Let’s say it nice and loud for the people in the back:

Remote work is here, and it’s revolutionizing the way we work.

Technology has advanced to a level where working remotely is no longer a challenge. Organizations working with hundred thousands of remote workers are proving that going remote is the best move for you if you are trying to integrate life and work and want to have a perfect work-life balance.

It has been proven that the transition to remote work benefits the organization in numerous ways. The question still remains is, does it really help a remote employee on a personal level?

How to start working remotely?

You could either transition to remote work slowly or directly jump into it if you feel ready. You could even ask your boss to let you work remotely and ask for trial periods. This would mean you will still be working for the same company, just in a much better environment.

• Prepare before your start - Remote work isn’t for everyone. If you lack communication skills and struggle with the language you may face difficulties to work in a remote environment. You need to make sure you are prepared for remote work before you jump into it.
• Remote work trial periods - I understand how nervous it can make you when you are the first employee in your company who wants to work remotely. Asking your manager to let you work remotely isn’t easy, but asking him to give you remote work trial periods would definitely be easier. Try working remotely twice a week, or two weeks in a month and let your boss decide if it’s beneficial for the organization or not (which it obviously will be).
• Switch to cloud-based technology - Cloud-based technology is almost like a remote worker’s right hand. Without it, remote work will not be possible. You need to switch to the right communication and collaboration tools and learn how to use them well as they are the stepping stone to remote work.
• Establishing remote work standards - Imagine you are working with clients as a remote worker, and you have multiple projects and a definite time to complete them. What do you do in that situation? You prioritize what to take up first and so on.

Setting standards and prioritising work will take you a long way when working remotely. Time management is important for a remote worker and can be achieved by making to-do lists and keeping a track of deadlines along with work progress.

Challenges faced by a remote worker

When you first start working remotely, it can be very overwhelming. A first-time remote worker may face several challenges.

• Maintaining hygienes - Setting your own standards and guidelines can be difficult because you’ve always had someone else do it for you. Using the right tools and technology will help you in maintain remote work hygiene successfully.
• Communication and social disconnect- The traditional workforce is used to having people around in their work environment. They enjoy the water cooler moments. But these water cooler moment can be recreated on cloud-based technology. This helps in overcoming the social disconnect faced by first time remote workers.

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What do you think?

Do you share the same views?

Regardless of the mentioned challenges, organizations have been successfully working remotely for decades now. This is because the advantages number out the challenges of remote work.

Learn how to overcome the remote work difficulties from experts and start remote work today.