by This ongoing COVID-19 pandemic forced many companies all around the world to adapt remote and work from home practices. Since then, working from home has had a big moment. These new methods of working aren’t relatively new, but not many companies were practicing this in the past.
From relying on Zoom and Skype calls, working from home has evolved the working world. It’s important that we now adapt to this new norm altogether. There’s no doubt that the need to give all employees access to tools and equipment that they would need to be able to work from home was very rushed, but it did settle everyone down.
What became apparent to companies who adopted remote work, was that office-based teals are capable of working effectively from their homes. This gave employers a new image then they eventually understood that remote work actually works.
However, just like everything else, work from home has its set of benefits and challenges. Whether you’ve been applying for remote work or are already working virtually, it’s vital that you understand how advantageous this new mode of work is and what challenges can you expect.
In this article, we’ll be sharing the reality of work-from-home. Let’s dig in!
Benefits of Work from Home
There are plenty of advantages for employees who’re working from home. Here are some:
A Better Work-Life Balance
Many work-from-home jobs offer flexible schedules. In other words, employees can begin and end their day as they like, so long as their daily work is completed and further results in a strong outcome.
This kind of control over your work schedule is invaluable when you’re trying to balance your professional life with your personal life. Whether it’s having to run some errands, dropping kids off at school, attending online yoga class, or being home for a housekeeper, these tasks and many more are all much easier to balance when you can work from home.
Zero Commute Time
Traveling to work takes a good amount of your energy and time. Even if you have your own transport, you need to avoid peak traffic hours, and that in itself is very stressful, as you always need to be aware of the timing.
Employees who have to travel for 2 hours or more every day are likely to feel drained once they reach the office. Work-from-home allows you to get rid of the traveling time and allows you to save on commute costs as well.
For instance, a task that you would finish in a week when at work, can easily be done in much lesser time if you were to work from home. This sheds a positive impact on your daily productivity level.
Moreover, ditching the commute also supports your mental and physical health as it gives you the opportunity to focus on outside work priorities, spend more time with family, and get in some extra sleep before your day starts.
Improved Communication
An effective form of communication at the workplace needs active listening ad clarity in context. During normal work hours in the office, you can communicate face-to-face which would keep miscommunication away but might also find yourself drifting away if you’re not paying close attention.
However, if you were to work from home, you’ll need to put in the extra effort while communicating in order to update your progress to the team or when you need to discuss hiccups. This way the team will always be on the same page,
The dependence on telecommunication tools may seem like a disadvantage if working from home, but on the contrary, the use of communication tools improves communication rather than having to always rely on face-to-face communication.
Challenges of Work from Home
Even though there are a number of advantages of working from home, there are some common disadvantages as well.
Distraction Within the Household
It’s true that when you work from home, you don’t come across office distractions, but there are still inevitable distractions within the household. That is why you should let your family know when you’re working and even lock the door to stay focused.
Lack of Human Contact
This is perhaps the biggest disadvantage when it comes to work-from-home. Communication switch people makes us feel involved, and without it, a sense of loneliness will consume you. To avoid this from happening, choose to have a video call over voice call with your colleagues.
Risk of Feeling Burnt Out
You might not take notice of the time when you’re working from home. Therefore, try to take a day or two off to regain your energy and make a work schedule at home so that you don’t overwork yourself.
In fact, you can search for the best internet packages to make sure you have fast internet when you want to rewind with Netflix at the end of the day.
Conclusion
Work-from-home is a great opportunity if you can overcome its challenges. We hope this article helped you in managing a work-life when working from home.
