Remote work is on the rise. While having the ability to work from outside of a corporate office has been workable for a few decades, working remotely is only now becoming mainstream and easy to work from home. There are many benefits of working remotely that are clear. And while the idea isn't new, the technology is now available to make it much easier and cheaper to do it successfully.
Remote Work
Remote work is also known as telecommunication it was actually
started in the naughty 2000 era when there was an introduction to the Internet
and sort of wireless communication tools. There are big companies that have
adopted remote work companies like Apple, Google, Microsoft, and a lot of other
leading companies in the tech space. A lot of them have seen the potential of
remote work and implemented it within their company culture.
Remote working means people working from different roofs.
Basically, location independence is the key factor that falls under remote
working, so you can work from home, you can work from a co-working space,
a café, even in an airport, etc. It doesn't matter. The only key aspect about
remote working is that it's location independent. You're digitally connected to
your work and you don't have to be in a physical space to do whatever your work
then tells you to do.
So that's the key thing nowadays lately especially in the
past few years, it's actually become very popular. More companies are embracing
this work model because almost five years ago this is a kind of futuristic word
model and it's going to get somewhere, but it's not there yet. A lot of
companies and many people did not apply and embrace it. People still had a lot
of doubts about it, does it work?
Nowadays more companies are embracing it, more people are
embracing it and also there are actually many people who work remotely without
even naming it as I work from home, put up as photographers, videographers, do
they even need and for it a physical office space not really like our content
traders? Imagine content traders are one of the fastest-growing careers
nowadays and do they need an office space no not at all?
Part-Time Remote Work
You do a part-time remote job from the comfort of working from home.
"The hours are flexible, and all you need to start is often a working computer
and internet connection."
1. Transcription: Transcription is a business service that
converts audio into a written or electronic text document.
2. Part-Time Remote Work: Writing: Article/Feature writing
or Social Media Content Creation are a few examples of writing jobs you can do.
3. Translation: This skill is relevant in advertising, branding, and even the entertainment industry where there is always a new audience to market to.
4. Voice-over: Voice-over is a production technique that
uses a voice from an external source to create a narrative in film-making,
television production, or advertising.
5. Part-Time Remote Video Editing: Video editing is piecing
video clips together and manipulating video shots to create more work.
6. Virtual Assistant: A virtual assistant is a freelancer
who provides administrative, creative, and technical help to their clients from
the comfort of their home or a remote location.
People confuse part-time with easy. You need to own a
certain skill set before it can hire you. "Update your resume, ask for
testimonials from previous clients, pitch non-stop." Always be ready to
answer your clients’ questions openly and on time. "Finally, remote work
can be good for you." "Other than the extra money, part-time remote
work makes you gain knowledge on different topics." You might even
discover interests you never knew you had.
Full-time remote work
Covid-19 spread across the globe faster than Justin Bieber,
single one country after another issued, stay home commands asking us to
shelter in place. The new office became the kitchen table and family rooms
turned into classrooms overnight, while we're all sheltered. Remote working has
become the new norm until Covid-19, but it turns out that remote working is
serving some companies, so well they may never return to the daily grind. Many
are considering a full-time shift to work at home as the norm, not an option
we're not talking mom-and-pop shop businesses, either we're talking about some
of the biggest names in tech who until now have boasted improved campus work
cultures. Now it's all Google hangouts, zoom, and slacks instead of casual
Fridays and scooters around the office. There are big 10 companies moving to
remote working full-time:
1. Coinbase
2. Lambda school
3. Twitter and Square
4. Amazon
5. Altair (IT company)
6. Laserfiche (Privately-owned software development agency)
7. BALBIX (Cyber Security Company)
8. Facebook
9. Shopify
10. Upworthy (Content Distribution Company)
Benefits of working remotely
There are many benefits of working remotely that are clear. And while the idea isn't new, the technology is now available to make it much easier and cheaper to do it successfully. Following are:
1. Commuting as chronic stress:
One benefit of working remotely is that you get to avoid the stress related to commuting, and this
is a proven thing. Research has shown after interviewing thousands and
thousands of employees that commuting is one of the top reasons for stress. Be
that delays or crowded traffic or commuting partners, you name it, but most
employees and most people who get to travel to work for more than 20 minutes
every day, show advanced signs of stress, even chronic stress, which ultimately
can lead to illness. So one of the most important benefits of working from home
is exactly this, you get to avoid commuting, which then leads to less stress
for you.
2. Save money:
Over the years, I've done a calculation, and realized that I saved between three and $4,000 every year by not commuting to work. And of course, the amount will differ from one country to another or from one state to another, but roughly, you will get to a similar amount. And I'm not only talking about the costs that you incur with the transportation, so the gas that you have to pay to get to work, but also adds to all those little habits that you have related to your commuting time. Be that your morning coffee or any little thing that you usually buy when you go to work. As well as all the office attire that you usually need to invest in, then that amount can add up to a significant one. So why not spend that money and add it to your holiday fund or spend it on something that is more productive, and that makes you happier, rather than spend it on commuting to work?
3. Flexibility:
And of course, here, I'm talking about your schedule
flexibility, but also your location flexibility. So let's take them one by one.
Schedule flexibility means that you can choose the time you want to start work
and the time you want to end your workday. That is all up to you, and you can
even choose when to take breaks during the day if your schedule allows for
that. But there is a big caveat here. Unless you make this choice and you put
in place your starting time and your quitting time in your calendar, then
working from home could sometimes mean that you work around the clock because
there's nobody to tell you to stop working.
