Since the pandemic, individuals, teams, and entire workforces have moved their work setups to their homes. Remote work has become increasingly popular over the last two years and cemented itself as a viable way to work.
Even though most firms were hesitant to continue teleworking once lockdown limitations in their area were relaxed, it doesn't change the fact that work-from-home jobs are here to stay. This revolution will have a long-term influence on businesses and workers.
Work-from-home employees tend to be happier, more efficient, and healthier than their office peers. They consider their lives pretty balanced. Because of their great physical and mental health, remote workers tend to take fewer sick days, stay committed to their organization, put in more work, and value independence over pay raises.
Even with all the advantages, effectively transitioning to remote jobs is no easy task. There are numerous obstacles to overcome, but they are not impossible with the correct methods and remote technologies.
Work-from-home jobs, like everything else, have drawbacks and various hurdles that need to be addressed. Fortunately, there are tactics and tools that any company may employ to combat these challenges and get all the advantages of remote jobs. Here are some major issues that can become hurdles for work-from-home employees.
Communication and Collaboration
Communication is the most difficult issue that most online businesses encounter. Working with your coworkers is pretty easy when you're in the office as you can readily interact with one another without any restrictions. Just schedule a meeting or talk to them at their cubicle, and you're golden.
Discussing a project's specific details over at your coworker's desk is feasible because you can do that for even the most minor questions. Collaboration with remote teammates, on the other hand, can be difficult, particularly if you don't possess the necessary tools.
Even if you have the right equipment, it's not necessary that your employees would be online all the time. Some might take small breaks or look over urgent personal matters when they're not responding. All of this can take up a significant amount of time.
Furthermore, if your only source of communication within the team is through email, then things are going to get even slower. It might isolate interactions and make it tough for staff to stay on top of things.
How To Overcome It?
To improve online communication and teamwork, drop email exchanges entirely and replace them with a collaboration platform. You require a tool that is quick, adaptable, and sensitive. This communication channel should have features that help deal with project management or link up with your existing project's features. This will help workers cooperate and ask questions without having to repeat themselves.
Handling Workers In Different Locations and Time Zones
Companies have the potential to hire outstanding workers from all over the world without regard to geography by offering remote employment as a bonus. However, the drawback to this fantastic benefit is that you'll wind up with a scattered staff, with individuals working in various time zones and places.
When you combine this with the necessity for remote employees to set their own schedules, you could wind up with staff who want to do their daily duties at varying hours. Although online professionals may be adept at operating individually, they must still interact with other colleagues and peers to achieve efficiency. So, finding a particular time where each team member is available can quickly become a disastrous situation.
How To Overcome It?
Promote asynchronous communication for anything that isn't urgent. You'll get a lot of time so that your employees can converse with each other. Use synchronized communication for frequent conversations and things that need to be addressed immediately. To make scheduling sessions simpler, you can make a shared calendar that will have respective team members' time zones and working hours.
Maintaining Trust
Coworkers who don't meet in the office frequently and don't have constant communication can feel left out and develop major trust issues. About 52% of the employees believe their colleagues are less trusting of them and frequently exclude them from important meetings when they do remote work. Some managers have trouble trusting their remote staff since they're not always in front of them, so they're unsure if they're working or slacking off.
How To Overcome It?
Do check in periodically with your staff but don't be overbearing or make it seem like you're micromanaging. You can do team-building activities online so that they'd get to know one another on a more intimate level. Be transparent with them, and they'll realize they have to be the same way with you.
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About The Author
Simone Jones is an avid contributor to the site. She provides her nuggets of information about what she gathers from her research and her job as an HR executive.
