Remote Working Spaces: What Every Employer Needs To Know

What is remote working space?

Remote working spaces simply refer to spaces from which employees of a particular company work, which are not part of the office premises; mostly, their own homes. Telecommuting is what it used to be called, but companies prefer the term remote working space. Remote working doesn’t always mean working completely away from the office premises; some professionals may have a combination, of working a few days within the office, and the rest, at home.

This could be due to a variety of reasons like the employee living quite a distance away from the office; the employee may be on contract and not a full-time regular employee. The employee may be disabled and commuting may be a problem; the employee could be sick; employees may work from home to care for babies and infants; or as we’re seeing now, there could be a general curfew or lockdown, and employees are required to work from home by authorities.

How does remote working take place?

Technological advances in communication as well as commuting power have made it possible for employees and employers to stay in touch regardless of wherever the employee is working from. Apart from email and phone, instant messaging apps like Google hangouts, Skype – which enables screen sharing, audio and video calling and conferencing, project management system's like IPIX PMS – which enables employees to log the exact billable hours worked and upload documents, can make it seem like everyone is working in the same place. Requests, changes, corrections, and client suggestions, can be immediately conveyed to the specific employee in charge of that task, documents can be shared instantly, and employers can monitor strictly what employees are doing on an hourly basis. Managers can set deadlines for submitting work completed; that includes content, designing, coding, and so on. Testing can also be conducted online easily.

Benefits of Remote Working

Employees and employers enjoy the benefit of time saved by not commuting to office every day. That time can be more productively used by working. Working in comfortable, familiar spaces, also help increase the productivity of workers. They can work in clothes that are comfortable as well – no need of dressing up in formals everyday!

Employees can choose their own timings also, as long as they stick to the predetermined deadlines. Some may work better in the evening, or late at night rather than in the morning and afternoon! This offers a huge convenience of flexibility to the employee; young mothers caring for babies and infants, or any employee caring for sick/elderly family members, especially need the element of flexibility.

This type of working method also suits those who prefer to work independently and without being disturbed by colleagues every now and then. Of course, the element of collaboration does tend to get diluted, and employees will be forced to seek solutions for all problems on their own a lot more – though they can send IMs to colleagues who may be in the office, or remote working themselves.

Companies can save on infrastructure; they need limited office space, equipment, and power, if they have more remote workers than regular office employees.

What the Future Holds

The remote working space revolution seems to be going from strength to strength. More and more

people and companies are realizing the benefits this solution offers to both of them – it’s a win-win

situation. The world is brimming with talented professionals who are unable to commute every day

to the office; and thanks to the concept of remote working, they don’t have to be kept out of the job

market. Businesses also benefit by leveraging the skills of these professionals who, without the

remote working spaces concept, would not have been considered for employment. The HR team

actually has a wider choice now than before.

In addition to people working from home, there is another concept of coworking spaces; these are ‘offices’ where power, internet connection and a cubicle are provided to professionals who want to work but cannot go all the way to the office. This system offers some benefits of a team environment, and is most helpful for freelancers and independent contractors.

Conclusion

Yes, to make remote working successful, you need a suite of software tools. However, if you compare the cost of purchasing and implementing these tools, to the investment in a large office space, equipment, and so on, you will see that the former costs much lesser, and offers the benefit of increased productivity. So in effect, your ROI will be higher. It makes more sense for companies to have a good number of people working remotely in that case.