The Pros And Cons To Working Remotely

By August 15, 2017For Talent

Do you dream of waking up at 10 am, making yourself a nice steaming cup of coffee, strolling into your fabulous open plan kitchen to read the morning papers before you open your laptop and finally start your work day around 12 pm (with your slippers still on of course)?

Working remotely can often seem like the perfect situation. A chance to achieve a great work life balance and really excel but it’s not all duvet days and lunch breaks spent watching your favourite TV show.

Here we delve into the pros and the cons of working remotely to help you decide if it’s something that you would like to pursue.

Pros

Goodbye commute

You can kiss that sweaty bus ride goodbye. One of the most appealing aspects of remote working is that you won’t have to go through your dreaded morning commute anymore, you can simply roll out of bed and straight into the ”office.”

Not only will you get more time to catch up on those zzzs but you will also save money on travel expenses too. For people working in cosmopolitan areas, this saving can end up being a sizable sum by the end of the year.

Your productivity could soar

Depending on your personality, working remotely could be a real boost to your productivity. Think about it, you can wear whatever comfortable clothes you’d like, you can blast your favourite tunes and basically do whatever you need to do to get your creative juices flowing.

Working from home allows you to create your own dream work environment. That sort of freedom can do wonders for your productivity.

It could make you happier

Studies have found a lower level of work-related stress in remote workers which means a reduction in the number of heart attacks and strokes. Working at home can eliminate some of the daily stresses that often take place when working on site e.g. a hectic morning commute or a loud office.

The flexibility of remote working appears to be a major contributing factor to worker happiness.

Cons

It’s hard to stay in the loop

Even with all the new communication tools like Slack, Google Hangout, and WhatsApp at our fingertips, remote workers can still feel like they’re missing a beat. There is no substitute for being physically present with your peers. Afterall, the best ideas are usually created around a lunch table rather than in a board room.

While fully remote teams tend to do most of their brainstorming online, partially remote teams may find this difficult. Ultimately, the whole team needs to work together to consistently stay in communication. Daily phone calls and weekly updates are a great way to achieve a perceived proximity even if a member of the team is a hundred miles away.

Distractions galore

It can be very hard to ignore that mounting pile of laundry or sound in the attic when you’re trying to get your work done. Your home will inevitably have more distractions than even the biggest open plan office. It’s hard to resist the temptation to scour Facebook or even grab a quick shower in the middle of the day when you know that no one is there watching over your every move.

You distractions will come in all shapes and sizes and it will take a very strong work ethic to ignore them. Try to form some sort of daily routine, stick to your usual lunch hour and always work at a desk or table if you can.

Loneliness

Working remotely can become very lonely, especially if you are in the house all day on your own. Believe it or not, you might actually start to miss those awkward ”What have you got planned for the weekend?” conversations in the staff room.

One way to manage this is to get outside on your break and actually talk to people. Make a conscious effort to add some social interaction into your day every day and do not isolate yourself from your peers.

Author Alice Murray

Alice Murray is a Content Creator at Jobbio with a passion for Employer Branding and Graduate Culture. She's a keen traveller and a self-proclaimed lazy runner.

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