The Art of Working Together in the Virtual World is a Big Deal, and Here’s Where to Start

By 2019, 30% of U.S. employees worked remotely full time, 48% at least once a week, and 54% at least once a month. For a long time, remote work was a privilege for the chosen few—until the COVID-19 pandemic arrived. Never had the world seen such a quick shift to a new working pattern. 

Within no time, business operations became fully virtual. Remote teams were thrust into a new world with minimal resources and few formal guidelines. Many managers had to find ways to track workers in this unique, remote environment.

By 2025, 36.2 million Americans will be remote workers. But increasing productivity and enhancing operations while working remotely can be challenging. It’s dependent on the type of work employees perform and the time spent working remotely. If you’re struggling to embrace remote work, identifying the benefits and drawbacks is a good place to start: 

Advantages of Remote Work

1. Saves money – About 6 out of 10 employers save money when employees work remotely. Organizations save money they would have spent to rent office space and supplies, on utility bills, and other office-related necessities. When staff who regularly visit customers physically work remotely, the company saves time and money. Remote work can help your organization reduce real estate expenses by $10,000 per employee per year. For employees, working from home means saving on commuting expenses, food, dry cleaning, and child-care.
2. A flexible schedule – working from home means employees have flexible working hours and can take breaks when they want. This is especially important if a company has clients in areas with different time zones. Flexible working hours also give employees more time to make appointments, run errands, or attend to their personal needs.
3. Increased productivity – workplace distractions cost organizations $600 billion a year. Some employees have fewer interruptions when working remotely. In fact, over two-thirds of employers cite increased productivity (about 35%-40%). The quieter home environment increases focus, resulting in higher productivity. Employees can also use the time they previously spent commuting to work. A company with more remote employees can reduce unscheduled absences by 63%.
4. A better work-life balance – working from home helps employees to improve their work-life balance. Since they don’t spend a lot of time commuting, they can spend more time with family. Many can do household chores during the day, freeing up time in the evening. They also rest and exercise more and can prepare healthy meals.
5. Increased motivation – Unscheduled absences cost US employers $1,800 per employee per year, which comes to $300 billion a year. Remote work reduces micromanagement, increasing employee confidence and trust in supervisors and the organization. More autonomy means employees can create a work schedule that suits them best and inspires them to give their best. They are happier, more energized, work longer hours, and are less likely to suffer from burnout.

Disadvantages of Remote Work

1. Reduced human connection – it’s easy for employees to feel disconnected from colleagues and the organization when working from home. This can be solved by regular communication and holding regular team meetings. Employees who communicate regularly with other team members feel like they are part of the team. To connect with other people, employees can work from coworking spaces or public spaces such as libraries or coffee shops. 
2. Difficulty in monitoring performance – while as much as 75% of managers say they trust their employees, a third would like to see them working. With a telecommuting work model, some managers and supervisors may have challenges managing workers and monitoring performance. And since people have different personalities, they may respond to monitoring differently. Set easy-to-measure goals in case employees aren’t meeting targets. Remedy performance issues early.
3. Information security risk – when employees work from home, information security problems are more likely to occur. They carry laptops home and access servers remotely, sometimes over public networks. You can install encryption software to protect company data. Remote-wipe apps can also help if the mobile devices you gave employees go missing. Use a virtual private network to provide secure access to remote computers over the internet and keep files and data secure.

How Technology Has Helped Make This Change Easier

For the telecommuting work model to succeed, organizations need a cocktail of strategies for digital transformation. Team leaders must be supportive to earn the trust and loyalty of employees. They must also encourage collaboration. The right workflow platform can enhance collaboration and communication, boosting productivity. Here’s how technology has helped make remote work easier.

1. Enhanced Communication and Collaboration

Good communication is more important in a virtual team because it has a huge impact on productivity. When a team communicates well, work gets done faster. Poor communication between remote teams increases the chances of things going wrong.

Collaboration platforms have made it easier to connect employees based in different locations. They can collaborate on projects, share data easily, make updates in real-time, and save their work to the cloud. Collaboration and communication tools such as Skype, Slack, and Kissflow allow work to proceed normally. They help virtual teams to connect and prevent team members from feeling isolated. Employees know what to prioritize and can easily follow up on tasks.

2. Streamlined Work with Workflow Automation

One of the best things about remote work is workflow automation. A workflow system can establish an assignment protocol, provide collaboration tools, break down tasks into subtasks, schedule live check-ins, and make feedback and recognition a priority. HR can track employees within the system and easily upload information on the cloud for team members to view. Companies can easily engage new employees to reduce new-hire frustrations. Management can also generate accurate timesheets, schedule meetings, and monitor expenses. 

Small and repetitive tasks take up a lot of time and can cost companies considerable sums of money–up to $5 trillion in lost productivity annually. With a workflow system, a company can create customizable templates and automate certain tasks to ensure that managers and teams focus on project deliverables. Organizations can automate workflows, enhance processes, and efficiently scale with demand.

Why is Remote Work the Future of Work?

The Coronavirus pandemic is a wake-up call for organizations to embrace technology and transition to full-time remote work or a hybrid work model. Telecommuting results in higher productivity and lower costs. 

Remote work makes it easy for workers to attain a good work-life balance. It also promotes creativity, provides greater autonomy, and is cost-efficient. Companies can reduce their overhead costs, employee turnover rate, and carbon footprint.