Majority of the businesses around the world were forced to work remotely in 2020 due to the pandemic. Considering the benefits of working virtually, many companies are now considering moving to remote teams in 2021 as well. But before making any decision, it is important for one to go over the pros and cons of remote working. Although remote working is great and has perks such as acquisition of better talent, more productivity, higher job satisfaction rate, cut down of office expenses and health benefits of working remotely, it does come with some challenges as well. Communication, team management, maintaining company culture and employee tracking surely become a challenge when everyone is allowed to work from their homes.
Before the COVID pandemic hit the world, not many businesses realized the pros and cons of remote working. But since the only way of remaining safe during the pandemic is to practice social distancing, therefore, the majority of the businesses from all around the world had to opt for the work from home team culture.
But before you make any decision and finalize whether you will be moving to a remote team in 2021, it is important for you to understand some pros and cons of working remotely 2020. This article will serve as an analysis while mentioning both the advantages as well as the disadvantages of working on a remote basis.
When companies work from the office, they have to hire people who live close by because the employees are expected to work from the office. However, when businesses opt for remote working practices, they can hire employees from all around the world. The biggest perk of working remotely is the fact that talent from all around the world is within your access.
As a business owner, you can hire people from the other end of the world. You can list the job postings and mention the expertise of the person that is required. Now you can find any employee from any part of the world and have them as a part of your team.
This advantage also has other perks. When people from all around the world come together to work, this promotes a diverse culture. Diversity in a team is linked to increasing productivity and promoting harmony and acceptance.
Work life balance is the key to ensuring productivity. The more productive a team is, the more progress a business will make. One of the biggest benefits of working remotely is the fact that employees can pick their own work schedules.
The freedom to work with a flexible working routine allows the employees to balance their work and personal life. They can spend time with their family, work from the comfort of their homes, take breaks in between and work when they feel the most productive.
Research has proven that having a fixed working routine can lead to a monotonous work life. This monotony can end up killing the motivation to work and have an adverse impact on the productivity of the employees. Therefore, it can be rightfully stated that working remotely has a better impact on the employee’s productivity levels.
When discussing the pros and cons of remote working for employers it is important to mention that adopting remote working practices lead to better employee retention rates. The companies which offer a remote working facility allow employees more freedom and flexibility. Therefore, the employees have a better job satisfaction rating.
This further leads to better employee retention rates for the employers. When given an option to choose between an in-house working facility and a job that would allow employees to work from home, most people would readily opt for the job that allows them to work from home. Therefore, the companies which promote a work from home culture experience a lower turnover rate. Their employees rarely leave their jobs and remain loyal to their job roles and the company for years.
One of the biggest perks and benefits of working virtually for the companies and businesses is that they can reduce their office expenses. Imagine the expense that the company incurs on a monthly basis when the employees are working from an office.
Some major expenses include:
When companies adopt remote work practices, the employees work from their own homes. Therefore, all the money that is spent on the above mentioned expenses can be saved. This strategy is therefore, an ideal choice for businesses that are still in the startup phase and are trying to establish themselves.
Moreover, the expense that is saved can also be used to hire better resources for the company that can help the business grow by leaps and bounds.
When employees are asked to come to the office to work, the major chunk of their time is spent at the office or during commute. Most of the employees have to leave their homes early in the morning and come back very late at night. By the time people come back home, they are too tired for anything let alone working out or staying physically fit.
This hectic routine leads to a lot of health issues. Obesity, diabetes, blood pressure, irritability and hypertension are issues that are a lot common in people who work from offices as compared to the people who work remotely from their homes. Therefore, one of the advantages of working from home for employers as well as the employees is better physical and mental health. Health benefits of working remotely are surely considerable and make one think about opting for remote working opportunities rather than the jobs that require employees to work from an office.
