What Are the Benefits of Working Remotely?

recruitmint • August 28, 2019

Remote working does seem to be the latest buzz word. It may be a term you have heard a lot of recently, and we are certainly seeing this term in more and more of the job listings we are creating for our clients. In this blog post, we look at the pros and cons of remote working.

Whilst you may be hearing the term more often than usual lately, don’t consider it a fad – it could have some real benefits, and looks to be here for the future.

This way of working has been introduced into businesses as a way to help with mental health. In some cases, it has been introduced to help reduce footfall in the office and to create a better work-life balance for employees too. In this digital age, it is now more possible to work anywhere at all, at any time. Many of us work from laptops and mobiles, so why does work have to be done in the office?

It’s something employees are even requesting too. Be it working at home or working on the move, out and about, here are a few things you need to know.

The pros of remote working

This way of working enables you to have a better work/life balance. You can work around the needs of children or school pick-up, and you don’t need a day off for a doctor’s appointment as you can work through lunch or later into the evening, for example.

Money is saved on commuting. You don’t need to pay out on petrol, toll road charges, train tickets, car parks and more. Instead, you are working from home, for which there are no commuting costs at all.

Even when you are feeling a little bit under the weather, you can work – so you won’t need to take a sick day. Just leave your comfy-clothes on, or stay in bed for an extra hour until you feel better. You will also avoid any annoying colleagues, bad lunches at work, or dodgy desks and squeaky chairs – because you will be in the comfort of your own home. If you are more relaxed and focused, your work will be of better quality.

A key benefit from remote working is one can build up trust with their employer. You will also find that the relationship is stronger between employees and employers because you do not have passing conversations, but ‘real’ conversation when you do meet.

The cons of working remotely

If you are used to working in a large team with staff members all around you, it can feel quite lonely to work this way. You may also miss not having colleagues to bounce ideas off, as you will be working remotely, and alone.

Sometimes you can feel like you are not part of the team if you are not seeing your colleagues every day. However, there are ways around this, such as Skype calls, meetings online and meetings in the office at set dates.

In some cases, you can miss out on key information or changes that are made on projects at the last minute. You may also miss out on the chance to be involved in urgent tasks and larger projects with short deadlines. That said, a company with experience of remote workers in their business will have a process in place and these issues can be avoided.

Should you consider remote working?

This decision really comes down to you, how you work and where you like to work. If you work better as an individual then it could be a great option for you. However, if you tend to work better as part of a team, and love having people to bounce ideas off, then it may not be the best option for you.

We would recommend that you have a chat with your line manager. Speak to them to see if this could be a possible way of working in your business, even if you only start 1-3 days a week working remotely.

With the way the world is changing, it is certainly worth considering if it will benefit your career and working future. If you want to know more about working remotely or what jobs can offer this, register with us today, or for the best job search Peterborough has available, get in touch.

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