Working from home is no longer part of the future but has become the present faced by many workers. Remote work is no longer an exclusive benefit for business owners or freelancers; it has become accessible to so many workers across various industries.
In the aftermath of the Coronavirus crisis, many companies had to adapt to remote work by allowing their workers to continue to perform their tasks from the comfort of their homes. During these times it gained great popularity among companies and workers and has now become mainstream.
What is remote work?
Remote work is an organized, collaborative, and planned form of work that takes place outside of the traditional office. Employees who work remotely do not commute, instead, they work in an alternative location that can be their home office, a shared workspace, a local coffee shop, or any space of their choosing. This mindset allows workers to thrive outside of an office work environment, control their work schedules, and improve their work-life balance.
Remote work is fundamentally digital since it takes place in a virtual environment without any personal interaction with colleagues. Therefore, remote workers need access to digital tools, such as videoconferencing tools, collaboration software, remote access applications, or access to a virtual private network (VPN).
How do people work remotely?
Prior to the pandemic, remote work used to be a perk enjoyed by some companies and was a popular option for technology support staff, marketing, call center representatives, and freelancers. However, since March 2020, amid a health crisis, a need for change arose and most companies had to experiment with remote work in some form. This has caused companies to either adopt a fully remote work model or switch to a hybrid one, which is a new modality that consists of allowing employees to work outside the office on certain days of the week, while the company maintains its office space for when employees must go for in-person tasks.
Since there are many tasks in all areas of work that do not require the employee’s presence at a physical place of work, remote work can be done from anywhere with a computer, mini PC, tablet, or smartphone with a stable Internet connection. For this model to be successful, it is imperative that companies introduce methodologies that generate efficiency and planning capacity so that their teams are more agile and can respond effectively to the challenges they face.
Why do people work remotely?
In order to better balance their personal and professional life, an increasing number of employees are opting to work remotely. Why? What benefits and challenges come with working remotely? Does it really work?
Remote work is revolutionizing the world. According to Forbes, remote work is here to stay and will increase into 2023. For many companies, until a couple of decades ago, working remotely would have been nearly impossible. Without the technology we know today, the office was the only place where employees could do their job. Thanks to the development of technology in terms of digital communication, virtual teams often collaborate and share information more easily and conveniently. The use of communication and collaboration tools such as Slack, Zoom, or Google Drive, helps the virtual relationship of any remote team by enabling smooth, self-paced communication and workflow management.
For many employees, flexibility, greater freedom, reduced costs, maintaining a healthy work-life balance, and other relevant factors are some of the reasons why more and more businesses are choosing this working model.
Even though it is true that not all professional positions are compatible with the remote work modality, it has gained unprecedented growth. That is why it is safe to say that remote jobs are not just a trend; they are the future.
What are the advantages of remote working?
More and more employees are choosing to work remotely to achieve a better work-life balance. Working remotely gives employees more freedom and flexibility. Employees can check their email, organize and attend meetings, and finish assignments whenever and wherever. As a result, employers are starting to view remote work as a crucial component in attracting and keeping competent staff, remaining competitive in their industry, and even saving money. But before deciding to opt for this work modality, both employees and employers must consider its advantages and the fundamental aspects it entails.
How Remote Work Benefits Employers
Remote work offers great benefits for both employers and employees, and the following are some of its main benefits for employers:
Access to a Larger Pool of Talent
When geographical barriers are non-existent, unlike traditional offices, companies have the freedom to hire workers who don’t necessarily have to live in the same city, state, or even country, which encourages the selection of qualified professionals. This can be especially beneficial for any recruiter or hiring manager operating in a particularly competitive local labor market, or facing skill shortages for certain positions.
Cost Savings
Despite the fact that organizations that use the remote work model need to spend money on file-sharing software, and collaboration tools, among other things, companies that operate remotely can save a lot of money. For example, by operating remotely, there is no need for infrastructure or large facilities and the associated furnishings and maintenance costs disappear.
More Productivity, Better Results
Studies have proven that employees can be just as productive away from the workplace as they would be inside if given the right tools. With remote workers, productivity can be kept at a greater level because they have more freedom to set their own schedules. By doing this, time-wasting behaviors are reduced, and efficiency is encouraged without sacrificing quality. This practice becomes healthy when there is a results-focused approach, which implies that the company’s profits will not be affected whether or not the employee is in the office.
Increased Loyalty to the Company
When the employer gives its employees the flexibility to organize their schedule and the possibility to better balance their personal and professional lives, this translates into gratitude on the part of the employee. This recognition manifests itself in the form of loyalty to the company.
How Remote Work Benefits Employees
If you work remotely or are thinking about deciding to get a remote job, these are some of the main advantages the modality offers you:
Better Quality of Life
For the employee, working remotely means having a better quality of life because they spend less time or money commuting to work, have more control over their schedules, can manage their personal and professional lives much better, and can spend more quality time with their family. Having a more flexible schedule allows them to perform everyday tasks such as taking their children to school, picking them up, or balancing their main job with other personal projects.
Autonomy and Flexibility
Remote work is becoming increasingly preferred because it gives employees the freedom to work from anywhere without being tied to the physical location of the office. In addition, full-time remote employees often set their own schedules, allowing them to enjoy greater flexibility. In some cases, remote jobs are not limited to conventional working hours, giving employees the opportunity to spend their extra time performing other important personal tasks.
Reduction in the Cost of Living
Fully remote employees may be able to lower their living costs and opt to settle in a more affordable location, providing a better quality of life for their families and reducing basic living costs such as housing, food, transportation, and services.
Increased Morale
By understanding that trust is given and measured by clear parameters, working from a remote location and under minimal supervision increases the employer’s trust in the employee, which results in a feeling of commitment and loyalty from the employee to the company.
Conclusion
Given all the benefits and advantages of remote work, it is safe to predict that the number of people working remotely will increase in the coming years. That is why, in the new era of remote work, you will need a computing device you can rely on, and we have the right solution for you!
Azulle, a technology company at the forefront of innovation, has designed hardware focused on helping companies and facilitating the shift to this emerging work mode. We offer mini PCs and video conferencing solutions, essential to empower your remote workstation, regardless of your location.
Check out our remote work and video conferencing solutions! We are sure they will make your remote work experience as pleasant as possible.
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