Home Articles Remote Workers Pay: Should It Be Adjusted? by Team MyHub | Mar 18, 2020 | Cloud Intranet, Digital Workplace, Employee Benefits and Wellness, Internal Communications, Intranet Benefits | 0 comments. But family members can also be one of your biggest distractions. Though the number of people working partially or fully remote has been on the rise for years now, the COVID-19 pandemic may have pressed the fast-forward button on this trend. Based on remote work research and personal experience, here are some of the pros and cons of remote work: Pros. Make sure all your cell phone’s notifications are turned off. Owl Labs' 2019 remote workers report found that 54 percent of U.S. workers work remotely at least once a month, 48 percent work remotely at least once a week, and 30 percent work remotely full-time. Setting yourself clear daily tasks will be critical in this respect. And so whilst having standard operating... A performance review is your opportunity to get meaningful feedback on your performance at work. Learn more about collaboration and whiteboarding in remote work environments. Working remotely means you don't have to bear the expense of commuting. Our easy to set up and manage cloud intranet solution is successfully connecting remote workers throughout the globe. Your email address will not be published. Hang a do-not-disturb sign on the door, so other family members that may be at home learn to respect your work time. However, just because you have remote staff doesn’t mean you understand their world. At MyHub, we’ve operated a remote working policy for several years. If you have a strong social life at work, don't let working remotely take that away. Remote workers can find themselves working for organizations throughout the world, or it may be that your company has multiple offices in different time zones. Up until recently, people who work from home seemed to be a minority group. Remote Workers Pay: Should It Be Adjusted? Working from home is supposed to be great and remove sources of daily stress. How will you ever manage to get anything done? ability to work well together as a team requires them being physically, cognitively and emotionally well. In our day-to-day routines, we have learned to fine-tune our surroundings, processes and habits to find our productive balance. With a common goal, strategic planning, and the right collaboration tools, working in a remote environment can be even more productive than working in an office. "But to be successful working remotely, you have to be well suited to this way of working." Any change takes time to get used to, and everyone's specific work situation and team dynamics are different. Start by scoping out the fastest-growing remote jobs as a way to determine where you stand. Looping back to self-care, make adjustments as necessary and be kind to yourself if you're struggling with this new reality. We’ve touched on this already, but successful remote working requires a significant amount of self-discipline and motivation. For those new to remote working, Eileen and I wanted to share some tips on how we make it work. 1. Many remote workers suffer from the opposite problem of domestic distraction. There’s no expertise that you can call on to come and sort something out – you’ll have to do it all yourself. If you have tips to add, please share in the comments below. That just does nothing good for your productivity. Follow these tips to keep your whole team's productivity and morale high. Whether you need to change into business attire depends on the type of person you are and the nature of the job you have. 0comments. There are plenty of workaholics out there who find it impossible to switch off from work and if you have this tendency already, then working from home presents real challenges. What at first may have seemed like a peaceful, quiet oasis after the hustle and bustle of the office environment can quickly become a lonely and isolating prison cell. Even those who are accustomed to working remotely may find it more difficult to function with the added anxiety and uncertainty—and that’s before you throw in other factors like school closings. Being successful as a remote worker or telecommuter, however, requires a specific skill set and the distance from coworkers and supervisors can lend itself to unique challenges. Log off and leave it alone. Many organizations have asked employees to work remotely during the coronavirus outbreak. If you’ve ever been stuck in torrential rain waiting for a delayed train after a long day at the office, the chances are pretty decent that you’ve fantasized about working remotely at least once or twice. If you’re used to being able to ring IT Support any time something goes wrong, then remote working will be a real shock to the system. And why not hook up with a nearby fellow home worker for a morning run or an afternoon stroll. While you can work constantly for 8 hours, a few days into this experiment and you’ll find yourself with no energy left for the next couple of days. You probably already have a remote employee, or have talked about it. We know the pros and cons of working within a virtual digital workplace and are keen to share these honest insights with you here. For workers fortunate enough to have jobs that can be completed at … Required fields are marked *. As well as the welcome social contact, these networks are useful for bouncing ideas around and sharing insights. This could also apply to employees that travel between different satellite offices as well. Better still why not surrender your smartphone and tablet to your partner to be returned in the morning. Like your friends. And we haven’t even mentioned the lure of social media, Netflix or the boxed set of Game of Thrones! You may have to deal with the complex challenges of allocating wages amongst these two states and not even realize it. For both employees and managers, this new working arrangement has been thrust upon them with virtually zero warning. And also make sure that your intranet connection is good enough to cope with the increased demand. If you work in an office, you have a set of typical … Akeela Zahair. If you’re interested in finding out how technology can support working from home, then