Remote Working: Benefits, Disadvantages and Converting Disadvantages to Opportunities

Disclaimer: The content of this blog are my views, observations and understanding about the topic based on my personal experience.

Remote Working: A state in which an employee works mainly from home and communicates with the company via email and telephone.

In recent times of COVID-19, the remote working process has taken a big boom in IT companies and other organizations, where physical interaction with machines or humans is not required. Remote working, being a part of the process, has paved a way for extensive opportunities and a more competitive environment for both employees and employers. But as Uncle Ben said, “With great power comes great responsibility”.

Remote culture has introduced ultimate benefits, plus responsibilities. Though, to every yin, there’s a yang. Similarly, with everything good comes a little setback and as a person, one must go through these setbacks and turn it into an opportunity.

Benefits of Remote Working

The benefits of remote working can differ from person to person, also from employee to employer.

When we think of it from an employee’s point of view, it gives an immense opportunity to work in a person’s comfortable atmosphere. As an employee, I can work remotely from any part of the world while sitting on my couch comfortably with a snack around the corner,  completely dedicating myself to work. This leaves me without the added stress to look professional, or following all in-office disciplines, like whispering. Also, it helps me cut on my travel budget of time and money. But, one has to be responsible enough to keep these honours and benefits with more productive work.

As an employer, it has to do more with the economic conditions with saving loads of money on acquiring or leasing land for their employees to come and work. It allows an employer to get employees from around the globe to work for the company on projects that can be operated in any time of the day. Employees working for an Indian corporation, settled in the United States, can work for American clients in their time zones. As for the employees settled in India, who are already in the remote work environment, can have that homely comfort which allows them to work odd hours.

But, to every benefit, comes a disadvantage.

Disadvantages of Remote Working

As stated above, along with the benefits of working remotely, there are many disadvantages. Most are on an emotional level.

Whenever we talk about better work or more productive work, we always talk about better employee/employer emotional conditions. In other words, an unhappy or emotionally unfit employee can never give their best work to the company, which goes up the ladder for the greater good of the company. A person working continuously remotely might go through a mental or emotional breakdown, since most remote conditions are isolation-based that may lead to poor emotional conditions. Normal, non-remote working days, people would go to the office to meet their colleagues, who might have coffee together and have chats. This keeps them in the right mood to make their work more productive. These things can be seen majorly nowadays when conditions have forced people to work remotely.

Although, a person needs to be optimistic since to every disadvantage, there is an opportunity.

Opportunities Over Disadvantages

“In the Middle of Difficulty Lies Opportunity.“– Albert Einstein

The benefits and disadvantages of remote working provides us an opportunity towards life prospects to convert every disadvantage to a blessing-in-disguise.

When we talk about mental health and emotional breakdowns, as an individual, we need to transform this remote working into an opportunity to find happiness in isolation. Now, the question becomes: How?

Well, when an organization provides its employees to work remotely, it allows an employee to stay home and give more time to the family, as we don’t get much time during regular days. We now have more time to learn and pursue a new hobby. Learn and improvise, maybe, cooking skills. Whenever you are on a call with your colleagues, motivate them and talk about new things you did every day, share your happy moments with them!

This way a person gets ahead of their loneliness and is more productive at work.

Hence, remote working culture opens a wide range of opportunities for both employees and employers. On an emotional level, one must be optimistic, mentally balanced, strong to keep the work conducive and adding more in the positive curve for the economy of the society and nation.