Despite its rapid rise to prominence, remote working is still a relatively new phenomenon. As with everything new, there are a lot of misconceptions surrounding remote working that you should steer well clear of.
In this article, we’ll run through five terrible remote work myths that you should be aware of and explore what exactly is so problematic about them.
5 Remote Work Myths to Steer Clear Of
Remote employees won’t be as productive
The initial concern with remote workers is that they simply won’t be as productive as on-site employees. This is a common misconception that doesn’t hold true. In fact, various studies and anecdotal reports have shown that productivity increases when employees are working remotely.
A number of factors could be at play here. One could be that solitary working away from the office can lead to fewer distractions during a typical work day. Another factor could be that employees reported that they took fewer breaks and sick days in their home environment, leading to an uptick in productivity. There’s also the fact that remote employees can use tools such as digital forms to help boost productivity.
One crucial component of retaining productivity in a remote setting is the business culture. Foster a climate of accountability within your business. One surefire way of doing that is brief daily stand-ups so you can keep track of and optimize employee workflow and ensure projects are continuing on the right track. This helps ensure business efficiency.
Additionally, utilizing a co-working space app that allows remote workers to connect and collaborate with their team members in real time can also contribute to an increase in productivity. This can provide a virtual work environment that mimics the structure and accountability of an office setting, which can help to keep remote employees focused and on track.
Another important aspect of managing remote workers effectively is to have the right tools and resources in place. A talent management system can help keep track of employee performance, skills, and training progress, which is particularly important in a remote setting where face-to-face interaction is limited. This allows managers to monitor employee performance, provide feedback, and keep track of their development, all from one centralized platform. This not only helps with productivity and efficiency but also fosters a sense of connection and collaboration among remote employees, who might otherwise feel isolated.
Remote employees work whenever they want
There’s a misconception that remote workers work as and when they please. But the reality is that remote working can offer flexible working, which can help with employee retention, while also involving having managers set appointments or schedule meetings.
In businesses with a remote-work setup, it’s important to establish trust between employees and employers. The basis of that trust rests on the employer's confidence that work will get done around a flexible schedule and the need for an employee not to break that trust.
If you’re still unsure about timekeeping, there are ways to check in on your employees remotely. Plus, employees can use a time-managing app to ensure they use their time as efficiently as possible.
Socialization with other co-workers will take a toll
One concern with remote working is that replacing the organic socialization of the workplace will burn out your remote employees. Email overload and meeting fatigue are both contributors to employee stress.
Improving team communication can take many forms, including replacing multiple emails with an instant messaging service to make communications more fluid and convenient. Brief daily stand-ups and catch-ups can also be used so that employees aren’t isolated or burdened by unnecessary distractions.
You can’t manage a team who’re working remotely
Another source of anxiety about remote work is the perception that it’s difficult to manage teams remotely. While you do have to adapt from the traditional working environment, communication with your team can still be seamless.
Using technology such as a cloud PBX can help you stay in touch with remote colleagues and external clients alike while having the peace of mind that there are multiple back-ups and safeguards in place to prevent you from losing touch with your team.
If you have further concerns about managing your team, observe tried and tested training techniques for remote employees to ensure they’re as productive as possible.
Remote work experiences a lot of tech issues
Tech issues are a problem in any business setting. Still, there are specific concerns surrounding them while working remotely due to the heavy reliance on tech to get most daily work tasks completed. There are often common fixes for remote work issues. However, you definitely don’t want this type of issue to be constantly recurring.
But as long as you’re aware of your business’s specific tech requirements and check out relevant reviews of any software you require for remote employees, your business should be able to have a seamless experience of remote working.
The Truth About Remote Work
Remote working saves money
There are many ways in which remote working can save your business money. Cheaper overheads, lower wage costs, and higher productivity are attractive propositions for your business.
Remote working increases employee happiness by 20%. Happy employees are less likely to take leave from work and are more likely to stay longer with your business. This translates into huge savings via employee retention.
After all, it’s much cheaper to keep the employees you have than to get new ones!
Remote work promotes better employee health and well-being
Remote working has enormous potential to improve your employees’ quality of life. Things such as commuting time are often cited as a cause of stress. Remote working cuts out the need for commuting entirely, meaning that a significant amount of personal time can be freed up for employees. This leads to employees reporting increased satisfaction.
Remote work improves employee retention
One issue facing businesses is how to retain employees. Effective employee retention eliminates the need to recruit and train new employees, which has a lot more expense involved than simply keeping the staff you have.
Over 50% of employees want to leave their current position, but remote working and its associated benefits can be a huge factor in encouraging employees to remain with their current organization. If your business doesn’t make reasonable accommodations for your employees, then another business will be more than happy to do so.
Remote work is convenient
Employees want a better work-life balance, with their employer being willing to make accommodations for their personal lives. Remote work, which often has flexible working hours, allows employees to have the freedom to eliminate commuting and fit personal tasks, like childcare, into their day-to-day routine.
Also, if someone works more efficiently early in the morning or is a night owl whose productivity peaks at night, remote work would be more convenient for them than the traditional 9-5 office hours.
Remote work improves collaboration and communication
Another advantage of remote work is the ability to collaborate and communicate with team members more effectively. Instead of relying solely on in-person communication, remote employees can use various tools to stay connected, including a co-working app. This app can help teams work together in real time, no matter where they are located, making it easier to share ideas, feedback, and collaborate on projects.
Conclusion
Now that five terrible remote work myths have been debunked, you hopefully have a better understanding of remote working and the numerous ways it can benefit your employees and your business.
In conclusion, remote work is not only a viable option for businesses but also a beneficial one. By debunking these common myths, we can see that remote work can actually increase productivity, promote better employee health and well-being, improve collaboration and communication, and save money for businesses. It also offers employees a better work-life balance and can lead to increased employee retention. So if you haven't already, consider implementing remote work in your business as a way to stay competitive and meet the changing needs of the modern workforce.
About the author:
Grace Lau is the Director of Growth Content at Dialpad, an AI-powered cloud communication platform for better and easier team collaboration. She has over 10 years of experience in content writing and strategy. Currently, she is responsible for leading branded and editorial content strategies, partnering with SEO and Ops teams to build and nurture content. Here is her LinkedIn.
What would you like to know, and what would be the best way to share this information with you? What are the best tips & tricks, what workaround do you use? We'd really appreciate your insight on these ones to make our integrations better, more productive, and much more efficient. Comments, tweets are always welcome.