Remote work is a fast-growing trend of our time. Although just a few years ago it was a distinctive feature of IT teams and developers. Today, more and more companies and businesses are moving to new ways of organizing work processes. There are several reasons for these changes.
Firstly, the Covid-19 epidemic and the subsequent lockdowns significantly affected the market, because the authorities forbade people to go to work. And many employers could not simply pay salaries to their employees. Of course, some businessmen went bankrupt. But, the other part has adapted to the new conditions and organized new work processes when the employee works from home.
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Secondly, remote work allows you to save significant funds that can be spent on business development. After all, the manager no longer has to pay rent and maintenance of the office. Free money can be spent on additional bonuses or promotion of your business, which is especially true for young startups that do not have sufficient funding and resources for their project.
Thus, today all conditions have been created for transferring the staff to remote work. Many types of businesses, including well-known companies, have done so. Today, more and more people work from home, performing their tasks no less efficiently than before. The trend is only gaining momentum.
You may think that remote work is a great solution for both the employer and the employee. After all, now you work from the comfort of your home and do not waste time traveling to the office or public transport. It really is. However, such an organization also has its downsides. What will you face when working remotely?
Problem 1: Wrong time management
Work in the office has a clear schedule. You come and go at the same time. You have lunch and rest strictly according to the schedule. Thus, you better plan your time during the day to do all the tasks with high quality and on time. Working from home changes everything. The boundary between the workplace and the home disappears, and the boundary between work and personal time is erased. What does it threaten? Gradually, you stop noticing the time and when to stop. You start working more without noticing that it’s already the middle of the night. As a result, work “breaks” into personal life. Stress and fatigue gradually appear due to processing. Personal time management is very important for the internal daily routine. In fact, you must make your own work schedule and stick to it. However, not everyone is capable of this. So there is overwork, a gradual decrease in motivation, and a desire to work.
Problem 2: Chats and video calls do not replace live communication
Today, successful business development is impossible without the use of corporate digital tools. The market offers a wide range of platforms for organizing and optimizing remote teamwork. Microsoft Teams, Notion, Slack, Trello, and Jira are the most popular products. They provide great opportunities for communication and promotion of the project. Moreover, most of them allow you to integrate third-party applications if you lack standard tools for the job.
For example, Microsoft 365 business voice SMS takes communication between employees, partners, and customers to the next level. Send text messages, make appointments, set up call forwarding, audio conferencing, and more. Corporate messengers have a set of functions for organizing effective teamwork.
However, all conversations and correspondence in chats do not give the effect of live communication between employees. Over time, difficulties arise in communicating with people. At first, you can notice how you drop out of communication on general calls. It is difficult to post your comments, it is more difficult to “catch the same wave” with colleagues. Increasingly, misunderstandings arise between people, a person wants to step back more and more and be present only formally. This is a very common effect. To cope with it, it is necessary to organize and take part in joint online activities. They will help to establish contact between all team members.
Problem 3: Family Distraction
It is typical for those workers who live with their families. If you are a bachelor, you can proceed to the next item. Why is the family a problem for effective work?
Everything is simple. Relatives are used to the fact that if someone is at home, then you can approach him, chat or ask for help. Remote work forces family people to rebuild communications with relatives. No other way. We have to set boundaries in communication and space. However, not all family members are ready to accept these boundaries. The most difficult thing is to set frames for children. After all, they are used to thinking that if dad or mom is at home, then they will play with me. At home, it is necessary to set up a special place for work, an office, if the area allows. Plus, the workplace must be well equipped. Usually, large companies help their employees with this issue. If you still can’t come to some kind of consensus, then you need to find a place to work outside the home, such as a coworking cafe, for example.
4 problems: Health difficulties
A sedentary lifestyle negatively affects our health. Doctors have been talking about this for a long time. If you work in an office, you are always on the move to get to work. In addition, you can walk around the office, and approach a colleague to find out something. At home, everything is different. You are rarely distracted by extraneous activities and certainly move less than in the office, which leads to a more sedentary lifestyle. As a consequence, health problems develop due to a lack of sufficient movement. The first thing you get is extra weight. It will only get worse in the future.
Prepare in advance if you do not want to have any difficulties working from home. Equip your workplace with a comfortable ergonomic chair and table. Make a warm-up program and a small workout. And most importantly, take a break from work.
