Remote work has been around for decades, even before the computer. It’s actually something that many industries allow, if it’s possible for the employee to fulfill their obligations throughout the day. Usually, this requires equipment like computers, phones and other resources to be able to do one’s work. The covid pandemic changed how we look at remote work forever.
Companies that never allowed workers to work from home now we’re relying on it to stay in business. There is an unfair bias towards this because when you talk about remote work, bosses and managers especially think of lazy workers sitting at home in their pajamas, watching television and pretending to work. Here’s the thing no one mentions, if they can get their work done in two hours each day, isn’t that your fault, not theirs?
Let’s Not Bash Remote Work Yet
Yes, most people are lazier when they work from home. That also means they are relaxed and study after study has proven that productivity goes up when people work from home, not down. Why? Could it be that they aren’t dealing with the dozens of distractions that come with office life? Could it be that they are so thankful for being able to work remotely and they do not want to lose the privilege that they work even harder and faster to get their work done?
Remote work benefits companies greatly and it can also keep labor at an affordable rate. Before the pandemic, businesses were already beginning to struggle with high office costs and the inflated benefits packages many employees demanded to come to the office every day. Now there are thousands of businesses that have cut back expenses by having smaller offices and using remote workers who take on full-time work with fewer benefits because it allows them to work from home.
There Are Risks, But They Are Preventable
If you hire people who work from home you are still going to see results and in some cases, better results. However, this does open you up to a new issue which is potential cyber security threats. Remote work has helped create a bit of an increase in data breaches and other forms of attacks as data and passwords are being shared, devices are being used under public Wi-Fi and more.
This should not be a reason to ditch remote work but it should be a reason to take a serious look at your IT management efforts. Are you protecting yourself and your team as best as you can? An independent team can review your efforts and tell you what changes are needed. They will work with your in-house team and support them so that your business can run efficiently and securely.