Remote working : Positives and negatives

It’s been quite some time that I have been working remotely. I always thought working remotely would be easy before leaving Bangalore, but Alas! My experience helped me write this article.

 There are many people around the world who work from home nowadays. But while remote working might seem tempting to many of us, there are aspects of it that make some people like me hope they’ll never have to do it.  In reality, like anything, remote work has its good and bad points.

Positives :

Let’s start with the positive side:

Remote work isn’t that bad. If it were, remote working wouldn’t have been accepted and promoted among workers and employers. Here are some advantages of remote working:

Flexibility: Due to lack of any kind of routine, some people find it difficult       to feel motivated, while others enjoy it and succeed with the same. For example, with a flexible work timing, parents are able take care of their kids better, get them to and from school, which lessen their dependence on child care. In addition to this there are people whose performance increases when they’re in charge of their own schedule.

Cost Effective: Working from home part- or full- time means less or no commuting, which means less money spent on transport.  Many remote workers make their food at home.  Another way remote workers save money is on their wardrobe!  After all, unless you do video conferencing, no one says you can’t wear informal clothes all day – no need for a work wardrobe. Employers as well save on the infrastructure cost, which again is a huge amount.

Work at your own speed: People who work remotely can choose how and when to work on any of their assignments, provided they deliver them by deadline.  They can take breaks, or push through and complete the task all in one go.  While self-discipline is a must when it comes to working from home, studies have shown that people working from home tend to be more productive than their on-site counterparts.

Fewer sick leaves: How many times do you take a leave because of a bad cold or a sore throat?  When you are at home, you can easily take care of yourself and get the work done.  Researchers say that the remote workers take fewer leaves than on-site workers.

Technology made it possible: Working onsite means that you can hand in reports directly as well communicate and collaborate with your colleagues without any delays.  But nowadays, we can stay connected by phone and internet, to ensure that the work isn’t suffering, even if you’re working remotely.  4G/3G networks are available in many countries, and coverage areas are increasing every day.  It becomes easier for an individual to upload and share important data faster and allows for easy transfer of high definition videos and images.

Negatives

Lack of routine: Remote working isn’t the same for all of us; some of us need to follow a schedule and get things checked with employers for the key projects. For few our work is target based. No rules to abide like when you have to get out of bed. No meetings to go to, and if there are, remote workers can often call in and contribute in if they want.  It may sound weird, but some home workers struggle with the lack of a schedule, finding it difficult to feel motivated or work efficiently.

No office social life : Even if you’re interacting with co-workers virtually, it’s not the same as being physically present in the office, or having lunch together. Remote working often gives a feeling of being a little isolated.  That is why many of home workers prefer coming to work at least a few days a week. It’s like - OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND

Work-life balance: It’s assumed that remote working would make things simpler and easier, there will be a perfect balance between you professional and personal life.  But when your specific hours are not defined or if you don’t make a clear separation of workplace and home space, it can be very difficult to “switch off” and stop thinking about pending work, or constantly checking your phone or inbox.

Lot many distractions: Then again, while few of us struggle with “switching off” from work, some of us even have problem “switching on”.  Home working will have all the possible disturbances of your personal life. If you have small children around like mine, they tend to demand your attention. You have invariable right to use the time-wasting websites, and social networking sites – which can reduce your efficiency. The idiot box may just beg you to watch it for an hour or two.

Dependence on technology. As you’re not physically present with co-workers or clients, while working remotely, you have to make sure you’re easily accessible by email/ phone/messengers which your office contacts may use (Flock, Skype etc.). You always need to have a backup for being connected.