Working\nfrom home full-time \u2014 or even part-time! \u2014 seems like a\nrevolutionary idea. You can avoid the office commute. And office politics. And\npandemics. Save money on lunches. And coffee. Fit your work schedule to your\nlifestyle, rather than the other way around. If you know what tasks you need to\ndeliver and the time line, and you have regular meetings with your line\nmanager, then being in an office isn\u2019t a necessity for a knowledge\nworker. As long as you have a laptop and a wifi connection, you are good to go.\nLocation doesn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But is being a remote worker all it\u2019s cracked up to be? What are the pros and cons of working from home? Everyone talks about the advantages, but are there any disadvantages? Let\u2019s unpack the pros and cons of working from home in this post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the benefits of working from home is the fact that you can work to your own schedule, and comfortably in your own environment. You can stay in your PJs all day if you want, have whatever ambient background noise you need to help you with productivity \u2014 without annoying anyone. But one of the disadvantages of working from home, particularly if you live alone, is the <\/strong>isolation and loneliness.<\/strong> And the repetitive routine of get up, work, go to bed, rinse, repeat can get real old, real quick \u2014 and have you longing for chats around the water cooler.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From a team management perspective, leaders need to build in systems to ensure their remote workers stay and feel connected to the organisation and team. Sure, it takes more effort \u2014 and staff do no want to feel like they are micromanaged, so there needs to be balance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Solution:<\/strong> For those working from home, it\u2019s important that you feel a connection to your workplace, colleagues and project while at the same time managing your daily schedule to minimise isolation. That could include a Skype call with your team leader every few days, and e-meetings every week or fortnight. Ensure your schedule includes daily interaction with others \u2014 go to a local cafe after you exercise (you are exercising, right?), find a co-working space where you feel there\u2019s a sense of community and work there regularly. Attend professional development events \u2014 Meetup has groups organised around interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For team leaders, if working from home is the norm for your company, think about hiring a Chief Happiness Officer to take care of your remote workers. It\u2019s an investment that will pay off with happier, productive and more connected staff. You can also use software like Traqq <\/a>to keep team tasks and activities visible so there\u2019s a strong sense of connection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n George Bernard Shaw said that the biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place. With more remote workers being part of the freelance and gig economy, and coming from countries where English may not be their first language, details can easily be lost in translation \u2014 even when aforementioned details have been verified and rechecked. That\u2019s because cultural differences and the subtle nuances of the English language can be lost on even the most proficient of non-native speakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With\ntechnology ensuring there are more communication options available \u2014 Slack, Skype, Zoom, Trello, email, Facebook, WhatsApp\nand many, many more \u2014 it\u2019s\ntempting to think communication is better. That\u2019s not necessarily true. Sure\nmore channels mean that communication is more convenient \u2014 and more frequent \u2014\nbut this doesn\u2019t necessarily translate into quality interactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Solution:<\/strong> opt for the less\nis more approach to communication \u2014 and\nby that we mean channels. Pick one that most people are comfortable with meets\nbut still meets the needs of the organisation \u2014 and systemise that for use and\nembed it in the culture of your team. Know that anything that is written, while\ngreat for a paper trail, can be open to misinterpretation, so face-to-face\ncommunication is the best option. Virtual meetings via video conferencing are\nthe next best thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finding the right people \u2014 and keeping them \u2014 is a challenge for on-ground teams, and this becomes more so with remote workers. From a management perspective, trust is the biggest obstacle. How do you know that the person you\u2019ve recruited will deliver what they\u2019ve promised? How can you ensure quality and productivity? And ghosting is real concern \u2014 what happens if the employee disappears with their retainer?<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\nare similar concerns around trust for those who work remotely. Your team leader\nsounds like they may be an awesome manager, but what happens if they are a\nbully or micromanager who doesn\u2019t\nrespect your boundaries? How do you know if you will actually be paid for the\nwork you\u2019ve completed? And paid on time?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Solution: <\/strong>Recruitment is\nabout finding the right fit \u2014 from both an employer and staff\nperspective, irrespective of where the employee is located. Companies need to\nhave open and transparent information available about the business and its\nculture. Selection procedures must be robust enough that risks are minimised,\nbut flexible enough that candidates aren\u2019t put off by the process. Likewise,\nthose employees who are working remotely need to do their due diligence around\npotential employer. Using a software program like Traqq will help with\naccountability, transparency and payment \u2014 on both sides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nglue that keeps teams together and working functionally and productively is the\nsocial contract of trust. Trust takes time to build and can be lost in a\nnano-second. One of the disadvantages of working from home is minimal access to\nyour colleagues and managers on a regular basis. You can\u2019t conveniently\nparticipate in small, every day conversations that provide the foundation for\nbigger conversations. It\u2019s those day-to-day interactions that build trust \u2014 for\nboth the employer and the employee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the absence of daily interactions, being accountable and transparent are ways to build trust. Accountability and transparency is often confused with micromanaging, which is one of the dangers of working from home from an emotional well-being perspective \u2014 but think of it as keeping your word. Do what you say you\u2019ll do, and when you say you\u2019ll do it. And if you can\u2019t deliver, be honest. Simple!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Solution:<\/strong> Apart from scheduling virtual meetings, using project management tools, hiring a Chief Happiness Officer to engage with your remote workers, a software application like Traqq can help build trust through transparency and accountability. Leaders have visibility over what their team is working on, and remote workers can build and maintain trust with their colleagues and manager by logging tasks and activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019ve been\nscheduled to attend a virtual meeting for 9AM with your new manager. It\u2019s an\nimportant meeting that covers lots of details and deep dives into technical\nissues \u2014 but. What is a 9AM meeting for your manager is a 3AM meeting for you.\nHow can you be on top of those details when you\u2019re groggy because you just woke\nup or lacking sleep because you stayed awake waiting for the call?<\/p>\n\n\n\n While\nmanaging the timezone logistics is a major con of working from home, and can be\nchallenging, there are benefits. Knowing what timezone everyone is in can\nensure that the business never closes, and issues and be solved 24\/7. It takes\ncommunication \u2014 and compromise for scheduled\nmeetings \u2014 and systems, but time tracking software can help team members know\nwho\u2019s\nlocated where, and what timezone they\u2019re in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Solution: <\/strong>Accounting for\nlocations and time zones for remote workers or those working from home needs to\nbe an integral part of the recruitment, selection and on-boarding process.\nEmployees need to update their location details regularly, especially if they\nare on the move as digital nomads. Wherever possible, team leaders should\nfactor in different time zones for virtual meeting schedules to ensure a\nquality outcomes. It might be that more than one meeting is necessary to\naccount for locations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Human\nbeings are creatures of habit, mainly because it\u2019s easier and requires less effort in\nterms of higher order thinking skills. One of the bad things about working from\nhome is that, well, home is home. Home is where cool stuff like your bed, your\ncat, your kitchen and your couch are. You have a supply of beer and wine in\nyour fridge. Friends drop by unannounced because they don\u2019t take the \u201cworking\nfrom home\u201d thing seriously. Your children want you to play with them or demand\nyour attention. There are a gazillion reasons not to work when you are working\nfrom home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n2. The illusion of Communication<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
3. The recruitment spin cycle<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
4. Trust is a must<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
5. What timezone are you in again?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
6. The struggle is real<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n