WORKING REMOTELY: HOW PRODUCTIVE IS IT REALLY?

647
Photo by Daria Shevtsova from Pexels

Working remotely isn’t just a concept of the future – it is already happening. Remote work is trending –either from home or any other place. Does this change in our working life lead to an improvement for employers and employees? Do we make the most of the day and are we more productive when working remotely? 

Gen Y & Z know what they want

The majority of the younger generations would rather work from home or any chosen place somewhere in the world. They don’t see the need for being present in a physical place in order to do a good job.  The  recent study of College Pulse shows that nearly three-quarters (72%) of all students surveyed named working remotely as their preferred working condition, 27% of students who would rather work in an office, had concerns about not being productive outside the office. However, being flexible within working hours is appealing to almost all students. 

Data from 2016 shows that 43% of the workforce does work from home at least some of the time, but this data was well before the lockdowns began. With current data, it’s estimated that up to 30% of the workforce could be working from home by the end of 2021 due to a combination of factors.

Working remotely brings many advantages 

Productivity is one of the most crucial benefits that come with working remotely. Everyone is keen to work more efficiently and productively to keep up in today’s working environment. According to the study from Connected Solutions, 77% of those who work remotely indicated that they are more productive, whereas 30% pointed out they accomplished more in less time. Being more productive not only brings satisfaction but having more time for other things is essential for remote workers. The survey also shows that 45% of the respondents are getting more sleep, 42% are eating healthier and 35% are getting more physical exercise. This results in a reduction of stress and increases overall job satisfaction. 

The downsides of working remotely 

Remote workers are more likely to feel isolated due to a lack of relationships among coworkers. Not having the possibility to have a little chat or swap ideas with colleagues creates a sense of not being part of a team. In addition, a lot of remote employees claim to have difficulties when attending online meetings. Especially for those who work in a country with poor internet connection often complain about the drop-out rate and the poor video and audio quality. It’s out of question that this leads to a decrease in productivity.

The need to embrace a new working environment 

Organizations need to face these new trends and learn how to deal with them since it is inevitable. Companies can already choose from various remote working software providers. Therefore, it is crucial to know which ones suit you the best when working remotely or employing remote workers. Tools for team collaboration can be either chat-based like Slack or a video communication tool like eyeson – both boost productivity and create the feeling of being part of a team. Thus, eyeson eliminates you from the downsides of working remotely. Both, the isolated feeling and the difficulties attending online meetings, can be solved. Being able to see your colleagues’ facial expressions & body language on screen contributes to the overall team spirit. Furthermore, eyeson ensures high audio and video quality. Due to eyeson’s patented technology, your bandwidth always stays low regardless of the number of participants within a meeting. 

These tools will be crucial to companies in order to prepare for the next generations working expectations. Millennials are already the largest labor force and Gen Z is approaching fast.  Embracing the changes and staying curious is key in order to maintain and receive future talents.