The evolution of technology has allowed many professions to move towards a remote work environment. This means meetings are done over teams or zooms, and checking in is done via a quick message to your supervisor.  Many companies have worked with this model, and some had to convert to a remote work model due to the COVID pandemic in 2020. This almost overnight transition from working from the office to working remote has left a lot of employees and professions in limbo on whether it’s better to remain remote or move back towards an in person work environment. Let’s go over some of the benefits, cons, and potential compromises to remote work. 

 

The Benefits of Remote Work

A majority of the workforce, especially in younger demographics are pushing and advocating for remote work. While many believed this to be a trend, there are a lot of companies that have made this transition and are sticking by it for many good reasons. 

 

Access to Remote Talent

Working in the office means that companies are limited to a candidate pool that is local and in commuting distance. With limited access to talent, companies may be settling for less qualified candidates based solely on proximity.

With a remote work model, a company’s potential for candidates is expanded to whatever reach suits the needs of the business. Candidates may fit if they reside in the same country, time zone, or even hemisphere. With a wider range of possibilities companies can find the best candidate based on qualifications and not distance.

 

Lower Operational Costs

This is more of a benefit for the companies, since the operating costs are removed or passed on to the employee with them having to take over some costs. For instance, office space is something that is very expensive whether it’s leased or owned by the company. With a remote work system, a physical office space is not a need, and can be omitted completely. 

Some costs like interest (Wi-Fi) is passed on to the employee, but a company can go above and beyond adding stipends or reimbursements for some of these costs. And regardless, the money savings allow a company to have more excess profit to reinvest, scale the business, or improve the well being of their employees and teams.

 

Better Ability to Scale and Adapt

This is another benefit on the company side, where having a remote work set up allows for the business to scale and adapt with much more ease. 

With a physical office space a company creates a very rigid structure in terms of departments and workflows. Most setups have teams that work closely together placed near each other. This is fine with standard procedures, but if you want to change the way teams interact there may be some difficulty having a set team easily change to a new process. Remote employees are able to more efficiently interact with new team members and incorporate changes since they are already operating within a more flexible environment and workflow. 

A company can also expand the team with more ease following a remote work process. With an office setting, there is the concern on placement for new employees, where a company can even be limited on how many new employees to bring on based on square footage. Working remotely allows a company to set up as many employees as they can handle with their process, and integrate them much more easily. 

 

Flexibility for Everyone

Depending on the role and industry, flexibility can be a major game changer for the quality of work done. A good example is an instance where someone is expected to work with international parties. Being limited to an office setting can set restraints on when an employee can get online for a meeting. A remote setting allows for the parties to meet virtually at a time that suits them best, possibly outside of the standard 9-5 office setting. 

Another instance where flexibility is appreciated is when a unique circumstance prevents an employee from coming into the office. In a scenario like a car issue, or mild sickness can mean that the employee is out for the day and no work can be completed for them. A remote setting removes this barrier, giving the flexibility to work from home, shift hours around, or simply work while under the weather. 

 

Cost Savings for Employees

Commuting to work can be a serious strain for employees depending on their location to the office. Depending on the commute an employee can be subject to a long travel time between home and the office, which can result in many unforeseen issues and problems. Poor traffic can cause an employee to arrive at work late, meaning less productivity. An accident, god forbid, can cause an employee to be out of the office indefinitely. 

Besides the time cost, there is also a monetary cost. A lot of major cities have tolls on certain roads, which can add up through a daily commute. Car usage and gas are other costs that will add to an employee’s cost of commuting. 

The difference between a remote option versus an office workplace can be the result of many hours of time lost and hundreds of dollars spent.

 

Issues with Remote Work

Working remotely is not without certain cons, but these cons can be mitigated. Even turned into overall benefits for either the company, employee or both. Let’s explore some issues with a remote work environment and how they can be overcome. 

 

Different Legal and HR Requirements

Hiring from different areas can be a nuisance with varying laws and regulations for each unique state, or country. For instance, rates and payroll requirements differ by state and jurisdiction. Understanding each hiring area’s nuances and rules is very important for hiring remotely. This can be an issue for smaller companies with limited HR and legal personnel. 

The initial investment into researching and knowing the separate regulations can prove to be positive ROI. With a broader candidate pool to choose from, there are many benefits from remote work that more than make up for the initial investment. 

You can even mitigate this entire scenario by sticking to a candidate pool in your jurisdiction, and reap all the benefits of remote work and a still broader candidate pool. 

 

Inconsistent Work Environments

An office setting creates a template and standard for the work environments of their employees. This may be beneficial for security reasons or quality control. However most white collar professions depend less on the environment for quality control and security but more on the tools used. 

For instance, providing standard laptops covered with a security system in place can help with that security concern and provide a standard process and workforce for the team. A company will probably never get the same type of control with a work from home set up, but there are plenty of ways to maintain a standard environment through technology and processes. 

 

Harder to Create Team Dynamics

In a remote setting there are no pop ins or water cooler meetings. There is a lack of spontaneous interactions without an office or cubicle to walk to. Messages online can also be very difficult to inspire comradery, with tone being difficult to understand through chat. 

These differences can be overcome with effort and turn out to be positives in the long run. Video chat can be a great method to have team interactions and convey tone and get teams more closely associated. Routine check in calls can be a great way to keep team dynamics online and establish a nice baseline to communicate. And when a team dynamic is fostered online it won’t be threatened by wasteful time usage and random non productive pop ins. 

 

In conclusion

There is a consensus throughout many industries that the pros of remote work outweigh the cons. A remote work environment is going to look different depending on the company, industry, and management. 

A company needs to evaluate their scope of work and see how a remote environment looks for them. 

While it may seem “daunting” having employees left to their own devices and working from home, it’s looking like the preferred way to work for the new workforce coming in; and for good reason. It will do companies well to adapt and provide an effective remote work option.