The responses were unanimous: remote work is better than office work.
In order to get a more detailed picture of workers’ views on remote work, a small sample group was chosen from the company to complete a questionnaire. The group had similar circumstances, they're all women living with their children and/or a husband.
Only 33% of respondents had worked remotely before their current job, showing a rise in remote work.
With remote work becoming more common it's important to consider the advantages and disadvantages of this work model and discuss what companies can do to improve.
A common advantage reported was that workers have more of a personal life. They now have time to spend with their families, the work commute was noted as a big to time lost with office work. Respondents said they are now more involved with their children's lives, academics and they're able to keep up with daily chores.
In regards to their work life, people reported an increase in productivity without the office environment.
Though not everyone thrives in the same environment, some need this atmosphere to work while others are more productive in solitude.
Changes in work efficiency were all positive too, people reported that they were more focused and got more work done. Especially with nobody leaning over their shoulder to make sure they're getting work done or interference from co-workers.
When asked if they felt more trusted by their boss 50% of people said they did while the other 50% said they didn’t notice a difference.
These advantages are contributors to the positive improvements in workers mental health. 100% of people questioned said that they saw an improvement in their mental health when they switched to remote working.
When asked about the negative sides of remote work, a lot responded that there weren’t any.
Those who did find negatives discussed getting lost in their work and not knowing when to turn off the computer and stop working.
Another issue is the inconsistency that can come with relying on network connections and technology, two factors that can ruin your whole work day if something goes wrong.
Isolation is a potential issue often brought up when discussing remote work. 83% of respondents said that they didn’t feel isolated at work.
When asked what companies could do to reduce these feelings, they said their own employers do enough, and suggested that other companies follow this model.
Having morning catchup calls and discussing the weekends was stated as a good way to ward off the isolation. A respondent also suggested encouraging day to day interactions between colleagues. It was also mentioned that some people work better in isolation, so it's not always a negative.
After analysing the results it’s obvious that remote work has a lot of advantages, especially for those with families at home. With remote work potentially becoming the new norm and replacing office work it’s important for companies to listen to their workforce’s feedback.
Creating a healthier work environment not only benefits the worker and their mental health, but the company too since this will increase worker productivity.
