How Remote Work Affects Employees’ Productivity.

The pros and cons of working from home.

The workforce is fast evolving and now, no one would prefer to suit up and drive hours in traffic to get to work every day while you could sit in the comfort of your room, with your AC on, listening to your favourite jam while doing the same work. That is the comfort and flexibility that comes with remote work for an employee.

However, that is just one side of the coin. And the other side begs the question; What’s in it for the employer? What if the employee sleeps off while listening to his favourite jam and the job is left undone. How does that tell on the output of the company and the employee’s productivity?

It is thus imperative that we weigh in the plus and minus of remote work on employees’ productivity.

How Remote Work Increases Productivity

1. Less Distraction; the employee gets to work in a serene environment free from prying bosses, office gossips or the to and fro movement of co-workers.
2. Flexibility and freedom; the employee gets to do his job at his most convenience. The freedom that comes with such flexibility increases the level of creativity and improvisation of the employee.
3. Expands Talent Pool; a company that supports remote work is not restricted to a geographical region for employers. Talents can be sorted after and hired from the farthest location on the globe, thereby ensuring the best hands are on deck.
4. Remote work also saves the stress, time and cost of commuting for both the employer and employee, thereby maximising the funds put into the company’s productivity.

How Remote Work May Reduce Productivity.

1. Employees’ Negligence; humans being humans may get soaked into the euphoria of comfort and become negligent of their duties and responsibilities. Without proper supervision, employees may get carried away by the comfort of remote work and its flexible working hours. That, without doubt, will take a toll on the employee’s productivity.
2. Teamwork is Stretched; working remotely as a team would be difficult in comparison to having the whole team working together under the same roof in the same office space. The employees must master periodic online communication and the ability to hold online team meetings for reviews and reports else the team suffer and so do their output.
3. Feeling Isolated; humans are social beings that desire and need regular human to human interaction to thrive. Feeling isolated may cause depression, and a depressed employee can’t produce.
4. Home Distractions; since office gossips or bosses’ bulging eyes can’t distract a remote employee, he has a TV set to do that. Pets, kids, spouse, friends and so on. All these are possible home distractions that could and would affect a remote employee’s productivity if not managed properly.

Remote work is here to stay. It is considered as the future of the majorly all labour workforce. Both the employee and the employer have something to gain from the scheme if gotten right. However, they both can be at a loss should it be abused.

A Remote Work Policy is advised for companies that are looking to implement remote work. The policies should ensure transparency of the employees through attendance and keep an eye on their performances with a productivity/output chart.