After nearly two years of pandemic life the concept of working from home or telecommuting is hardly new. In fact a Mercer study conducted in 2020 found that nearly 70% of companies said they either had or were planning to institute some type of work from home model. By this point in the game many of us have done it, are doing it now, or expect to return to it with the onset of winter.
There are about as many opinions on the merits and the pitfalls of remote working as there are people engaged in it. This blog provides some positive points, some possible challenges and a few things that may not have crossed your mind.
The Good
There are several benefits remote employees experience by working from home. Most of the ones we’ll outline here have to do with time and balance. The average person that works outside the home often feels stressed and overwhelmed. There seem to be endless responsibilities without an adequate amount of time to get them all done.
Voila, working remotely can improve this impossible situation. Working from the convenience of your home full time gives you tremendous flexibility. You may be able to start early or work late, take lunch when it’s convenient for you or head to the gym and get that work out in around meetings calls and deadlines.
This type of arrangement can improve your work-life balance, may allow for time no longer spent commuting bonding with family or getting an extra household chore accomplished. Finally, the ability to work without the distractions of coworkers or your boss could result in extra productivity and improved time management.
The Bad
There is no doubt that telecommuting and becoming one with work at home can also present some pitfalls. The reality is that by not being present in the office you are likely missing out on informal communication channels. Small talk before and after meetings, lunch and after work drinks with coworkers and impromptu meetings all go by the wayside. You may feel out of the loop or like you are receiving less information than when you were physically in the office.
A few other things to consider include the increased difficulty in networking and generating leads if that is a part of your responsibilities. Lastly, the ability to keep work and home separate and create appropriate boundaries may be hard depending on your personality.
The Ugly
Why it’s somewhat clear what might be good and bad about working remotely, there may be a few things that you haven’t thought about. Creating clear and concise expectations regarding when you will work and what your deliverable are. Add to this, having a conversation if something isn’t working or needs to change. Because it’s all unchartered this can be difficult.
Another thing to think about is actually missing the interactions and distractions that people provide at work. Introvert or extrovert we all like to connect sometimes and it may feel isolating to have limited human contact. Lastly, there are no guarantees. It’s possible you may not like working remotely long term or that your employer won’t like having you at home. In either of these cases a change is likely on the horizon.
To learn more about how DataShield can help protect you or your organization or to learn more about how Shred Vault can help with your remote employee compliance, please call one of our customer service experts today at 402.898.5000 or visit us at www.DataShieldCorp.com.
