COVID-19 has changed our worlds and lives forever. Jobs that once were unthinkable of doing remotely are now performed remotely, because that’s the new normal. At the beginning of the year, we thought that by mid-2020, we would’ve beaten the virus and life would go back being to normal. However, now experts say that until we have a mass vaccine, until then we must do remote work.
In such circumstances, the question is that should companies consider remote work in the long run?
While remote working may have numerous benefits for employers and employees may feel safe in their homes, the fundamental question is that can companies sustain remote work in the long run?
But, before that, we must explore the need for remote work.
Why Remote Work?
Remote work has numerous benefits. In current times, most companies are forced to work remotely due to rising COVID-19 cases, countries are going into lockdown again. With social restrictions in place, companies can’t operate at full capacity, thus, they’re most of the employees are forced to work from home.
Benefits of Remote Working
Remote Work Increases Productivity and Performance
According to Forbes, employees that remote work are three to four times more likely to be productive than their office counterparts. The increase in productivity is the result of many factors, such as, the employees do not have to get up early to get to their office at 9 am. For instance, a 9 am check-in, they can get-up at 8:30 am still be on-time. Also, the hustle and bustle and the insane traffic while coming to office in the morning often drains their energy and ruins their mood, which hampers their productivity.
Apart from that, during remote work, employees have total control of their work environment. They can sit wherever they want, eat whenever they want and have multiple short breaks during the day, a luxury they cannot afford at a physical office.
Increased Employee Engagement
While remote working, employees do not have to drive to their offices, therefore, there’s a less likely chance that they will take leaves from their office. According to a study conducted by the Harvard Business Review, work from home decreased absenteeism in corporate offices by a whopping 40%!
Higher Employee Retention
People enjoy a flexible routine, and they are more likely to revolt against a dictatorial regime. Well, employees will not exactly revolt against their bosses, but they do appreciate bosses who are kind, engaging, and flexible. On the other hand, if the bosses are not cooperative, employees are likelier to leave their job.
According to a survey conducted on Qualitrics, employees stated that they are 54% more likely to stay in a company that is flexible with its working policy, even if they are paid less. This means that if employees are paid less, but are given the opportunity to remote work, they’re less likely to leave work.
We’ve assessed the benefits of working from home, but should companies work think of remote work in the long run?
Remote Work Is Industry-specific
Because of the novel Coronavirus, most of us were forced to transition to remote work, but the work model works well for some industries and not for others. For instance, robotic engineers can’t work on a remote basis, but software engineers can.
The remote work model works for tech companies that require people to write codes or, at best it works for organizations that don’t require large people to work in huge teams. However, businesses that entail physical handling of goods or require a group of people to work together on a project, often find remote working inefficient, wasteful, and time-consuming.
Frenzie, a robotic company that designs robots and requires that a large work together to design a project. With work from home, the teams cannot get together to brainstorm ideas or make (physical) changes to the product.
According to an insider working in the company, due to remote work, their work slowed down significantly, projects that took few days to build, were built in a week or two week; questions that could be answered in an hour, took days to be answered.
Thus, it’s safe to say that the remote work model isn’t for every company.
Some Jobs Become Difficult To Perform
According to some members from the executive management in various companies, few roles become increasingly difficult to perform in a remote work environment. Hiring new employees, on boarding, and a few human resource activities become increasingly difficult to perform in a remote work business model.
It is also anticipated that new employees do not grow as much as they would in an office environment with experience colleagues. And no matter how many Zoom meetings you have in a day, an online meeting cannot represent or replace the company’s culture.
After having debated about the benefits and drawbacks of remote work, should companies adopt the remote work model in the long-term?
The answer to this question depends on two most crucial factors:
- The company’s resources: the more financial and human resources a company has, the better it’ll be able to provide a remote working environment to its employees.
- The company’s industry: if the company operates in a tech industry, the transition to remote work would be easier.
So, what’s the solution?
A Coworking Space
A coworking space is the best solution for remote work, since employees can come together and collaborate on projects as per their convenience. There are plenty of great coworking spaces that you can find to tackle challenges faced in general remote work.
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- Should Companies Consider Remote Work in Long-Term? - March 9, 2021
