Advantages of working from home
My style, my space, my time
Advantages of working from home:
- Flexible work hours: Remote work allows employees to remain productive within the hours when they feel most innovative. Adhering to the employer work requirements but allowing time to plan for the right amount of task time, i.e. school runs, health and wellness.
- Productivity boost: Freedom to be more flexible in work time, working when you are most innovative in a custom environment will boost your productivity.
- Custom Environment: As long as employees are in a position to provide work at a high quality level and communicate with their work colleagues and clients is in a quiet/ noise cancelling environment as required, they can work from any location with a WIFI connection. Thus, the work environment can be customized for the personality type.
- Eliminate Commuting: Long commutes contribute to pollution, stress to commute, getting to work in time, being stuck in traffic! Eliminate cost, in currency, time and well being
- Technology - online project management software, communication tools, online time and attendance software, video conferencing and instant message tools makes the effective transition to online working easy, keeping the employer connected to the main office with the click of a button.
- Relaxed clothing: Wearing comfortable clothes and shoes/slippers while working. The occasional blouse, shirt and tie for a zoom meeting.
- Save money: Save the commute coffee and pastry breakfast, sandwich for lunch, mega bucks on tube fair and work clothes.
- Increased quality time: Flexible work hours and time shaved off commuting to work leave you with time to have breakfast with your family, to take care of sick loved one. to walk your pooch or to go to the gym.
- No office distractions: Avoid losing 30min per day to Gossip Sue’s family update, John Loudmouth’s telephone conversations drowning out all other sound.
- Accommodate special needs: Remote working for employees with physical disabilities can improve their lives, working in an emotionally safe environment , specifically adapted for their requirements and self-care.
- Knock off some evening or weekend to-do’s: Fitting doing a load of laundry in your 15 min coffee break, giving you time to stretch as well as shaving off some of your evening ‘after work’ chores
- Job not governed by location: Match the perfect job with your skill set, irrespective of the job location.
Disadvantages of working from home
Disadvantages of working from home
- Work environment: The advantages of creating your own work environment can be just much a disadvantage if you do not have the right office chair, workspace, noise cancelling headphones, an extra (or two) screens for your computer. (GVW will be able to assist you to optimally kit out your work environment)
- Distractions and interruptions: Willpower to complete your deadlines, sticking to a routine, ordering your workload. (GVW will be able to provide you with a list of apps that can be used to create work schedules enabling you to order your work schedule). You would need to regulate friends popping in for a visit and coffee because you are working from home as well as managing your digital distractions.
- Wi-Fi and device problems: Poor or intermittent Wi-Fi , computer or software problems can mess with your mojo, especially if you do not have the expertise to resolve the problem. (GVW helpdesk will provide you with information on the right technology to use, the right collaboration tools as well as local go-to person to assist you in installing or using any)
- Missing meetings, deadlines, important calls: You will not have the colleague in the office next door reminding you of the important meeting. However, they can still remind you via a Skype call or message. Get a list of devices from GVW which can be useful in meeting your deadlines.
- General wellbeing and productivity impacted by lack of office interaction: The lack of experiencing the office energy and chatter may impact negatively on your productivity, efficiency, boredom. An interoffice camaraderie can be cultivated by Skype messages and calls.
- Time Zone and bank holiday differences: Time zone differences can be problematic when attending meetings or managing specific work hours. Working while the rest of your community is having a long weekend may be overcome through exchanging workdays, in agreement with the employer. Schedule weekly team check-ins taking time zone differences into consideration.
- Understanding project progress and team tasks: Meeting team deadlines, hitting monthly and weekly goals. Visual dashboards can be created and shared, creating team trust, accountability and one-time delivery. (GVW will be able to provide you with information on the relevant products required.
- Lack of Teamwork: A fast, responsive and flexible communications platform can be used for messages, zoom calls file sharing, enabling you to communicate effectively and work as part of a team
- Security risks: Lack of or inadequate virus protection, security leaks, online hacks and external breaches is a real risk. Storing all corporate files and backups in cloud management platforms, regulating daily backups of the data to cloud platforms and/ or by using a private network (VPN’s) to connect your networks and files are measures to safeguard your data. GVW will equip you with the relevant information to optimize your security and facilitate training programs on important security practices to the remote workers.
- Waiting for an answer: Waiting for information from a colleague/ manager who is unavailable, in a different time zone can delay your work schedule or deadline.
Work will never be the same. Remote work is here to stay, whether mandated by employers or as a result of employees personal choices. GVW will match the employers and employees, providing both with the skill set , technology and support for a smooth transition.
