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.
