Remote
work is almost as polarizing a workplace topic as the open office concept. Some
people swear by it and think it’s the future, while others see it as an “only
in case of emergency” option that is only marginally more productive than not
working at all.
There
are arguments to be made for both sides. But one thing is indisputable: Remote
work has become a necessity, whether you like it or not. So rather than try to
fight against it, let’s look at the pros and cons of remote work and how you
can accentuate the former while mitigating the latter.
The pros of remote work
Allowing
your employees to work remotely doesn’t have to mean sacrificing productivity
or taking a step backward as a company. It can help your business advance into
the next stage of your growth. Here are a few examples, along with advice on
how you can take advantage.
PRO: Attract
more and better talent
Workers
want the flexibility to work remotely, and will decline a job offer or even
leave a company for a job that allows remote work over one that doesn’t, according to Gallup. In
fact, Gartner predicts that by 2030, when Generation Z has fully entered the
workforce, demand for remote work will increase by 30% (full content available to Gartner clients).
Offering remote work is a way to make your company more attractive to
candidates, while sticking to a blanket policy against remote work is a good
way to miss out on top talent.
Advice: Market
your remote work policy as a benefit when recruiting, and look for candidates
with a proven record of successfully working remotely.
PRO: Save
on overhead expenses
Leasing
office space can be a massive expense, especially in major tech hubs. In
addition to rent, you also have to consider maintenance and upkeep along with
all the other little perks (snacks, beverages) that come with running a modern
office.
Advice: Use
some of the money you save by reducing office space to offer remote workers a
monthly stipend to supply their own snacks and coffee at their home office.
PRO: Be
more agile
Remote
work enables teams to be productive across locations and time zones. Agile teams that
are tethered to physical offices are vulnerable to transportation delays,
available conference room space, and flexible work arrangements. By enabling
your teams to collaborate and work together on projects remotely, you can help
them stay agile regardless of their location.
Advice: Hold
weekly video stand-ups with your distributed teams to share updates and ideas,
and encourage collaboration.
The cons of remote work
There
will inevitably be growing pains to evolving into a company that allows remote
work if you don’t already have a policy in place. But with the right approach,
you can nullify these downsides and create an effective remote work policy that
keeps the best of both worlds.
CON: Less
face-to-face collaboration
There’s
no replacement for an actual face-to-face, physical interaction. But technology
has come a long way since the early days of laggy, unreliable
videoconferencing. In 2020, meeting face-to-face over video can be as easy as
clicking a button, without having to brave traffic or risk spreading infections
to your coworkers.
Advice: Use
video meetings to help remote workers feel less
isolated from their teams.
CON: Remote
work can be distracting
This
con may be more of a myth than an actual issue. In fact, a recent Software Advice survey found
that 42% of remote workers feel more productive when they work from home, with
less than 10% feeling less productive. If one of your employees is struggling
with productivity during remote work, investigate before condemning remote work
altogether. It could be due to a technology gap or improper setup.
Advice: Make
sure that all of your employees have the technology they need, including
software updates and VPN access, to work remotely. Also, encourage employees to
set up a dedicated work area in their home.
CON: Technical
difficulties of videoconferencing
We’ve
all experienced the 10 a.m. meeting that didn’t actually start until 10:15
because of all the snags and difficulties of wrangling the web conferencing
tool to work for everyone at the same time (with video and audio).
You may also remember that those technical difficulties were as likely if not
more likely to originate from the office as they were from one of your remote
workers.
Advice: Find
a web conferencing tool that works with one-click
meetings, test a dry run before important meetings, and stick to what works.
More remote work resources
By
focusing on the pros of remote work and minimizing the cons, your teams can be
more flexible and more productive. After all, remote work is here to stay. For
more resources on establishing a productive remote work policy, check out our remote work resource hub.
Software
Advice Remote Work Surveys, November 2019
The
remote work survey referenced in this article was conducted by Software Advice
in November 2019 among 912 respondents who reported full-time employment in the
United States. A follow-up survey was conducted in November 2019 among 394
respondents who reported full-time employment in the United States, 140 of whom
reported not working remotely on a regular basis.
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