The biggest flaw of remote working practice is that communication becomes a hassle. When people are working as per their own convenience and there is flexibility and freedom for everyone to choose their own working hours, responsiveness can suffer. For instance, if there is an issue that needs to be resolved immediately, the team has to communicate with one another. But even if one member is unavailable or unresponsive at that time, it can be a huge problem.
Team members do become self sufficient and can easily find their way around issues when they work remotely, but at times, communication is critical and remote work makes it hard for the team members to coordinate with one another. Plus the virtual mediums of communication and collaboration are not as reliable as one-on-one meetings in person.
Managers have a lot of responsibility on their shoulders. And one of the disadvantages of remote working for employees is that the management becomes very complicated. Managers have to ensure that the team remains on track and the team is motivated and productive so the set goals can be achieved in time.
But since the manager has to communicate with the team, onboard new team members and clients and hold standup meetings online, the management becomes a tedious and tiring task. Employees may be distracted by a number of factors when they are working from home. But ensuring that everyone is taking their due share of the workload and targets are met is integral. Therefore, the managers have to put in extra efforts and be proactive to manage the team properly.
Company culture is the core set of values and ethics for the people who work at the same company. Although, companies can set the company culture by stating the expectations and limitations in a written form, the implementation and practical following of the company culture is impossible unless and until the team members meet each other physically and are interacting with one another in a proper office setting.
For instance, you cannot celebrate the company’s success over a zoom call. Similarly, employees cannot develop interpersonal relationships when they meet each other virtually and have never spent time with one another in a shared office space.
It is a good thing for the company to have faith in their employees. However, the company has to ensure that everyone is following the working hours and doing the required amount of work that needs to be done according to their job role and responsibilities. This is a very difficult task when employees are working from their homes.
Companies do make use of online resources and mediums that help them keep track of time and the tasks accomplished, but the time tracking and accountability aspect does suffer when employees work from their homes. It is one of the overheads that comes side by side with the benefits of allowing employees to work remotely.
.png)
Before the COVID pandemic hit the world, not many businesses realized the pros and cons of remote working. But since the only way of remaining safe during the pandemic is to practice social distancing, therefore, the majority of the businesses from all around the world had to opt for the work from home team culture.
.png)
Majority of the businesses around the world were forced to work remotely in 2020 due to the pandemic. Considering the benefits of working virtually, many companies are now considering moving to remote teams in 2021 as well. But before making any decision, it is important for one to go over the pros and cons of remote working. Although remote working is great and has perks such as acquisition of better talent, more productivity, higher job satisfaction rate, cut down of office expenses and health benefits of working remotely, it does come with some challenges as well. Communication, team management, maintaining company culture and employee tracking surely become a challenge when everyone is allowed to work from their homes.
Before the COVID pandemic hit the world, not many businesses realized the pros and cons of remote working. But since the only way of remaining safe during the pandemic is to practice social distancing, therefore, the majority of the businesses from all around the world had to opt for the work from home team culture.
But before you make any decision and finalize whether you will be moving to a remote team in 2021, it is important for you to understand some pros and cons of working remotely 2020. This article will serve as an analysis while mentioning both the advantages as well as the disadvantages of working on a remote basis.
When companies work from the office, they have to hire people who live close by because the employees are expected to work from the office. However, when businesses opt for remote working practices, they can hire employees from all around the world. The biggest perk of working remotely is the fact that talent from all around the world is within your access.
As a business owner, you can hire people from the other end of the world. You can list the job postings and mention the expertise of the person that is required. Now you can find any employee from any part of the world and have them as a part of your team.
This advantage also has other perks. When people from all around the world come together to work, this promotes a diverse culture. Diversity in a team is linked to increasing productivity and promoting harmony and acceptance.
Work life balance is the key to ensuring productivity. The more productive a team is, the more progress a business will make. One of the biggest benefits of working remotely is the fact that employees can pick their own work schedules.
The freedom to work with a flexible working routine allows the employees to balance their work and personal life. They can spend time with their family, work from the comfort of their homes, take breaks in between and work when they feel the most productive.
