Should employees be allowed to work from home or any other location they choose, or should they be required to go to work each day?
These days, remote work, flexible work, and virtual or remote teams are all hot topics. Just 7% of American workers had the opportunity to work remotely before COVID. It is now close to 45%.
While working from home has numerous advantages, such as happier workers, lower expenses, higher employee retention, and more, managing a remote workforce always presents some difficulties.
We discuss the advantages and difficulties of overseeing a remote workforce in this post. First, let’s review the advantages:
It’s Green
A remote workforce has the ability to benefit the environment in addition to saving money.
According to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, working from home instead of on-site may cut your carbon footprint at work by up to 58%.
This is mostly because commuting trips and the greenhouse gas emissions they cause have been eliminated.
Additionally, because fewer workers are present in offices, less power is needed for temperature control and lighting, which also lowers energy usage.
The aforementioned report also points out that, among other reasons, remote workers may require more space for an office, which may lead to a higher carbon footprint.
Still, research out to date indicates that businesses may help create a more environmentally friendly workplace by adopting remote work policies.
Obtaining Global Talent
Employers may access a vast global talent pool via remote employment, greatly expanding their possibilities for hiring.
If you’re thinking about hiring people from other countries and time zones, you may wish to utilize an employer of record service.
Increased Diversity in the Pool of Candidates
Tommy Mello, owner of A1 Garage says: “Policies encouraging remote employment broaden the pool of candidates, addressing the requirement for a workforce with a range of viewpoints and competencies.
For instance, A1 Garage saw a 30% rise in the number of diverse applicants for positions after implementing remote working.”
Savings on Costs
Working remotely may help business owners save a lot of money on office space, which can eventually improve their bottom line.
For instance, Sun Microsystems discovered annual savings of $68 million in real estate expenses, whereas Nortel and Dow Chemical realized reductions of more than 30% in non-real estate expenses.
Decreased Absenteeism
Because they may work more flexibly around personal obligations and health concerns, workers who work remotely often have lower absence rates.
This takes care of the need for constant worker availability and output.
Improved Well-Being of Workers
Amanda Dixon, owner of Merge, an agency acquisition company says: “Providing remote work choices demonstrates a dedication to the welfare of employees, which may increase loyalty and morale.
In my opinion, workplace well-being is linked to two fewer sick days annually, a six-fold decrease in the likelihood of missing work, and a nine-fold increase in employee loyalty.”
Let’s now discuss the challenges and their fixes:
Not Having Face-to-Face Oversight
Rhett Stubbendeck, owner of Leverage Planning says: “Supervisors could be concerned that staff members won’t put in as much effort or work as effectively (despite evidence to the contrary).
Conversely, workers can find it difficult to get as much help and communication from management.
This may give remote employees the impression that their superiors are unresponsive to their demands and unsupportive of their efforts to complete their tasks.
Managers need to institute regular, daily or weekly check-ins. Establish clear dates for project milestones and use this opportunity to talk about the work that has been done so far and any possible roadblocks.”
Absence of Explicit Expectations
Employees don’t always know what’s expected of them while working remotely, even if they are explicit about their duties when in the office.
For example, they may want more direction and explicit instructions on how to complete a task, when to reply to correspondence, or whether to participate in online meetings.
Establish expectations early and often, particularly with regard to priorities, benchmarks, and performance objectives, to avoid this.
Establish detailed protocol documentation. Setting limits and reasonable expectations for attending meetings and returning work-related emails and texts after hours is also a wise move.
Decreased Efficiency
Harrison Tang, owner of Spokeo shares: “While the majority of remote workers report increased productivity, some people were just not meant for remote work.
It might be challenging for these workers to operate without direct, face-to-face supervision. To keep on course, they may want more assistance or creative methods to monitor their progress and time.
In other situations, poor production may be assumed—though this isn’t always the case.
For instance, individuals in the office may believe that their remote coworkers aren’t working as hard as they are since they can’t see them in hybrid work environments (where some employees are in the office and others are at home).
Structure and predictability are key to productivity in every organization.
Establish that framework by outlining precise roles and duties, establishing precise deadlines, and keeping everyone informed about who is responsible for what.”
Individual Distractions
Distractions that are absent from an office setting may arise while working from home or from any other distant location which is a major concern for managers handling a remote workforce.
When a worker is at home, for example, family members, kids, or pets can need their care.
Employees are likewise prone to become sidetracked by personal pursuits. When working from home, who hasn’t thrown a load of clothes in the washing machine in between meetings?
Not everyone will find these diversions problematic; many workers can successfully balance their personal and professional lives even when there is a personal activity or the possibility of unwashed dishes hanging over them.
However, many workers moving to new remote work situations may not be used to distractions while working from home, so it’s critical for managers to address the problems upfront.
Give workers the resources they need to control distractions. This might include scheduling frequent breaks within the remote workplace so they can take care of personal matters or have some alone time.