No matter what we at Glasscubes think about remote working (note: we love it!), challenges remain, and, while the benefits of remote teams are undoubted, there are still things that telecommuters and their bosses can do to get better at working from home.

Loneliness

Problem: When working remotely you may feel cut off from the social aspects of working in an office. As touched on in a previous post, company culture is an integral part of the workplace and when not present in person, many of the nuances of that culture can be missed.

Solution: To combat this feeling of not being part of the company, communication has to be top-notch. Channels have to be established where everyone, regardless of their physical location, can chat about both work-related and life-related topics. Either via readily accessible voice chat, chat functions in online collaboration tools or online forums. It’s important for management to realise this is an issue, and promote a culture where remote workers are integrated into normal communication channels. 

Lack of routine

Problem: Routine sets in when you have a fixed schedule for when you are supposed to be in the office. 9-5, lunch, set breaks etc, all contribute towards creating a helpful working structure. When working remotely this becomes less of a requirement, and breaks and working hours are much more flexible. While this is a great benefit, it could also result in less focus and productivity.

Solution: Treat your home office just the way you would a normal one. Only work during specific times, set a timer to take breaks and schedule in time for being away from the desk – for lunch you can, for example, take the dog for a walk or cook up a nutritious meal. This might limit flexibility, but it will bring greater organisation to your working day and make it easier to maintain professional discipline.

Distractions

Problem: Just as in a normal office, there can be distractions at home. Children requiring attention, this great TV show that just started, Facebook, that new computer game that just begs to be played or various other matters that can pop up during a weekday.

Solution: Make your home office a quiet and relaxing place. There are plenty of apps that can help with improving focus, while you can also make sure that family members know not to disturb you when you’re at work.

Work/Life balance

Problem: With the desk and tasks always available, working from home may become a distraction from family life. If you lean towards being a workaholic this can be disastrous for your leisure time.

Solution: As with so many things, it comes down to discipline. Only work as many hours as you would in a normal office, and set timers if you have a tendency to get lost in your work. Firmly consider that social life and unwinding will actually help you to be more productive in the long run, and not having time to relax will be detrimental to both health and efficiency (this goes for all people, regardless of whether working from home or not).

Security

Problem: While an office may sport various corporate-grade firewalls and security software, this may not be the case at home. If the remote worker gets a virus or ransomware, this can have severe consequences. Or if the computer gets stolen, valuable information may end up in the wrong hands.

Solution: The company should supply the various security software needed to fully protect the device of the worker. On top of that, working with a cloud-based online collaboration tool like Glasscubes that encrypts all data to the highest standards is a must.

Glasscubes is user-friendly collaboration software for businesses. Connect everyone that you work with in an online workspace that improves the way you share files, manage projects and communicate with each other.

For more information, contact us by calling +44 (0)20 3274 2310 or email us at enquiries@glasscubes.com