually drive to work, remote working helps you reduce your carbon print since you won’t drive your car. So, you’ll save the environment.
Read – 50 Reasons Why the Future of Work is Remote
Cons of Working Remotely
Reduced Collaboration
Employees don’t talk to each other as much when they work remotely. Thus, they don’t have random conversations about other things during lunch or coffee breaks. Now, these small talks can seem unnecessary, but they create bonds with teams. As such, it improves team coordination.
However, with remote teams, conversations are strictly limited to work and formal chats most times. Thus, employees may feel awkward or uncomfortable contacting their co-workers about the challenges or problems they face that might be reducing their productivity.
Eliminates Face-to-Face Interaction
When working remotely, you don’t meet face to face with other employees. As such, it can be challenging for teams to collaborate. Managers’ primary concern about remote work is that the team members might not be as effective as they would in the office. And while research suggests otherwise, still, this argument is valid.
Also, since there is less guidance and support from the manager, an employee can struggle with specific tasks. And sometimes, it can lead to loneliness or feeling left out when the manager is not available to help with their challenges and needs.
However, managers can avoid this by planning a one-on-one interaction with each employee.
Lack of Access to Information
Another downside of remote work is that employees struggle to locate the information they need to work effectively. As such, they waste so much time searching for information.
The only way they can get the information is by messaging or calling their colleagues, of which they can’t keep doing that all the time. This significantly reduces their productivity and engagement.
But managers can avoid this by having a digital workplace platform where all information is posted. Make sure that all employees can access this platform.
Loneliness
Going to the office every day allows workers to interact with each other. So, employees, even those working in different departments, can still engage with each other.
However, remote working is just you and your laptop. Therefore, it’s easy to feel lonely and isolated. Although some people can decide to co-work or work in a café to reduce loneliness, this is challenging now that there’s social distancing.
Isolation and loneliness can lead to burnout, frustration, and reduced productivity. However, virtual team-building activities can help.
Challenges with Management
Remote working needs you to manage everything by yourself. This includes your internet connection, computer issues, workstation, etc.
Therefore, you’ll be forced to learn several technologies to remain productive, such as project management software and to-do list apps.
Also, you’re in charge of managing your work correctly and keeping yourself organized.
Bridge in Communication
When at the office, you can approach another employee easily and converse about something. But with remote work, you’ll have to use things like video calls and messages to talk to other team members.
Although video conferencing offers a great solution, it doesn’t feel the same as when talking to someone who is right next to you.
Without proper communication, team collaboration and effectiveness will significantly be affected.
Hard to Stay Motivated
When you are not being actively supervised or seeing other co-workers around, you can quickly become demotivated.
Remote working can develop procrastination and a laid-back habit. When this happens, your career starts to sink.
Keep Reading – Eight Ways to Increase Productivity: A Guide for Remote Workers
