4 Challenges They Don’t Tell You About Remote Work

[photo credit: https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1515188027261-e7f35b9b61bc?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=eyJhcHBfaWQiOjEyMDd9&auto=format&fit=crop&w=1100&q=80]

Remote work is officially here to stay, and it may even replace traditional work hours in the years to come. While many companies still have to get on board with adopting remote work, SmallBizGenius’s slew of remote work statistics makes it clear that this is indeed the future.

Businesses end up saving lots of money by letting employees telecommute and employees themselves have reported an increase in productivity; furthermore, telecommuting is great for the environment too.

Many employees would jump at the chance of working from home, and indeed there are a lot of benefits to be had from telecommuting. However, there are also a lot of downsides to remote work that aren’t so widely talked about. So here are four challenges every remote worker faces:

Communication hurdles

Despite the plethora of messaging apps and video conferencing solutions available, communication still remains one of the biggest hurdles for remote employees and managers alike. Both parties have to work to make sure expectations are being set. Solving this solution may require remote workers to keep certain hours in order to facilitate communication, which is a small price to pay for being able to work from anywhere.

Loneliness

The benefits of simply working alongside people has led remote workers to flock to coffee shops and co-working spaces. According to co-working experts Industrious, these alternative workspaces have even started offering event programming as a way for members to get to know each other and build a community of their own. Even though you might not be working with your office mates, the mere fact that you get to interact and connect with other people helps curb the loneliness that is associated with telecommuting.

The need to organize

Many remote workers quickly realize that they’re a lot less capable of structuring their own time. After all, the traditional 9-to-5 day provides a comforting sense of structure that ends up dictating your entire day. Losing that means that you’re truly the master of your own schedule, and it’s normal to juggle your schedule around for the first few weeks while you figure out what works best for you. If your remote work doesn’t require you to keep strict hours, a good starting place is to figure out what time you work best and then structure your routine from there.

Burnout from constantly being plugged in

Being online for urgent notifications and tasks can quickly lead to being burnt out. Without the need to physically clock in and out of work, it becomes easy to end up taking on more tasks than you should. A study published by Acad Psychiatry looks at the rise of mobile and web apps that can help mitigate burnout through guided meditation exercises. Incorporating these into your daily routine can give you a much-needed break while forcing you to step away from your work.

Remote work isn’t without its challenges. And here at SwellSystem we focus on software solutions that make work operations more accessible, which then allows employees and managers to focus on cultivating meaningful work relationships in this modern world.

Exclusively written for swellsystem.com by Juliet Cross

This post was created by Juliet Cross.