With the change in the work culture post the pandemic, many organizations have accepted WFH as a viable option for its employees. The option of working from home has been a viable one for most employers since managing a safe workspace for their team members can be a challenging task. Also, with the post-COVID guidelines of functioning with only 33% of your staff, WFH has been the only solution for the rest.
Though a saviour, the management has faced its own set of challenges in maintaining a professional work environment for their team. As the initial burst of excitement of working without having to set a foot out of the house cooled down, the limitations of WFH set in for both, the employers as well as the employees. No matter how hard you try, creating boundaries between work and home has been difficult for most.
As an employer, it is very important to maintain the right environment for your team members to keep up the spirits high. Managing teams, conducting meetings, carrying out employee engagement programs, etc. are just a few from the top of the list that management has been struggling with since the outbreak of the pandemic. But the experience has not all bad too. WFH has opened up an entire arena of new possibilities and some ways that should’ve been a part of the corporate work culture long back. But it’s always better late than never.
Advantages of Work-From-Home
Retaining Employees
Since in the WFH setup the commuting costs are cut down to zero, it saves employees of a lot of time and energy. This has a positive impact on the individual and leads to better work satisfaction as they are free from the stress of planning their daily commutes. This setup may lead to an improved retention ratio within the staff and can be beneficial for the organization.
Wider Pool of Resources
The concept of a Distributed Workforce has led to better options in terms of finding a suitable candidate for a specific job role. Remote working has open doors to a wider range of candidates to choose from by overcoming the boundaries set by locations. The physical presence of a candidate is no longer a necessity.
Increased Productivity
With lesser interruptions throughout your day, there is a high possibility of experiencing an increase in productivity. Also, small quick breaks in the middle of work hours can prove rewarding as it reduces stress and helps employees keep a fresh mind. These factors sum up to create a better work environment for the employees and can result in increased productivity.
Financials Perks
Since the need for office space is no longer an imperative, the costs of owning a space are reduced to nil. Also, the expenses of managing a workspace are reduced to zero and hence this setting has a lot of financial benefits.
Overcoming the location barrier
Without the presence of a dedicated office space in a particular location, the possibilities of setting up a team anywhere across the country are a major game-changer. It opens up a new avenue for your business altogether that lets you decide to operate from places that have a potential client base. You can now decide upon hiring a team, for e.g. a sales team, basis the presence of your clients and not the other way round.
Better Work-Life Balance
Remote working leads to a better work-life balance for sure. The time and money saved while WFH in the form of lesser commutes gives room to manage your priorities better. Staying away from home for work does sometimes create stress for individuals and makes it difficult for them to focus on work. In the case of WFH, the person is relieved of that pressure and can focus on improving their work for good.
Disadvantages of Work-From-Home
Difficulty Monitoring Performance
Remote working also has its own set of drawbacks. The major challenge faced by the management throughout the WFH phase has been keeping a track of employees’ work and productive hours. Monitoring each team mate’s performance can be challenging especially when they are not physically present around.
Additional Cost Implications
The WFH setup comes with some cost implications too. To make sure your employees are making the most their work hours, you have to provide them with the required setup for e.g.: internet connectivity, communication channels, a system to work on, and maybe even a proper desk and chair setup which calls for some additional costs.
Difficulty Conducting Training Programs
Conducting employee training and development programs can also be a challenging task in case of remote working. To arrange these programs, proper tools and amenities are necessary so that the entire team can be gathered at one platform and can be a part of the program. IT infrastructure is of utmost importance in that case.
Risk of Data Security
In the case of remote working, company data and classified information can be at risk. It is important to streamline your process in terms of accessing data to avoid a security breach. In this case also, the IT infra plays a vital role in maintaining this security.
Ineffective Communication
The possibility of your communication not reaching effectively to your employees is high. Remote working can create a communication gap between teams and can make it difficult for everybody to stay on the same page. Regular team meetings and constant updates are important and it also important to clearly communicate the need for these constant updates otherwise it can create a negative impression on your part.
Low Team Morale
Team interactions and peer to peer communication is a key factor in team and morale building. WFH can prove to be a demoralizing setting for those who thrive on personal interactions with others as breathers throughout their work hours. It is important to conduct regular team building activities online to boost morale and keep the sense of belonging high.
One Size Does Not Fit All
Though everyone has more or less accepted the WFH structure, not all job roles can be justified through remote working. There are many job profiles that need the presence of a physical workspace and can not be carried out online. This drawback can lead to lowering the work performance and expected results may be not be delivered by the teammates in this case.
To overcome the challenges that remote working brings with it, the option of renting a hot desk for your teammates at their location seems like a viable option. Co-working Spaces that have a presence across the country provide multiple desk options that can suit your needs. Renting a space provides a dedicated workspace for your employee and also relieves you from the clutches of managing entire office space. Hot or Flexi Desks are workstations that are cost-effective and lets you co-work with other community members.
How Hot Desks facilitate Remote Working
Hot Desks are the perfect go-to solution when your need is to work from a professional yet vibrant ambience. Keeping all the advantages of remote working in check – retaining employees, increasing productivity, financial perks of renting a desk in a coworking space, overcoming the location barriers, and an improved work-life balance, Hot Desks also mitigate the disadvantages fairly.
- In case of monitoring performance, Co-working Spaces provide IT services that give you a seamless work experience. You can simply rent a desk and use the internet and infrastructure services offered by the space providers.
- This takes the cost implications off your hands and you can reduce the expenses considerably. Flexible desk options at shared offices make your distributed workforce setup run smoothly.
- Conducting team meetings or even employee development programs becomes easier.
- Also, since your employees are working from their respective locations, they may miss out on the sense of belonging. Working from a desk at a place where an entire community of individuals are working alongside would prove beneficial to keep up the spirits high.
- For job profiles that need working from an office, Hot Desks provide everything your employees need to work from the location they are based out of.
Be it a Co-working Space in Mumbai like metro city or a Co-working Space in Ahmedabad which is in its growth times the space providers look after the entire operational tasks and also provide a collaborative vibrant environment that can prove to be encouraging for the members to work from. Regardless of your city size, these players are what the future of workspace looks like. Choose a space that provides you with the above-mentioned advantages and take care of the disadvantages in terms of IT and other security-related issues and the troubles of remote working can easily be controlled.