get in touch with us here at MyHub. Congratulations! IT departments are the powerhouse behind every successful business; but, their contribution is often underappreciated. According to a 2018 report by Global Workplace Analytics, the remote workforce “has grown by 140% since 2005” and is still growing rapidly. However, one major gripe from remote workers that isn’t so easily remedied is a painfully slow internet connection. Sometimes written off as being nerdy and uncool, IT departments fly under the radar until something goes wrong. In addition, everyday household noises such as the doorbell ringing, washing machine or dishwasher going alongside noisy children, as well as being distracting can also make you sound unprofessional to business callers. It would … 13 Views . There may even be a formal business association or networking opportunities in the neighborhood that you can join. The truth is learning to manage domestic distractions will be an important part of being able to successfully work from home. If you would prefer to work from the coffee shop down the road, or the perhaps the library, and that is an efficient situation for you, then all the power to you. One way to avoid the problem of procrastination followed by a frenzied few hours of activity just before that important deadline is to have a proper home office set up. Human interaction, especially if remote work is new for you, can make all the difference in your productivity and your mental and emotional well-being. So, your intranet is up and running, and you are delighted with the results. And if you take the time to educate your company on the many benefits of remote work, you may find that you’re giving up far less than you’d anticipated. One of the main motivations for wanting to work from home – before the days of worrying about the spread of infectious disease – was wanting to spend less time commuting, and more time with the family. Internal communications have improved, team collaboration is on the up, and best of all, your employees love the platform. After all, your manager hired you to make decisions and get your work done, and if you’ve been given the green light to work remotely , you’re being trusted to manage your own time. Working remotely might mean working at a home office, working on your laptop at Starbucks, or taking your job with you when you travel abroad. After all, does it really matter if you spend time sorting out the washing or doing some grocery shopping so long as your daily tasks have been ticked off and all deadlines have been comfortably met? To keep your work efficiency (and mental sanity) top notch, take a break every once in a while. Generally, employers are required to withhold state income tax based on where the work is performed. Successful remote workers have found the right balance of working efficiently – often citing greater productivity and collaboration – as well as enjoying the positives of spending more time with family, feeling as though they are in control of their own destiny, not wasting hours of their lives in unnecessary meetings or commuting, and having greater flexibility in their schedules. Working remotely is the dream of many and a viable way to achieve true work-life balance. When the separation between work and home is already blurred, those of us who struggle to sign off need to be extra vigilant to the dangers. And once you’ve completed your daily goals, that’s it. The second type of remote working is a remote-first team, which is a company with a majority-remote team but also has a small office. 5 Ways to Help Struggling Remote Employees Adjust. It might sound like an extreme measure, but if it safeguards your own mental wellbeing as well as that of your family, it might be a step worth considering. You can give yourself a pat on the back for a job... Nowadays it seems as though every workplace and industry is dominated by regulations and compliance of one kind or another – perhaps it’s from central government and governing bodies, or it could be industry best practice. And while buying lunch isn't a mandatory part of working in an office, it's often a costly byproduct. 0 Likes. Working remotely seemed like such a great idea when you first signed up, but now you’re having second thoughts. Last week, we published a detailed article explaining the benefits of remote work for businesses. And you will need a range of strategies to make sure you stay on task. Most remote workers find that they quickly become proficient at dealing with printer jams, Windows meltdowns, loss of data or phishing. You have to be deliberate about reaching out and connecting with your co-workers. At 10x Management, we have a great deal of experience placing high-level freelance tech talent in both onsite and remote positions. Your email address will not be published. But following the outbreak of Covid-19, the world’s largest experiment of remote working is underway. It’s important to realize there are plenty of considerations involved in working from home. In any situation, if you are going to be working remotely as a regular part of your employment, you need to set up certain conditions to help yourself stay disciplined and focused. My assistant Eileen and I have worked as a remote team for more than five years -- Eileen is in North Carolina and I'm in New York City. Working remotely means you can’t count on passing a colleague in the hallway or in the break room to interact. While there are benefits to working from home, there also are challenges. As a remote worker, you can decide your own work times. Eileen and her colleagues at Delegate Solutions are a fully remote team assisting clients like me with strategic and consultative administrative support. But working from home presents its own set of challenges, some of which you may not have anticipated. And now more recently, staying healthy and virus-free. Flexibility: The State of Remote Work 2018 Report from Buffer states that their survey respondents listed a flexible schedule as the biggest advantage of remote work. It can be a difficult adjustment for … The truth is with no colleagues or boss looking over your shoulder, it can be very hard to stay focused and productive. This explosion in remote workers