Research has proven that having a fixed working routine can lead to a monotonous work life. This monotony can end up killing the motivation to work and have an adverse impact on the productivity of the employees. Therefore, it can be rightfully stated that working remotely has a better impact on the employee’s productivity levels.
When discussing the pros and cons of remote working for employers it is important to mention that adopting remote working practices lead to better employee retention rates. The companies which offer a remote working facility allow employees more freedom and flexibility. Therefore, the employees have a better job satisfaction rating.
This further leads to better employee retention rates for the employers. When given an option to choose between an in-house working facility and a job that would allow employees to work from home, most people would readily opt for the job that allows them to work from home. Therefore, the companies which promote a work from home culture experience a lower turnover rate. Their employees rarely leave their jobs and remain loyal to their job roles and the company for years.
One of the biggest perks and benefits of working virtually for the companies and businesses is that they can reduce their office expenses. Imagine the expense that the company incurs on a monthly basis when the employees are working from an office.
Some major expenses include:
When companies adopt remote work practices, the employees work from their own homes. Therefore, all the money that is spent on the above mentioned expenses can be saved. This strategy is therefore, an ideal choice for businesses that are still in the startup phase and are trying to establish themselves.
Moreover, the expense that is saved can also be used to hire better resources for the company that can help the business grow by leaps and bounds.
When employees are asked to come to the office to work, the major chunk of their time is spent at the office or during commute. Most of the employees have to leave their homes early in the morning and come back very late at night. By the time people come back home, they are too tired for anything let alone working out or staying physically fit.
This hectic routine leads to a lot of health issues. Obesity, diabetes, blood pressure, irritability and hypertension are issues that are a lot common in people who work from offices as compared to the people who work remotely from their homes. Therefore, one of the advantages of working from home for employers as well as the employees is better physical and mental health. Health benefits of working remotely are surely considerable and make one think about opting for remote working opportunities rather than the jobs that require employees to work from an office.
The biggest flaw of remote working practice is that communication becomes a hassle. When people are working as per their own convenience and there is flexibility and freedom for everyone to choose their own working hours, responsiveness can suffer. For instance, if there is an issue that needs to be resolved immediately, the team has to communicate with one another. But even if one member is unavailable or unresponsive at that time, it can be a huge problem.
Team members do become self sufficient and can easily find their way around issues when they work remotely, but at times, communication is critical and remote work makes it hard for the team members to coordinate with one another. Plus the virtual mediums of communication and collaboration are not as reliable as one-on-one meetings in person.
Managers have a lot of responsibility on their shoulders. And one of the disadvantages of remote working for employees is that the management becomes very complicated. Managers have to ensure that the team remains on track and the team is motivated and productive so the set goals can be achieved in time.
But since the manager has to communicate with the team, onboard new team members and clients and hold standup meetings online, the management becomes a tedious and tiring task. Employees may be distracted by a number of factors when they are working from home. But ensuring that everyone is taking their due share of the workload and targets are met is integral. Therefore, the managers have to put in extra efforts and be proactive to manage the team properly.
Company culture is the core set of values and ethics for the people who work at the same company. Although, companies can set the company culture by stating the expectations and limitations in a written form, the implementation and practical following of the company culture is impossible unless and until the team members meet each other physically and are interacting with one another in a proper office setting.
For instance, you cannot celebrate the company’s success over a zoom call. Similarly, employees cannot develop interpersonal relationships when they meet each other virtually and have never spent time with one another in a shared office space.
It is a good thing for the company to have faith in their employees. However, the company has to ensure that everyone is following the working hours and doing the required amount of work that needs to be done according to their job role and responsibilities. This is a very difficult task when employees are working from their homes.
Companies do make use of online resources and mediums that help them keep track of time and the tasks accomplished, but the time tracking and accountability aspect does suffer when employees work from their homes. It is one of the overheads that comes side by side with the benefits of allowing employees to work remotely.
