Remote working is a popular discourse on the front burner these days, and although there are companies who are against it and those who are in favor of it, employees confront a lot of mistrust.
Introduction
Some staff had been working remotely before the outbreak of the corona virus. In fact, millions of individuals in the tech industry, freelance employment, and a variety of many other economic sectors operate from home offices or laptops at dining tables. It wasn’t every day, though, that you encountered someone who worked from home.
The lockdown associated with the Covid -19 pandemic opened a window for employees to work remotely. It prompted firms to provide workers with unprecedented freedom in how they live their lives and log into their jobs.
It was a necessity-driven experiment, but the outcomes have mainly been positive. Working from home has been shown to enhance productivity and employee happiness, suggesting that the pandemic’s implemented policies may be here to stay.
These days, remote working is all the rage. Some businesses go completely remote, while others enable employees to work remotely and office workers to work from home, while still others provide it as a reward to those who desire it.
While an increasing number of businesses are adopting a remote working culture in the hopes of enhancing their productivity and profitability, there are several considerations that should be made before doing so.
If your firm is thinking about making the switch to remote working, here are some pointers that can be useful to you and your staff in the long term.
Tips for managing Remote Working
- Communication
- Get good tech gadgets
- Create a working style that sits you
- Set a work time duration
- Take care of yourself
Employers recruiting for remote positions tend to find out if the candidates applying for the said role have any form of remote working experience. Adjusting to working remotely sometimes can take a huge toll on any individual.
Here are several tips that help workers improve productivity and efficiency while working remotely:
Communication
- The need for regular two-way communication during a crisis is of paramount importance, and the pandemic has been no exception.
- There is an expectation from senior management to show leadership and ensure channels of communication remain open.
- Technology has been a game changer for communication during the pandemic, but it has unique social challenges attached.
As with any crisis, communication is the most important element to get right, and that communication needs to be regular and consistent. This was crucial throughout the pandemic with most organizations having staff working remotely.
Get good tech gadgets
As a remote worker having reliable WiFi is critical to your success, it is like oxygen but a great setup requires more than just an internet connection.
You should think about what tools and technology you’ll need to accomplish your work successfully, in addition to being able to accept video calls without losing connection. Remote employees, for example, discover that wireless keyboards and mouse, as well as a second screen, are essential to their productivity.
Create a working style that suits you
It’s a good idea to figure out the atmosphere you’ll need to function successfully when you first start remote working. Do you enjoy being surrounded by white noise? For you, a café or perhaps an ICT hub could be the ideal option.
Is it possible to work effectively in silence? Perhaps it’s time to get some noise-cancelling headphones. Other factors to consider include if you are more productive in the morning or evening, and whether you are inspired by little breaks throughout the day or a big break in the middle of the day.
Set a work time duration
As the world becomes more connected, this can be one of the most difficult aspects for newcomers to remote work. Though you may receive emails and chat notifications at any time especially if you work in a different time zone, it’s important to establish a habit of “logging off” for the night.
The best part of remote working is being able to work when you’re most productive, so don’t set the expectation that you’ll be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Take care of health
I mean everyone wants to relax and be taken care of. When the line between work and home isn’t properly defined, you may find yourself glued to your computer screen for longer periods of time, which can lead to a variety of health problems. Instead, commit to your fitness routine and make sure you schedule time to eat healthy, nutritious meals so that you can be focused and productive when you need to be.
Challenges of remote working
- Lack of mentorship
- Not knowing your peers and colleagues
- Poor mental health
- Unwarranted distractions
- Networking
Just like every other thing else, working remotely has its own challenges, some of which are very detrimental to mental health and overall health and fitness. Some analyst have said that remote working could increase obesity in employees.
More often, people hear horror stories about how their productivity went down with no supervisory feedback on how to improve their performance.
Mentorship
Arguments amongst professionals within the age bracket 45 – 60, argue that remote working isn’t beneficial to employees at the entry level. New hires don’t get to liaise with senior staff and learn from their huge wealth of experience.
All of this mentorship, informal learning, and subtle acculturation to the rules of your industry won’t happen when you’re on the sofa with your cat and your laptop.
Not everyone is fairing the same with virtual work, some people are of the opinion that remote work actually isn’t cool, most especially for young people just starting their careers.
Knowing your colleagues
According to TINYpulse, there are two important issues to be concerned with. New hires don’t know their colleagues. This has resulted in 34% less peer recognition for them than for their counterparts.
Furthermore, the new hires haven’t had the opportunity to spend time at the office, unlike other employees who were there prior to the pandemic. They don’t get to “live the culture” of the company. This results in being 20% less likely to acknowledge company values.
Mental health
Working from home might make you feel more anxious, stressed, and under pressure. This can manifest itself in a variety of ways, such as pressure to work around the clock or pressure to work when you should be sleeping. You may not feel as though you’re achieving as much as your peers without professional milestones like a new nameplate on your desk or a nice corner office, which can contribute to depression.
Working from home is fantastic, but it’s seldom a fast track to outrageous success (unless you’ve already made a name for yourself). In other words, while you’re young and eager, remote employment might limit your goals without providing anything in return.
When you don’t have to travel to any place for work, you may spend days without speaking to anyone. When you work remotely, you miss the social component of speaking and venting about work and life, despite the fact that you avoid disturbing coworkers.
Distractions
While working from home there seems to be a lot of distractions, maybe from kids, garbage truck, siblings and unwanted guests who probably are aware that you are always at home.
You might be trying to work on the on – page SEO of a client, having a video conferencing call or probably brainstorming to write down a 2000 word article and your sibling walks in screaming “Harry have you seen my toothbrush?”
Connection and Networking
In RingCentral’s research report titled Is Remote Work Sustainable?, a focus on a “connected culture” leads to significant gains in employee productivity and well-being. Connection is more than being technologically connected. It is about conversations, activities and projects that bring people together, even if they are working from home.
Its good leadership and management working to keep employees motivated and feeling a part of the organization. It takes frequent communication, good collaboration tools and social events like virtual happy hours, peer chats and group video games.
Conclusion
Change may be difficult, but it can also be extremely rewarding. Individual individuals, firms they work for, and the greater economy will all be affected by the growth in people working from home, both positively and negatively.
For businesses, the challenge may be as simple as altering the process and implementing the appropriate collaboration/communication technologies. What worked in the past may no longer be effective.
One thing is certain: the epidemic provided many businesses with the chance to test the waters and uncover innovative business models that may benefit them—and their employees—in the long run.