has happened so quickly that managers have had little time to learn about or adjust to having to manage a partly remote team. While you may think constantly updating your boss on what you’re doing and how projects are coming along is a great way to show you’re working, don’t do this. Jan 14, 2021. Unfortunately, the speed and quality of internet connections vary greatly, especially in rural or more remote locations and this impacts on a worker’s ability to be productive and efficient. This means that the typical workday for a remote employee can cover multiple time zones which can easily translate into very long hours. Employees working from home for some time will be using extra electricity and heat to power their computers and keep themselves warm. Working remotely sometimes feels like working on your own, with your own calendar, and your own schedule. While employees in many countries have been working virtually for some time, the COVID-19 pandemic forced us almost overnight to change how we live and work. It may be that there is a local network of home workers or freelancers that you can tap into and share a coffee with. Set up a desk at home preferably in a separate room from the rest of the family, but if that’s not possible then a quiet corner of the house. Establish a daily work routine and break down tasks into manageable chunks to give yourself focus and direction. It’s important to regularly schedule breaks into your routine for the sake of your mental health at work. When you work remotely, you miss out on the built-in social benefits of an office, and can easily descend into madness. This week, we’ll delve into the benefits and risks of remote work for workers. Unless you purposely create a social agenda and time to connect with other human beings in person. The same applies when working remotely. In Maine, 1 Million for Work Flexibility coalition member Work in Place is specifically aimed at growing the state’s economy through remote work. And while many believe this unprecedented working behavioral adjustment will become permanent – proving once and for all how effective working from home can be – others remain cautious about the tangible and intangible side-effects of such a move. Working from the dining room table or the couch is a recipe for disaster. Many remote workers suffer from the opposite problem of domestic distraction. But don’t be too hard on yourself either. This is especially true since, contrary to popular belief, most remote workers are not introverts. Wherever possible, try and create some sort of physical separation between work and home. Global Workplace Analytics claims that remote working grew 173 percent between 2005 and 2018. Chapter 6: Intranet Design Best Practices, Intranet Management: Best Practices For Managing Your Intranet, Company Intranets: How To Effectively Manage SOPs In Your Organization, Top 8 Performance Review Tips For Employees, IT Intranet: How To Improve Service And Boost Your Profile. Scheduling regular exercise, fresh air and a complete break from the home office will be critical. Remote OK Team Articles News. Rather than being an uncomfortable or negative process, performance reviews that are done well help you to grow in your job and progress in your career. Cloud-based technology has certainly made the prospect of working from home do-able for more people. If you've never worked from home, this can be a challenge. There may not be anyone to share a few moments of idle chat with so find some substitutes as it’s important to have some social contact for your overall wellbeing. You have pets and neighbors, kids and a significant other to contend with. There are plenty of workaholics out there who find it impossible to switch off from work and if you have this tendency already, then working from home presents real challenges. Remote work can come with distractions, especially if you work from home. The number of employees working remotely has increased with the onset of the Covid-19 outbreak and social distancing measures that have been put in place. As counterintuitive as it may sound, one of the benefits of working remotely is increased productivity — not procrastination. Contact us for an informal discussion on the possibilities. Telecommuting – one of the fancier terms for working remotely – seems to be the perfect arrangement for workers in dozens of industries. A slow or unreliable internet will hinder your productivity, create endless frustration and will negatively impact on your ability to make a go of remote working. If you do have a hard time staying focused, try introducing rituals to your workday to help put you in “work mode.” I’ve heard that some people take a walk around the block at the beginning and end of the day, while others drive to a local coffee shop because that’s what they used to do when they went into an office. Remote workers can find themselves working for organizations throughout the world, or it may be that your company has … So, if you are seriously thinking of working from home then make sure you can deal with common technological problems – or at least have a team of local experts that you can draw on. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly one-third of the U.S. workforce, and half of all “information workers”, are able to work from home. We asked some of our other remote team members and partners for their best advice as well. Plus, they have an office you can work from if you’re ever visiting the city where they’re based. For me, remote working is working from home: The place I work is also the place I live, but this doesn't mean that is the only way. And New Hampshire recently enacted a law that protects workers who ask for flexibility , in an effort to encourage workers to stay put in the state, or to move there. A recent survey by Regus discovered that remote workers are frequently disturbed by family members, pets or domestic duties. It also helps to know the specific skills and technological set-up you need to work remotely, as well as the fact that, more and more, employers are embracing remote work as a business strategy, rather than a “perk.” These teams also have a lot of experience with remote working. Remember, virtual work can be done from anywhere.