Remote work as the new reality

21 јануари 2022

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, even those who didn't plan to work remotely have switched to this practice. For some, it was the only way to continue working. And now, as the surveys show, most employees don't want to go back to the office!

Modern technology and software make it possible to convert almost all working and studying people to a remote mode. For employers, this mode reduces the office maintenance costs, and for employees, it saves time and money that they spend on commuting. In addition, the mass transition to remote working has opened up new opportunities for people to work where it is convenient for them. There are no geographic restrictions, even the time difference and the language barrier are no longer a problem.

Remote work makes people closer to each other. A lot of memes have appeared, featuring cats and mice, puppies and parrots participating in work meetings, executives can be seen in pajamas and more.

Lawmakers didn't stay away, either. In 2020, Russia passed a bill "On Amendments to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation Regarding the Regulation of Telecommuting and Remote Work".

Now the years of the pandemic are referred to as an "era of self-organization" or an "era of awareness". Research is conducted, statistics are collected - to find out how employees feel about working remotely, whether it's bad or good for business.

So, good or bad? Undoubtedly, people used to working in offices are accustomed to control and to having their work day structured by someone. And along with switching to the remote mode, the efficiency of work began to depend solely on the employee's self-discipline. As it turns out, not every adult can do it easily!

The most frequently mentioned disadvantages of remote work:

Endless workdays. Many people have the impression that they are now working 24/7, although their work schedule has not changed.
There are no formal "rituals" regulating workflow processes. It turns out that for many people, the morning preparations and a subway trip performed the function of activating the work mode! And the formal end of the working day, leaving the office and a trip home – the function of switching to the rest mode.

While at the beginning of the pandemic, the drawbacks were more often described as technical difficulties (lack of work space at home, the need to buy or replace devices, the inability to work in the presence of children and other family members), now these are mentioned less often. Most likely, over the past years, most of the technical issues have been resolved. That is, it turned out that it is not so difficult to organize remote work, it is much more difficult to organize leisure.

And here's what people mention among the pros:

Freedom! You can reschedule tasks to a convenient time. You can go to a Multifunctional Public Services Center, a doctor's office, or any place whose office hours are the same as yours - and you don't have to write an application to do this, all you have to do is say that you won't be online for a short period of time.
You can eat whenever you want! This is especially often mentioned by people who have children.
You can dress comfortably.
You can get medical treatment. It turns out that everyone has the right to be sick not only upon application.
You can choose a desk, a chair, lighting and everything you need in your work, the way it is comfortable for you.
Less distracting information. You can respond to your colleagues' messages when it's convenient for you.
The productivity of interactions with colleagues increases because there is less forced communication. It is easier to regulate the time for communication remotely.
Involvement in workflow processes is enhanced (business owners are more likely to note this).
Employees become more proactive! When they distribute their tasks themselves and are not distracted by colleagues, as a rule, people realize that they can do much more and are interested in trying new things.

This is not everything that is mentioned as the pros. Therefore, even the doctors started talking about the benefits of working remotely! They note that with the mass transition to a remote format of work, people began to pay heed to themselves more often and to take better care of their health. In general, the quality of life for remote employees improves not only because unnecessary expenses (commuting, lunches, officewear, coffee, etc.) disappear, but also because this way people learn to appreciate and control their time and efforts. And when an employee is comfortable, his loyalty to the employer and the company also increases! And the relations in the team improve.

And that's what turned out to be the main surprise. It turned out that almost any activity can be conducted remotely. The list of jobs that cannot be done remotely is not so large.

Now the number of remote work offers is growing, new opportunities for additional earnings are emerging. So the most optimistic experts expect positive changes in the labor market.

Companies whose employees had worked remotely even before the pandemic proved to be less vulnerable. We at SOLARGROUP can attest to that!