What is Remote Work?

Remote work is the new reality for many workers as the novel coronavirus spreads. With more than 1,000,000 infected with the virus, companies are closing their doors to reduce the spread of infection. Most of the big tech companies announced that much of their workforce won’t come to the office. Instead, they will be working remotely.

So, what is remote work? In this article we explain what remote work is and everything about it.

You probably have heard about “telecommuting” or “working from home”, but the term “remote work” simply means any work you do that doesn’t require commuting into an office. In other words, working remotely allows professionals to work from outside of a fixed office area. The spectrum of remote work is huge and can be amazingly flexible. Some people can combine this work style with a few days in the office while others will probably never meet their colleagues face to face.

The antecedent to working remotely is this: thanks to the 21st century and new technologies, you can successfully complete projects and communicate with your team – even manage a team as all companies now do because of the coronavirus spread – without being in the same office or even the same city or country. That means you can work remotely from anywhere as long as you have a laptop and internet. The key here is internet.

Remote work is certainly on the rise. It allows you to plan your day according to your priorities and requirements. Perhaps you’re most productive in the evening rather than being an early bird. With remote work, you’re free to make the decision as to how and when you complete your tasks. As long as you meet your deadlines, you can choose your own working style.
Even employers are starting to understand why remote work can be useful for a company. Saving on office costs, a more content workforce and even productivity gains are all attractive propositions to be considered. With technology making it much easier to stay in touch and work outside the office, remoting is making headway in the job world.

Does Remote Work Really Work?

The answer is absolutely yes! A fully remote team with flexible working hours means that every employee can focus on their work whenever they focus best. Some researches show that:

• Remote working increases productivity
• Dealing with fewer distractions
• Flexible working style

Also, the rise in the number of remote workers is increasing. This also shows that companies are seeing the positive impact.

Remote Work Revolution and Its Future

The revolution of remote work seems to be unbeatable. Every year much more people are starting to experience the benefits of remote work. With the development of technology and different management systems such as OKR, it’s becoming easier than ever before to free yourself from the office. In my opinion, future of the working style is completely changing. The increment of remote workers shows that it is unstoppable. LinkedIn's Global Talent Trends Report of 2019 shows that 72% of talent professionals agree that work flexibility will be very important for the future of HR and recruitment. It also shows a 78% increase in LinkedIn job posts advertising flexible work arrangements over the past two years.

Future of Recruitment Processes and Human Resources

As the remote work becomes more popular, the recruitment processes and HR has been changing. In that situation, the whole world’s global pool of talent is on offer, as your company is not limited simply to people who can make it into the office. By hiring remotely you can pick up the best candidate for a position. In other words, your team will have higher quality employees who are more productive. The effect of cultural borders will be reduced because of improved communication in today’s world.
Remote work is also helping recruitment and the HR department by improving diversity. Creating a remote team from all around the globe and from different cultures avoids having a monoculture in your virtual office. Your remote employees will all bring different backgrounds and experiences that can be helpful for your HR Department and team.

Technology Supports Remote Work!

In the past, most of the offices have had to depend on calls, e-mails, or physical meetings. Now, technology is allowing us to communicate in different and simpler ways. Communicating by e-mails and calls can make collaboration difficult when not in the office. In today’s world, luckily there are lots of tools to communicate and solve this issue. Instant messaging applications, project management tools – like the ones we build at Corvisio – are so helpful in getting together a remote team and, more importantly, making it work.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Remote Work

Advantages

Remote work has a huge number of benefits that it can bring into the mix. There are so many great aspects to be working on a remote team for you and for your employers. On the other hand, it has some disadvantages that you should be aware of. Now, as we know what remote work is, we can start talking about advantages and disadvantages of remote work.

You will be totally independent.

It is much more than just the benefit of getting work done in the clothes that you wish. Working remotely means you will learn how to encourage yourself, self-motivation, self-discipline and focus.
You will be able to focus on your work more than before.
Remote work is built on the belief that you will get your work done. That means you don’t have to sit on a chair for 40 hours a week. The thing that both your employer and you will focus on is the quality of result, not the quantity of hours worked, which is good for both of you and company.

You will learn new amazing communication skills.

People may think that work is much harder when you work remotely. Quite politely, we disagree. When we work remotely we learn to communicate expertly. When a there is a problem with communication, you will notice that you have to fix it quicker, simply because there is no other way. You will learn to use different tools to communicate. This is going to be helpful for honing your communication skills, which are an integral part of all projects and jobs.

Flexible Schedule.

You can take breaks at any moment, feel no rush to hang up on your family members when they call, and eat lunch at any weird time you want.

You can work at lower costs.

One important point for all people is to decrease the costs and outgoings while still working. A reduction in office space, materials and resources will create savings in your company which can then lead to higher salaries. Also, you will save money on your commute, food and other costs when you work remotely.

You will forget crowds and traffic.

No more stuffing yourself into a rickety transportation tube, having people scuff your new shoes, or walking behind agonizingly slow people who apparently don’t know what a straight line is.

Better health

Remote workers are definitely less stressed and have higher morale than their in-office counterparts. A study from the MIT found that workplace flexibility decreased stress and risk of burnout. So that means better mental health.

Disadvantages

The Risk of Feeling Isolated

It can be really hard for some people to be alone when they work from home or remotely. If you are used to working in a busy office environment, switching from office work to home schedule might get to you with a sense of loneliness. Not being able to take a break to socialize with other workers can also be quite difficult. Communicating just with technology is not quite the same as real life.

You will be responsible to be on schedule.

Remote work requires self-motivating. No one is checking you to see if you are working hard or not. You are just required to finish your job on time. If you have problems with self-motivation, maybe remote work is not the best option for you. On the other hand, it might teach you how to take ownership of your work, which is a great thing!

Lack of Office Equipment

No access to office equipment was reported by 30% of survey participants as a work remotely disadvantage. If your work involves the use of specialized equipment it may be difficult to replicate this environment at home or anywhere else. Even with today’s inexpensive prices for electronic equipment, a high-end laptop or tower computer with multiple monitors and a high-speed multifunction printer/fax machine/copier can set you back some serious money. However, once again, in some instances, you may be able to deduct some of these expenses on your taxes.

You might not have full access to technology platforms.

For the most part, cloud technology has made it easier than ever for remote workers to work from anywhere. However, there are situations in which data security or consumer protection concerns might prevent telecommuters from having full access.

Work Life and Home Life Can Get Mixed Up

The lines between work and home will be very thin when you work remotely. It can be difficult to switch off when you need to. You can also find yourself getting distracted with home comforts like TV, games or bed. You may also find it difficult to stop working as you no longer have any physical boundaries between your work and living spaces.

How Technology Enables Companies to Work Remotely?

As we mentioned above, remote work can’t be possible without the technology. Things like internet, cloud computing and phone plans make remote work possible. Modern companies and teams usually use some combination of messenger apps, e-mail, video conference and project management software.
There are thousands of tools that are created for teams which work remotely. For instance, at Corvisio we use our own Task Management Module when we are working from different locations.

Ultimately

It is true that remote work is the wave of the future, especially for jobs which can be completed digitally. We have been going through different kind of remote work structures, remote work trends and myths. Especially nowadays, working remotely is becoming so commonplace because of the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

As we mentioned above, it is the new reality for many workers as the novel virus affects more and more industries. Our world has been going through a difficult time for a few months. At Corvisio, we would like to make these days easier for all companies which are in the health industry. We would like to announce that all healthcare professionals and medical companies can use our Task Management Module for free during the coronavirus pandemic. For more information, please feel free to contact us.