Working Remotely in a Post-COVID World & Beyond
COVID-19 has changed everything about our day to day life, from our social lives, hobbies, and especially our work. The dramatic shift in how companies have had to function in a pandemic situation is set to have a lasting effect even after the advent of 2020. Many industries were forced to quickly implement remote working procedures, and as we move forward, some industries and workers may come to find that working remotely suits their business model. Let’s take a look at some of the pros, cons, and processes of working remotely in a post-COVID world.
The Pros of Working Remotely
No Commute
In the modern age of suburbs and cars, most people now have an average commute of around 30 minutes. In a large city like Toronto with the ever-troubled TTC to contend with, that commute is often even longer. Working from home frees up quite a lot of time when viewed cumulatively, not to mention the money saved in gas, vehicle maintenance, and transit fares.
Creativity Boost
If you’ve ever worked in a cubicle, you probably know what it feels like to be uninspired. Working at home surrounded by what you love and less stifled by an office atmosphere that it may give you a boost of creativity to help you with your work. For some, the lack of structure will allow for out of the box thinking and the inspiration to try new things.
Flexibility
The ability to have a bit more freedom with your schedule and setup can allow workers to find the best ways for their personal styles to complete tasks throughout the day. For example, some people work better to music, while it is distracting to others. Allowing each their own can raise moods and energy.
Avoid Transmitting Illnesses
While this is obviously much more relevant in today’s current climate, this point does also speak to standard yearly flues and colds. Without your employees packed together and transmitting germs with each other, sick days will decrease, allowing productivity to flow uninterrupted.
The Cons of Working Remotely
Difficulty with Work-Life Balance
With today’s modern technology where texts and emails can be sent at any time, workers often feel they are on the clock 24/7. While most combat this but powering down and disconnecting after work, or setting boundaries with management, it becomes exponentially more difficult when your workstation is right at home.
Decreased Ease of Communication
While we do mostly operate via email, phone and text these days, a lot can get done with a quick in person meeting. It can also feel like you’re having a larger impact with your team, given emotions expressed in person compared to over Slack. People may find it harder to co-operate on complex team projects without the easy, tactile conversations that come from sharing the same physical space.
Loneliness
Many peoples’ main social outline can be at work, even when that’s not the goal. It’s just a side effect of spending 8 hours somewhere a day. For those who live alone it may be especially tough personally to lose that source of social interaction. While not strictly “work” related, mental health is an important consideration for everyone.
How to Offset the Downsides and Make Them Into Plus Sides!
Schedule
Set yourself a schedule! The freedom of working at home is only helpful to a point. Continuing to get up at the same time every day and watching your wardrobe can help you be in the right headspace to work at home. It can also help your work-life balance to be strict about what hours you do what.
To Do Lists
Set yourself goals each day not just in your head. Writing a to do list is an incredibly basic but highly effective tactic to plan out your day and ensure you don’t forget anything. Not to mention it feels satisfying to check items off!
Set Up Avenues of Digital Communication
Many of the cons we listed had to do with communication, so as you can imagine it is incredibly important to set out a standardized method of communication. Lay out which programs you will be using to discuss things and always stress that you are open to talk. Setting up video calls on a regular basis can also be helpful, just to get a bit more nuance in the discussion and to see some friendly faces. Optimizing calendars and tasks lists so everyone can be on board with where everyone else is is incredibly important and useful.
All that said, it’s easy to see how minor setbacks can be overcome and positives accentuated in a new world of remote working. With research done and adjustments made, Envision Realty is now joining that world. We are ready to serve you as a remote brokerage with all the amenities and excellent service we have always offered, and excited to move onto this new stage with more room for creativity and exploration!
If you have a question about our brokerage’s relocation, or how your business can make the move from office to remote, feel free to contact us!