Vaccines for the coronavirus have been gradually rolled out in the past months. This has brought about a loosening up of quarantine restrictions in some parts of the world. While this might be so, some companies have announced that they will retain their remote work arrangements to accommodate the new normal needs of employees.
Communication is an essential part of making telecommuting work as an office arrangement. As employees continue to work from home, various technologies and software are needed to improve communication among team members. A Plantronics headset can help enhance the communication experience between employees of a company.
Telecommuting, like any other work arrangement, has its benefits and challenges. While this arrangement may not work for everyone, companies should consider the factors that come into play when assigning this work arrangement to their employees.
Telecommuting during COVID-19
Working from home has become a necessity in recent times. With the global health crisis, health and safety have been the priority of many employees and companies. Even after the pandemic, however, it is seen that the remote work arrangement will continue in many industries. Given this situation, employees should learn how to maintain good performance while working from home. Here are telecommuting tips for employees during the pandemic.
When working from home, it can be easy to stay on your sofa while working. However, this arrangement will not work if you want to be productive. You need to establish a workspace that is dedicated to office work only. Find ergonomic ways to set up your workspace to make it comfortable and healthy for you even after long hours of staying in your dedicated home office.
You need to set daily goals and keep track of them. It can be easy to lose track of time when working from home. You have to be disciplined enough to stick to a routine and a strict schedule so that you can get things done easily and quickly.
Make an effort to eliminate all possible distractions when working from home. These distractions could come from pets, children, and other household members. Try to hang a “do not disturb” sign outside your home office area to inform other members of the house that you are busy with work.
You should also try to dress for work each day despite staying at home. This will condition yourself that you are in work mode and will motivate you more to get things done. Wearing pajamas to work will simply do the opposite. You might even get caught off guard in case you have emergency video call meetings.
These are some tips on telecommuting for employees. Working from home can be a beneficial work arrangement if employees understand what they could adjust in their home office to make it more conducive for work.
Telecommuting: Benefits and Challenges
While working from home has become a necessity to keep everyone safe during this time, this work arrangement has its own benefits and challenges. Here are some advantages and disadvantages of telecommuting.
With the telecommuting setup, employees sometimes end up worrying about their career progression. A lot of managers feel that engaging in remote work disables them from opportunities for leadership development. While this is so, it is important to have remote team-building efforts during a work-from-home setup. There should be transparent discussions about career development and the long-term growth of the organization.
Remote work can result in overworked employees. Working from home sometimes leads employees to clock in more hours in the day compared with working in an office setup. With this employee behavior, companies should avoid taking advantage of this non-fixed timetable and should instead provide solutions to prevent employees from being overworked.
These are some challenges and solutions that companies and employees can consider to improve the remote work setup. It is important for managers and their teams to work together to elevate the work culture during the new normal.
Communication in a Remote Work Setup
Communication is an essential part of keeping remote work setup effective. Teams and their managers need to cooperate properly to maintain a good workflow. An organization’s productivity relies greatly on a team’s open and transparent communication.
Businesses should explore various software and technologies to improve the communication methods between employees and managers. This will benefit the workflow and productivity of each employee as well as the organization as a whole.
Working from home may not be for all industries, but a lot of businesses have been continuously adopting this work arrangement. These companies need to find solutions to the challenges of remote work to provide employees with motivation and a productive experience.
