In-meeting chats help separate changing topics while avoiding interrupting the speaker. Direct messages during the meeting are also super helpful for going over ideas or asking questions without derailing the current conversation. Even if a free version isn’t enough to meet your team’s workflow, you can still use it to test the software. The last thing you want is a subscription to software that lags, doesn’t have collaboration features and fails to integrate with preferred software. With freemium versions, you can have users with limited access attend meetings without having to buy a $10 to $20 license for 100 people.
The number one consideration you should have is knowing how your team feels about certain software and what features they need to be productive. If your team wants a casual communication space with topic channels, direct messages and the ability to join calls in a second, then tools like Discord, Slack and Microsoft Teams will work. Arguably more important than any feature or price is whether the software has a learning curve that’s too much for your team. All software takes time to learn, but if it takes forever to get your meeting software to work properly, then you lose a lot of time.
Business 101
Now, about a year into living in a pandemic-struck world, many of us have settled into new routines. A recent PwC study found that 83 percent of companies think they’ve successfully transitioned to remote work. And Buffer found that 99 percent of employees would like to work from home, at least occasionally, for the rest of their career. A major benefit of remote work is that it helps you lower your operational costs.
- A great debate is raging in organizations about whether employees will return to their offices or continue to work remotely once COVID-19 is under control and most people are vaccinated.
- Sitting for eight-plus hours a day can wreak havoc on your body, and while standing desks are an option, they can be expensive.
- Both in-office and remote employees experience distractions during the workday.
- In a call to action for both employers and employees, Cappelli implores that everyone must soon make a choice.
Working remotely offers many advantages, including increased productivity, cost savings, and flexibility. However, challenges come with it, such as social isolation, blurring work-life boundaries, and limited opportunities for career advancement. Even though technology facilitates virtual collaboration, some aspects of face-to-face interaction cannot be replicated remotely. A remote work environment can make it challenging to build trust through in-person interactions, non-verbal cues, and spontaneous brainstorming.
Disadvantages of Remote Work
As a remote worker, you can easily become prone to a laid back attitude, and a habit of procrastinating. Once that starts to happen, it is certainly going to be a downfall in your professional life. As there’s no active supervision and your colleagues are not working around you, how companies benefit when employees work remotely it can be difficult to stay motivated and meet your targets. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle as an office worker can be quite difficult. Many individuals believe that the everyday hustle restricts them from having balanced meals, especially in the morning and the afternoon.
Every remote worker must have powerful internet bandwidth and modern PC, and anything else that’s required to work efficiently and with no downtimes or delays. Depending on the employment agreement, management might compensate for the equipment or deliver it to the remote workers’ house. Both companies and individual remote workers get to enjoy cost reductions when they switch from mandatory physical presence in the office. This is partly on the social side as it’s more difficult to cultivate good working relationships with your team if you’re from home. But there is also anxiety amongst remote workers that they are ‘out of sight, out of mind’ when it comes to recognition and promotion.
For Job Seekers
Some employees might work significantly better in a quiet office space that they created, and some may find that children, pets, Netflix, nice weather, or other things distract them far too much. Not all employees are a good fit for remote work, so this will be up to you to inquire about when interviewing candidates and discussing the possibility of remote work with current employees. If you hired employees that you don’t trust to complete stellar work in a timely manner, then it’s time to reexamine your hiring process.
This flexible work arrangement may also include working non-traditional work hours or working on assignments, where employees manage their own work schedule and hours as long as they meet the project deadline. When my former employer launched their telework initiative, telework employees would work from home the majority of the time but report to work in the office once a month for in-person meetings, training, etc. Many jobs can be done remotely, and this flexibility is an amenity that tons of employees enjoy.
