Pros And Cons Of Remote Working

PROS AND CONS OF REMOTE WORKING Some people love the idea of working from home/remote working, some have prejudices against it and they are pretty much skeptical about the productivity. But in this world, there is nothing like black and white, it’s all grey. Some of the points which really weigh in the favor of remote working are: 1.No Commute Now, there is no need of shuttling between home and office. We can utilize this time to do some productive work/house chores/office work. It has reduced a significant amount of pollution level in some of the cities and states. The air quality in Delhi and Bangalore have improved and its pretty good for India as 13 out of 20 most populated cities in the world 2.Save Money So, to commute either we are using our personal vehicles or public transport. Now, we don’t have to pay for fuel refilling or tickets, thereby saving a significant amount of money. The companies which used to provide the transport allowance have adjusted it in some other cash emoluments or benefits. 3.Flexible working hours When people used to go to office they have to work within a fixed time. Now, it’s not the case. This means you can work when you are feeling most productive. Some people feel productive during morning or during night. So, the work hours have been customized without comprising with the deadlines. 4.More time with family As you are working from home, you can spend a lot of time with your family members and this is acting as a great stress buster. The ambience plays an important role in the work productivity and it has been reflecting in the work of many employees. 5.Reduced stress PGi has revealed that remote working has reduced stress. Its not only the annoying commute that you can skip while working online but also the keyboard hammerings, yelling of someone on the call or the boss nagging you each and every time. 6.Autonomy Especially when you are working in a large organization you got into labyrinths of protocols and guidelines to follow. Now, as you are working from home there is some degree of freedom you can exercise, some decisions you can take on your own. So, this has given an added responsibility and also a sense of decision maker, thus boosting the confidence.

However, not everything Is bright and cosy when it comes to remote working. There are several cons associated with it which we will be discussing in the points below.

1) Less Interaction with Colleagues In Remote Working ,even though employees are interacting with co-employees via various communication and virtual set-ups , they often feel isolated and lonely. Employees cannot hang out with each other, have lunch or enjoy the weekend with each other which helps in improving peer to peer interaction and relationship with each other. Google, for example, believe that employees should literally be within touching distance from each other – they believe this leads to better ideas, more ‘light bulb’ moments.

2) Work/Life Balance Challenge Even though remote working is more flexible and if managed correctly can improve our work/life balance, many people struggle to differentiate between home and work. If, for example, you work for a global company with colleagues all around the world, you may find yourself at home at 9pm in the evening sending an email to your colleague in the States, then before you know it, its 11pm GMT and you have been online since 8am GMT. When working from home it is important to make clear distinctions between workplace and home space. There is no clear demarcation of working hours while WFH whereas there is a specified time slot for regular office going goers. Thus, we may end of working 7 days a work while WFH as compared to the weekends that we get off. 3) Low reliability and retention Remote workers tend to look at jobs as a stepping stone or waypoint on the way to something bigger. And since the team spirit is harder to develop , remote workers feel no guilt about moving on to new opportunities. Likewise, employers too may not look at remote workers as permanent employees and there can also be issues when employers feel that employees are not putting in the work they should, therefore,it helps when they have a bit more skin in the game.

4) Difficult to manage and maintain accountability Employers generally have more work to manage and have a time overhead compared to someone at the office plays a big part.Likewise, It’s also easy to forget and ignore remote workers and it can be harder to evaluate their productivity. A culture that has a mix of remote and non-remote has the remotes pretty isolated as the normal way of communicating things

has them left out.It also becomes hard to monitor how they work, or their deliverables. The degree of procrastination is something that can spiral of out control. Hence,depending on the type of role you hire for, it is important to know how you are going to monitor their status. Remote teams require more micromanagement to ensure they are on the right track. 5) Total Dependency on Technology As a remote worker, you have to rely on email, smart phones, laptop, etc. to stay in contact with the office and clients. You are totally dependent on the right technology to be in business. It’s also up to the individual to keep up with technology that evolves so rapidly and the ones not adept and comfortable at handling such rapid changes will have difficulty to working conditions of ‘The New Normal’. 6) Need for high self-discipline It takes a lot of dedication and self-control to work at home and not succumb to distractions. It’s easy to lose motivation and focus which are pitfalls to your success. Therefore, it’s important to be intentional about how you’re using your time. You need to structure your environment in such a way that keeps you engaged.