Is Remote Working The Future Of Labor?

I was always a big fan of the remote working concept. Why? Well, if we think about work-life balance and the need for a flexible agenda in our daily lives, it’s something that makes a lot of sense.

But what is in fact remote working and what does it imply?

Also known as telecommuting, this is the biggest work trend disrupting the 9-to-5 schedule and the traditional office paradigm. In recent years, many companies became ‘remote-friendly’ and remote work is a trend that continues going upward, studies say. Whenever there is a shift related to working habits in the society, a feeling of anxiety and distrust is created. But in fact, it is just the fear of the unknown and the uncertainty created by the challenges that come with this type of working.

This trend was born and enhanced as Millennials workforce took over the job market, since this generation does no longer depend on things like a strict schedule or a specific workplace to ‘get things done’. Also, as part of a more tech-savvy generation than the previous ones, nowadays young workers are the most qualified workers to engage in this type of working. Millennials are well aware of the benefits of remote working and it comes naturally for them to see this phenomenon as the most probable in becoming global.

Also, recent surveys show that most of business leaders state that more than half their company’s full-time workforce would be working remotely by 2020.

Working Remotely Isn’t For Everyone

The thing about remote working, though, is that it doesn’t fit every person, business and job. As an employee, you need to be very disciplined and result-oriented. As a company, you need to have a strong leadership and middle managers able to adapt and innovate on team management.

And job descriptions must provide flexibility and a performance measurement based on results rather than actions. Finally, the synonym of remote working is, obviously, digital. Any job description with telecommuting is highly dependent on devices and internet.

Things To Consider As An Employee

#1 You have more freedom and a bigger work-life balance, which is perfect for people who want to start or already have a family, or that simply enjoy managing their own time;

#2 You have to be very disciplined and productive;

#3 You will depend a lot on technology and awesome tools. Also, you won’t be able to live without internet connection (yes, you can become one of those people that asks for the wifi password before their order their food at a restaurant);

#4 There is a bigger focus on results rather than actions, which is good since you will have more flexibility on the way you reach the end result, but it works like a multiple-choice test, there is only one right answer;

#5 No need for commuting, which is great to avoid rush hours and be more time effective, but consider you will also lose that time you could use to get updated on the news, read articles or a book, or even catch up on social networks;

#6 You might need to travel to different places (office locations, meetings and team/company meetups);

#7 Access to more job opportunities, both national and worldwide;

#8 Teamwork will gain a different meaning since you will work with people from other countries and cultures, which can be challenging but also beneficial for you and your work.

Things To Consider As A Business

#1 You will need to have a strong leadership in order to ensure employees are doing their work;

#2 The tools used to manage remote workers are key to ensure success;

#3 Think outside the box when it comes to motivating your employees and creating teams;

#4 Your business will have less fixed costs (office and HR);

#5 Access to a bigger pool of talent, nationally and worldwide;

#6 You will need to trust on your employees and create different accountability systems towards your business (bigger focus on results, less focus on actions);

#7 Managing an international distributed team, with different overviews and time schedules, can be exhausting, but diversity can benefit your business.

We can’t ignore that the workforce is closer to going remote and distributed and several companies are already ‘leading the way in remote work’. However, one should be aware that remote working is not suitable for every person or business and when it comes to choosing the ‘way to work’, there isn’t really any right or generic solution. So, try to keep the things mentioned above in mind when making your decision.

 

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