15 Apr Three Popular Remote Work Myths To Leave Behind In 2021
Gone are the days when you might think that remote work is not a real thing. The pandemic has very much proved that it’s possible to get your work done with equal efficiency even without stepping into your office every day.
A survey conducted by PWC shows that remote working during the pandemic has been an overwhelming success for both employees and employers.
Another report published by BBC after surveying 4,700 knowledge workers found that the majority of these workers don’t want to return to the old way of working. And 72% of these workers said that they wanted a hybrid remote-office model in the post-Covid-19 world
All of this is a clear indication that there’ll be a massive shift in the way companies will operate and their employees will work in the post-pandemic era.
So it’s about time that you prepare yourself to start looking at remote work with a new perspective and leave behind all the misconceptions associated with it.
- Remote workers aren’t productive.
If you do an image search on remote work in Google, you’ll find hundreds of interesting images that show how fascinating the remote work culture is.
You’ll see people working from beaches while they are on vacation, attending meetings in their pajamas or even lying comfortably on their couches while getting their work done.
All these images clearly show that as a remote worker, you don’t really need to be as formal as working from an office would require you to be.
However, the truth is very much different from what Google images and other stock imagery sites have to offer.
In reality, remote workers work equally hard as traditional office-goers. In fact, studies show that remote workers work longer hours than those who go to the office every day.
Although remote workers don’t have their bosses hovering over them throughout the day, they can still get their work done better because their goals are so well communicated.
That way, workers know what is expected of them, and they feel more responsible and empowered to give their best performance.
- Remote workers don’t need skills.
This is another very popular myth that many people believe is true. Many people associate remote work with uncompetitive work like copy-pasting jobs that require lesser professional skills.
But the truth is just the opposite. There are many remote jobs that need you to be highly skilled to qualify for an opening.
For example, companies like Upstack or Duck Duck Go need their employees to be super-skilled developers and coders.
All the coding and designing work can be done from any location they want without stepping into a traditional office every morning.
Although a remote position, being a developer does require skills because their task is to come up with advanced software, fully functional applications, well-optimized websites and more.
So if you ever thought that remote workers don’t need skills, it’s time you change the way you look at remote work.
- Remote workers never get to know their coworkers.
Sure, remote workers don’t need to step into a defined workspace every day. But that doesn’t mean that they don’t ever get the chance to know their coworkers.
Just like any other company, in remote companies, too, people have supervisors and project leads who they work closely with.
This means that they will have to be in touch with them — if not daily, at least several times a week.
Besides, most remote companies use tools like Slack that make communications more clear and effective.
These tools work just like any other messaging platform but with more features to help the employees stay connected and for everyone to stay in the loop.
Some companies even organize mini meetups and company retreats for their employees where they get to interact with each other face to face.
So if you think remote workers never get to know their coworkers, you definitely need to learn more about the work culture.
Remote working is no more a trend, and it’s here to stay. While there’s mixed reaction to whether companies should opt for this culture or not, remote working has made it possible for more people to do the jobs they love while maintaining their work-life balance.
How can we help?
We offer a broad range of IT support and consultancy services that aim to help small businesses extract maximum value from their IT. From proactive network monitoring/maintenance and hardware leasing to Cloud services, VoIP telephony and much more, we help our clients identify and roll-out the best-fit solutions for their businesses.
We’re cloud computing experts! We can help your business leverage the potential of some of the most empowering Cloud services, such as Microsoft 365. Why not get in touch today, to discover how the flexibility, scalability cost-efficiency, convenience and security of Cloud services can help your business realise its potential.
Source: https://www.forbes.com