THE REMOTE WORK REVOLUTION

Let’s breakdown the pros and cons of one of the major trends taking the world by storm.

Introduction

As an employer, you  may decide  to allow all your employees to do their jobs from a location other than a central office at which you operate.  The employees can decide to work from home or any other shared place that is outside the traditional corporate building or office.

Remote working was unpopular for a long time until the recent COVID-19 pandemic that caused most business owners to think outside the box in order to continue operating. This was mainly because governments in different countries enforced lockdowns. Since then, many companies are joining the remote work revolution. The ultimate advantage of working remotely is the ability to save on office rent since you don’t have to be there physically. There are many pros to having a remote business which we shall discuss in this article. 

Advantages of working remotely

1. Increased Flexibility: Working remotely avails an opportunity for employees to work from wherever they are. This is very useful for those with multiple or tight schedules with school, family or other engagements that make it difficult to be physically available in the office. As a result of people not having the regular and monotonous morning routine of waking up and preparing for work while getting stuck in traffic in an attempt to be early to work,  many employees can find more time to spend with family and friends while still finding some free time to partake in their hobbies and interests. This makes them happy and satisfied with their jobs due to the healthy work-life balance created by working remotely. Ultimately the company will have stable employees who do not think of quitting every time; making it easy for the employers to retain their excellent team members.
2. Reduction of Overhead Costs: Remote work eliminates the requirement of an office, thus saving many companies a lot of money on rent, furnishing, and other utilities. In addition, the cost of employees and employers having to commute every single day to the office is eliminated. Finally, it also does away with the extra costs of long-distance travel and accommodation as most meetings happen over the internet through zoom, discord, google meet, or whatever system the remote team may choose.
3. Increased Productivity:  With the perk of a well-balanced work-life, the employees are better motivated to produce high-quality work and meet deadlines without being under pressure since they get to work whenever and wherever they can due to the flexible working hours offered by working remotely. Furthermore, the tendency of creating coffee and lunch breaks at the office is eliminated and hence, there are less interruptions by others who might want to chat when one works at home.
4. Improved morale and health: Employees can be more satisfied because working remotely provides autonomy and freedom. Remote workers tend to have a more stable health and personal life since they have more time to do regular exercises and maintain a healthy diet because they are not constrained by the need to travel to work daily or buy takeouts which are characteristic of office workers. If the employees are healthy there will be fewer requests put in for sick leaves and also the company will incur fewer healthcare insurance costs.
5. Business owners can hire employees from all around the globe: Whether the business needs part-time or full-time employees, employers can get creative and talented workers from anywhere without geographical restrictions. This leads to a business having a well-diversified workforce with increased cultural literacy. A team with varied cultural and regional backgrounds is more creative and innovative. Employees being globally spread promotes international brand recognition for the company.
6. Creating and building a strong brand together with a more loyal customer base.

Disadvantages of working remotely

While there are many pros to working from home, this revolution has some very unproductive downsides. 

1. Loss of collaboration: A company having its team spread across different locations while working remotely reduces teamwork because they do not get together frequently. This may lead to delays in deadlines, miscommunication and general frustration for everyone involved. Little teamwork also decreases engagement of the employees and eventually overall productivity.
2. Communication challenges – miscommunication and confusion: This is usually due to availability of the team members at different times which makes scheduling and meeting attendance very disorganized. This is further escalated by time zone difference for teams that are spread in different continents or countries with alternating time zones.
3. Lack of supervision: Employees may struggle to stay organized and motivated because there is an authority figure monitoring their work physically. The employees will have to have a high self-discipline in order for them to carry out tasks and meet deadlines.
4. Isolation – making employees feel lonely and stressed: This is as a result of less social  interaction of employees which translates in boredom and feeling of loneliness. Whereas with an office setting, the employees can chat with one another and share ideas and challenges as they arise; working alone can burn out employees and ultimately affect their mental health.
5. Overloaded Management Responsibilities: While working from home sounds less hectic, you can expect some crucial challenges with monitoring employee performance, financial stand of the business or even follow up on work process. This makes each task take more time and require more financial resources for everything to fit together.
6.  High costs on  logistics: Your company team will have to learn to use technology and software they may not have used before. They will need to be provided with equipment and devices  such as phones, tablets, laptops or desktops depending on the type of work, which can have significant logistical and internet costs. In addition departments, such as IT, may also face difficulties managing employees’ technical issues as most of these have to be resolved remotely.

In a nutshell, remote work definitely has some major pros and any business can apply it to ease the production process. Several of the cons can also be solved using real-time solutions that we have applied as the team at KDI. Businesses that require their employees to be at the offices can still benefit by integrating remote work as a part time venture for the team, especially those that are far from the offices.