Studies have found that remote workers are healthier, productive, and enjoy a more positive work-life balance. They are found to take fewer days off sick, stay in their jobs for longer, stay motivated for longer, and prioritize their freedom over wage increases.
Remote based lifestyle can offer many benefits to both professionals and organizations, but it’s not something you can easily opt to and hope for the best. There are downsides to remote working and a set of challenges to overcome, as well. But different tools and working strategies are available, through which you can overcome these issues and enjoy the full benefits remote working has to offer.
Today, we present some of the top remote work challenges and simple ways to overcome them.
Top challenges of remote work
Prioritizing work
Remote workers need to enhance their time management skills because we don’t have others constantly overlooking our work or managing time. Simultaneously, every worker might find it challenging to manage their to-dos, especially difficult for remote workers who have more flexible working hours and managers in a different part of the world.
Managing your own tasks is quite a hard thing to do. Then there’s constant temptation to watch one episode of your favourite show during your work break or take your dog for a walk. Suddenly, the day is gone, and you have nothing to show for the day.
How to overcome it?
- You can limit the number of tasks. Use different ways to avoid unnecessary time-wasting tasks and know which tasks to do next. Or you can follow the 1-3-5 rule, which says always plan to do one big thing, 3 medium things, and 5 small things.
- There are many tools (such as Freedom, Serene, LeechBlock, etc.) available. Install them to limit your distractions.
- As your energy waxes and wanes during the day, manage the tasks according to how much of your bandwidth they will take and how much you can focus at different times during the day.
Loneliness and lack of human interaction
If you’re working at home and don’t have family members around, you might have the opposite problem: “Isolation”. WFH allows you to develop your routine of working when and where you want, whether at a coffee shop, at home, or whatever place you choose, which can be great to improve productivity, but this can cause you to become lonely and isolated from other people.
How to overcome it?
- Add social breaks to your schedule by working a few hours, then spending some time doing social outside of your workspace, such as lunch with your friends, then going back to work.
- Working at coffee shops or co-working spaces will let you feel like you are still part of society.
- Try joining local groups or organizations. Attend networking classes, find meetups, or you can take some courses at your town’s recreation centre.
Security Risks
Remote working allows you to connect to work from anywhere – your home, coffee shop, or travelling.
While in offices, they have some security to prevent and handle many security risks, remote-based professionals often don’t have.
During remote working, you’re more likely to have a network that is insecure or has your work equipment gets stolen or lost.
How to overcome it?
It’s then critical that remote-based professionals and organizations establish the necessary security protocols based on their characteristics, like:
- All devices should have an antivirus installed in them.
- Many password managers are available on the internet. You can use them to store your passwords.
- Installation of device trackers to find or block them.
It is also essential to consider using “off-line” protection methods, like using a screen filter for your laptop. This will help you maintain some privacy even when you’re working in public places.
Team communication
The first thing that will get a mighty blow during remote working is your communication, either with a boss or other team members. It is pretty challenging because you don’t have the chance to talk to people during the break when working from home. Instead, you sit home alone doing your job.
How to overcome it?
- Use special tools for communication, e.g., Slack, GoToMeeting, Skype.
- If you have a team to manage, set a date for a weekly summary to talk with your team about the progress of tasks’, future goals, and any other work-related issues.
- You can also use tools for remote teams, which helps to monitor the team’s work and progress.
- Remove the fear of talking to your colleagues about your problems, talk about your expectations, and ask questions – this will help you stay sharp at anything you do.
Technology issues
Most remote workers love technology and make use of it. Moreover, you have to embrace technology if you’re planning to work remotely. And this applies not only to the equipment, for example, tablet, laptop, or a smartphone, but to different types of tools available – software, apps, etc.
But you will get lost in the technological jungle. It’s essential to choose wisely and buy only those tools which you will need in your work.
How to overcome it?
Conduct in-depth research before you start using any app, software, tool. Most often, employees buy tools or equipment which is not obligatory in their work.
Bad health habits
When you work remotely, you spend most of your time in front of your computer. And it’s not good at all. It can have harmful consequences; your health may suffer to a significant extent. If you don’t move on, your muscles and bones become weak, you put on weight, and your immune system is not effective in facing any types of diseases.
Bad sleeping habits can also become an issue. When your health deteriorates, your work efficiency reduces.
How to overcome it?
To keep yourself fresh and healthy, maintain a balanced diet, sleep at least 8 hours at night, exercise, and remember to take breaks during work.
In Conclusion
No doubt, remote working can be more rewarding than any other work arrangement due to its benefits. However, you need to beat the remote work challenges that I’ve mentioned above. If you have a firm belief that you can do it, it will not be challenging to overcome these challenges.