Location flexibility, of course, working from home means
that you work remotely. So essentially, you could work from anywhere in the
world that you choose to. But what this means is, if you choose to travel, as
well as work, then a remote working job or a remote working career will allow
for that. So if you want to travel and see the world and earn some money, then
this should be something you want to consider.
4. Healthier lifestyle:
Nowadays, we're all looking to lead healthier lifestyles and
remote working could bring you that. Not only because it has such an impact,
Physical Health First, when you work from home, but you also get to choose what
you eat. You get to meal plan and make sure that you eat only proper and
healthy food, unlike what you usually do when you work in an office setting,
which means eating the unhealthy food that your restaurant or your cafeteria
are serving or even the restaurant next door, or sometimes, because I know some
of you can't even take time to have a proper lunch, and you end up eating junk
food. So working from home will allow you to avoid that and to eat properly and
healthy. Not only that but also given what we've talked about flexibility, you
get to plan and take breaks in your day so you can exercise. You can plan and
go for a quick run, or you can take a longer gym break. But working from home
gives you the option to do at least one of those things.
Also, mental perspective, again, is also a little more
complex. So working from home will allow you to have better mental health
because you avoid that stress related to commuting. But that is not all. You
also get to avoid the stress related to the noise in the open-floor offices and
also having to face all that passive stress from all your coworkers who might
be angry, annoyed, who might be shouting, or who are showing signs of stress
themselves. When you work from home, you don't get to experience that.
5. More Time:
Working from home or working remotely can give you exactly
that. Not only because you save the time related to commuting but also because
when you work from home, you get to focus better because there's no adjacent
noise. This means that you get to be more productive and you get to either do
more work and be more effective, or you get to find those little amounts of
time that you can dedicate to doing other things. In the long term, that is
going to have such a huge impact on your work-life balance and on your overall
level of happiness.
6. Environmentally friendly:
You get to be a lot more environmentally friendly if you
work from home. Spending hours traveling to work each day is not good for
anyone. Environmental advantages alone make working from home an attractive
option.
1. Employee commuting (Talking about driving to work every
day).
2. Business travel (Particularly about flying).
3. Sending pointless emails (Every email you send out
impacts our CO2 emissions).
4. Paper waste (when you work in an office setting, more
often than not, you think about printing things out. Because you want to bring
them to your manager for review or for somebody to sign off. You name it, I've
been there, but when you work remotely, printing out things is no longer an option).
5. Food waste (most offices have a cafeteria or a restaurant
where they prepare food, particularly for lunch, but sometimes for
breakfast as well for their employees. And unless there is very good management
of the number of portions they create, many times there will be food left. Because people are out in meetings or attending events or
on holiday, and more often than not, that food that is being left out can no longer be used).
Challenges of Working Remotely
Being on a virtual team and working remotely can present
unique challenges that aren't faced by team members who are co-located, whether
in another office location or at home. There are no managers or other teammates
sitting nearby to consult with or provide immediate responses or support.
Likewise, there's no one looking over your shoulder, keeping you focused and on
task.
1. Managing the separation of work and home life:
Working from home has advantages. You have some freedom over
your work times, making it easier to meet other demands on your time. You also
don't have to waste time and money commuting. However, if there is no enforced
9-to-5 schedule, it's hard to maintain a proper balance. Often, at-home workers
end up either working too few hours or, conversely, putting in an unhealthy
amount of overtime. It's essential to put boundaries in place. The trick is to
stay productive and minimize distractions, as well as limit the potential for
overwork and burnout.
2. Creating a designated work area:
It is key to separating work and home life. Your workspace
should have a clear physical boundary and your work should stay within that
space. Your workspace should have a clear physical boundary and your work
should stay within that space. It should be a work area that's not susceptible
to disruptions. If you don't have access to a suitable area at home, choose an
appropriate external site, but one where you can avoid distractions. Working in
coffee shops, for example, may seem attractive, but a local library is a better
choice. In either case, consider that working remotely nearly always requires
an Internet connection. Working in a public place often mandates the
requirement for VPN or similar secure connectivity.
3. Dealing with lack of everyday face-to-face communication:
All virtual team members face the challenge of dealing with
a lack of everyday face-to-face communication and the team spirit that attends
it. Working remotely, even in an otherwise busy office, can be isolating.
Virtual teams miss out on the informal, everyday interactions that collocated
teams often take for granted. Things like chatting in the break room and
discussing problems on a coffee run. They miss out on nonverbal cues that
indicate how their ideas and suggestions are being received. They can go days
without contact, leading to feelings of isolation. And virtual employees who
feel isolated are less likely to contribute to the team, eroding both team
spirit and team trust.
4. Cultural differences:
Miscommunication can be rife in virtual teams, but even more
so when the team spans different cultures. A message that seems succinct to a
team member in one country may come across as rude to a colleague from a
different culture. Virtual leaders should recognize and capitalize on team
diversity, perhaps building a team profile sharing each team member's
experience, expertise, and personal information.
To minimize potential conflicts, virtual teams should agree
on ground rules for interactions that align with everyone's expectations. Like
a maximum response time to emails, agreed on technology for sharing and
updating files, or guidelines on language in emails. But ultimately, regular
daily communication helps counter these challenges. Cultivating a strong
one-to-one relationship with your team leader, and if possible, other teammates
helps mitigate them. It's good for morale and team unity if all team members
regularly communicate about their progress, and, where possible, work together
in partnerships. There is an isolation factor in working remotely that must be
taken into account. It's important to stay connected and informed, to make your
presence known.
0 Comments