Does remote working really work?
The World Health Organization declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 30 January 2020, and a pandemic on 11 March. As of 2 July 2020, more than 10.6 million cases of COVID-19 have been reported in more than 188 countries and territories, resulting in more than 516,000 deaths. Yes, that’s the Coronavirus pandemic. Its been almost 6 months now since COVID-19 forced companies all over the world to send their employees home to work virtually and made remote working the new normal.
Welcome to 2020, where you can work at home wearing your pyjamas, type AFK- Away From The Keyboard to pet your dog, avoid the traffic, answer emails on your couch and have meetings in your own office space at home.
Life is full of surprises and there’s a lot when you don’t have to go into the office every day.
The start of the curve was hard to adjust into but after everyone settled in, what quickly became possible to many teams is that they could be more productive and focused at home than in the offices.
Here are 5 reasons why remote work really works:
1. Your own office space at home
Work from anywhere around your home or garden that helps you enjoy work. Listen to some good music and focus on work, sip some tea or eat some snacks while working. Doesn’t that sound fun? Create your own office space that makes you get your work done in a creative way. This way you are relaxed and you enjoy working.
2. Easy To Stay More Focused
Throw some willpower and a patterned routine to avoid being distracted by the TV or the plates in your sink. Change the status in your WhatsApp chats to ”do not disturb” and buckle down to work.
3. Enjoyable and Effective Meetings
Who enjoys meetings? When you work remotely, you’ll not only be able to choose your breakfast and your seat, but you can also be much more effective. With just a few clicks, you can have 10 people on a video call that’ll probably last just 15 minutes instead of 45.
4. Power Naps, here they come
You can still put in your eight hours without starting at 8 AM. If you do need to work specific hours, you’re sure to still have some break time—time you can use however you’d like! Even if you have just 10 minutes, you can do something that just wouldn’t be possible in a traditional office: take a refreshing power nap. You’re guaranteed to come back feeling more refreshed than you would after 10 minutes at your desk surfing Facebook.
5. Increased Productivity and Performance
Working from home usually leads to fewer interruptions, fewer office politics, a quieter noise level, and less or more efficient meetings. When done right, remote work allows employees and companies to focus on what really matters—performance. Unfortunately, the office environment can create “false positives” that can lead to bias and favouritism. After all, coming in early and leaving late may “look” like more work, but actual performance is a much better indicator of productivity.
No one knew remote working is possible until they gave it a try, by maintaining work hours, enjoying the home fun, managing the workload independently, and becoming resolute. 65% of professionals think they would be more productive working remotely than in a traditional office, with 49% saying they go to their home or home office when they really need to buckle down and get work done.
