Working from home offers both employers and employees numerous advantages. It increases productivity, saves companies tons of money and provides employees with greater work-life balance.
At the same time, every employer needs to carefully consider both advantages and disadvantages of remote work when making their decision. Here are a few:
Flexibility
One of the greatest advantages of remote work is its flexibility: employees can take time off when necessary to see their children off to school or attend medical appointments without needing permission from a boss.
Although working remotely can provide many advantages, there can also be drawbacks. For instance, some individuals find it hard to focus when they’re not physically in their office environment.
If this is the case, a company could benefit by offering time management courses or coaching to employees – as this may help them strike a balance between personal life and professional life.
Work-Life Balance
Remote work brings many benefits, yet also poses certain challenges for employees. One such issue involves the disconnect between work and home life that often results in stress and burnout (Eurofound 2020).
According to research by Eurofound, maintaining a healthy balance between work and personal life has an indisputable benefit on mental health and wellbeing, including improving relationships with family and friends as well as lowering risks of burnout or other mental illnesses.
Reaching a work-life equilibrium requires effort, but it can be done. Here are some strategies to help you strike that perfect balance and enjoy all the advantages of remote working.
Time Management
Remote work offers many advantages, yet can present unique challenges for employees. They may miss direct communication and feedback which could result in increased fatigue, stress and burnout.
Time management skills are of utmost importance when working remotely. By setting clear boundaries between work and home life, reducing distractions and increasing productivity.
Deferring emails until you have more free time can also help prevent delays when communicating with others. While emails can often take up extra time, simply delaying them until later can save hours of frustration later on.
Un of the major obstacles facing remote workers is keeping track of team commitments and events, without an effective plan in place, they can quickly interrupt your workflow and lead to confusion.
Mental Health
Remote work offers many advantages that can positively contribute to mental health, such as flexibility, job satisfaction and time management. But it is also important to acknowledge its downsides, which may negatively affect mental wellbeing.
Employees dealing with mental health issues may feel isolated and helpless without support from their employer, leading them down a path toward stress and depression.
Aid can improve your mental health and give you the tools needed to navigate difficult situations both at work and home, but approaching someone about your condition may be daunting.