Remote work culture or Work from home was not as common as these days because of an unprecedented virus. Earlier this luxury was given to employees by a very few companies only but now it has become the need of time. No manager or senior is banging your head for work or no one stealing your lunch from the office fridge, working remotely seems wonderful but it has not come without challenges.
During this pandemic, everyone is working from home and facing challenges as individuals and as a team.
Project management: Without a physical presence in the office, one of the most difficult tasks is to manage projects and teams as it is difficult to keep a track of complex projects and large teams.
Thankfully there are tools and software to assign and keep track of all the tasks assigned to employees.
Remote collaboration: Managing employees from different desks and different locations is a tedious task. As project management software, there are several collaboration tools to help you break those hurdles.
Time management: While working from home, time management is difficult because of ample distractions present in your surroundings. You are expected to be available to answer all the emails at any point in time while working from home whereas Remote Work is not the same while working from the office.
The best way suggested by Jignesh Barasara is to keep a track of your work and be transparent with your manager and boss which will help them to know when they can reach you.
Lack of proper network: It may sound like a small issue but lack of a proper network may prove to be a big fail while working. Many remote workers suffer and fail when their phone coverage or network speed does not meet the requirements.
Always make sure that your network provider has a good and proper network along with good support in case your network drops, they can fix it at the earliest.
Communication challenges: Single toughest challenge with virtual clients and colleagues is how to communicate properly. Mail is a formal way of communicating between clients and teammates & it may take some time to get the answer from the other side but video chats are best when you need some face time while working & never underestimate the power of face time while working. It is a great way to inject energy into your conversation and keep remote workers connected.
FLEXIBLE TIMINGS: This sounds good that you have time flexibility but it also means that you can’t shut your computers at 5 pm just like in the office. Your office hours may stretch from 9 am to 9 pm.
This is one of the most unavoidable kinds of issue but this could be avoided to some extent by keeping your manager or boss updated throughout the day about your work.
MISSING OUT ON WORK CULTURE: Every one of us stays busy with our teammates, manager or boss in the office which gives us a chance to enhance our knowledge and skills and this is missing from our lives but the only way to stay safe while working and interacting with others is video meetings.
LACK OF RETENTION: It is difficult to balance personal and professional life while working from home because of several distractions. The easiest way suggested by Jignesh Barasara is to keep your office work done on time. Moreover, make a separate workspace at your home so that you are lesser distracted.
Definitely, with every ease hardship comes. There are little steps to follow to make your life easier while Remote Work amid this inevitable pandemic.