When you boil it down, there are two types of workers. People who go to work, and people who work from home, or wherever strikes their fancy. This second type of person is what is known as a remote worker. Rather than work in the office or at the job site, they are in a “remote” location.
Whether this person is working halfway around the world, in the case of many freelancers, or they’re working from the other side of town, they’re still working. This article is designed to answer any questions you have about this practice that is growing in popularity.
What is Remote Working?
Remote working is a business practice where rather than work from the office, people can work from almost anywhere. This enables people to enjoy flexibility in their work hours, and also allows team members to have a better work-life balance.
This style of work is good for both the management and the people who are working under them. If your job requires you to clock in and work at a desk, why do that when you can do the exact same thing from your home office, or your favorite coffeehouse.
What are Common Misconceptions about Remote Workers
After asking some of our friends who are freelancers about stereotypes associated with remote work, we listed our three favorites below and then set the story straight.
- They’re always “on-call”
- You don’t work a real job
- Remote workers are ineffective communicators
The Truth About How Many Hours You Work
It doesn’t matter if you are an employee or employer; neither party wants to be working 24/7. For team members, you have your own life, and managers need to be mindful of you needing breaks to avoid burnout.
Your manager will communicate with you what times you should be available, and you’ll need to inform them ahead of time of any changes in your schedule.
Our Thoughts Remote Workers Workload
As much as we would love for our days to be filled with Netflix and lounging, they’re not. Although we do enjoy being able to listen to music while working, people are in their home office working similar hours to their office counterparts.
Remote Workers Aren’t Great Communicators
Although working from home allows you to skip water cooler talk; it doesn’t mean that you’re antisocial, it means you don’t need daily interaction with the team.
Whether it’s through Microsoft Lync, a phone call, or stopping by the office, remote workers can communicate any information with the rest of the team.
3 Reasons Why Remote Working is Great for Employees
1- Newfound Passion
By allowing people to work outside the office, they can go to different places and find inspiration and clear their heads while working on a project. Also, fresh air does wonders for the body. If you are reading a report, why do that from a desk, when you can grab a hammock and some headphones and get comfortable.
2 – Healthier Team Members
One study done by Premiere Global Services compared people who worked from home to people who work out of the house. This company found that 80% of people working from home were happier than their counterparts, and 82% also reported lower stress levels.
According to a different study published by the Royal Society for Public Health in the UK, the average person in the UK spends between 60 to 80 minutes commuting from work. More than 50% of people surveyed also say that they are stressed out by their commute.
Both of these surveys mentioned stress because stressed employees are more likely to quit due to burning out. Besides mental health, working from home will allow you to prepare your breakfast at home, get more sleep, and avoid traffic.
3- Flexible Hours
This is one of the biggest draws of this style of work. If you’re a parent of young children, occasionally you have to miss work to stay home with them while they’re sick.
“Rather than use one of your sick days to take care of them, you’re able to stay at home, get your work done, and take care of your child. It’s a win-win scenario for all involved parties.” — Marie Fincher, a content editor at Trust My Paper and Grab My Essay.
Say your child is older, there’re things like doctor’s visits, and various school functions you’ll want to or need to attend. Another reason could be you want to go back to school to take a couple of career development classes or get a degree.
Working from home will allow you to be in charge of your schedule, so you can do it all without having to change your life.
2 Reasons Why Remote Working is Great for Employers
1 – More Productive Team Members
This goes hand in hand with the flexibility concept that was previously discussed, but people working from home, realize that this is a great job perk, and they’ll want to work smarter and more efficiently to maximize their free time at home.
2 – It’s Cost-Effective
This is smart because by having people work from home, you’ll be able to rent out a smaller office space, and have a lower utilities payment. With smaller office space, you also won’t have to have as many support staff in the office, such as maintenance, landscapers, and office cleaners.
“Besides things like utilities and support services, you’ll also be able to save on the cost of things like office supplies and office furniture because people will be working from home. However, it’s worth mentioning that businesses should invest some of the overhead savings into technology that is given to the team.” — Diana Adjadj, a freelance writer at Studicus and Writing Judge.
In addition to tech, they should also invest in faster internet speeds and better conference spaces. Although we would all love to work from home, there will be a need to go to the office at least once a week, because it’s always good to interact with various team members in person, rather than on a computer screen.
Final Thoughts
This kind of job is becoming popular in tech-heavy fields, and we can see why. Whether you work out of the office on most days, or you are in the office, this is a great trend to adopt.
Also, if you are in an office setting, it doesn’t hurt to ask your manager to allow you to work from home on a trial basis. You could show them some of the studies mentioned in this article, and the worst they can do is say no.
About Guest Author:
Bridgette Hernandez
Bridgette Hernandez is a Master in Anthropology who is interested in writing and is planning to publish her own book in the near future. Now she is a content writer at Supreme Dissertations and Wow Grade. The texts she writes are always informative, based on qualitative research but nevertheless pleasant to read.
