As if the disruptions from the technologies were not enough, a mere virus had to come and create the disruption that was never envisioned. The entire world went into chaos and everything came to a standstill. The rising cases of the deadly pandemic brought forced lockdown globally.
Overnight there was a shift in how the corporate world operated. With social distancing guidelines being issued, talent managers were forced to rethink their HR strategies to facilitate remote working facilities and encourage employees to embrace the role of remote workers with practiced ease.
But while this was fine for a short time and amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it is the post pandemic situation that is worrying the talent managers around the world.
Reason: The deadly pandemic had forced the businesses to switch to remote working at a quicker pace than anticipated.
Result: In one word – Chaos!
There was no proper planning for the transition. In certain countries, the right technology was not available easily. While the transition was necessary, talent managers were concerned about the productivity of the employees and slack in work.
Considering the fact, the implementation of work-from-home was a deeper and broader concept that most of the businesses realize. Organizations needed a structured along with a significant investment to change the existing corporate culture in order to succeed in the long term.
Remote Working – Challenges Galore!
There were numerous challenges that remote workers can face while working remotely. Yes, remote working sounds fun – what with no daily commutes, reduced stress. However, like there are two sides to every coin so the other side of the remote working is the challenges both employees and the employers face while encouraging remote workers to stay motivated and be productive as well.
Without further ado let’s have a look at the challenges remote workers face on a daily basis –
- Overworking is a common problem while working remotely. You need to build boundaries while working – set fixed times for working hours and doing household chores. And while doing office work don’t think too much about the household chores. Easier said than done since the office is under the same roof where you live. One of the ways you can avoid overworking is by setting some rules for yourself.
- Fix appointments for your personal tasks like exercising or running
- Important to set time for breaks. Breaks are important for better productivity
- Set the clear timings for ending your day and stick to it
- Physical boundaries between you and your home office is necessary if you need to stop yourself from overworking
- Notifications need to be muted after office hours so that you are not pulled back into the office work
- Prioritizing your work is the next challenge you will face. Expectations of the family increases but your own control can also slip. How – you may be tempted to watch your favorite show, or the kitchen shelf you left unattended can be asking for your attention in the middle of the work. So need to resist those temptations and before you realize the day has come to an end without you doing anything for the day. Here are some of the ways you can prioritize your work.
- Finish the biggest and the important task that is eating your frog first thing in the morning
- Restrict the number of tasks you will plan for each day. Set yourself achievable targets so that you don’t slack
- Another best way to finish your work on time is to install tools that help you in limiting your distraction
- Remote workers need to remember that it is not the time they need to manage rather it is their energy they will have to manage
- Family thy name is Interruption, right? When you are working from home the family thinks that you are available to do the household tasks as well. Your dog will look at you expectantly to take it out for work. You need to set limits and boundaries. Here’s how you can set up the boundaries for the family interruptions.
- Find a sign that will let your family know that you are in your focus mode and shouldn’t be disturbed
- It is important to make your family members understand that when your concentration is broken you need to work
- You need to get a childcare help for young kids so that they don’t disturb you
- Teach your children and others to be self-sufficient. They need to independent about certain things in life
- In addition, you need to keep your office work hours consistent
Last but definitely not the least, if none of the above things work then you need to escape to a cafeteria and work from there. Not a good choice considering the lockdown and the pandemic fear, so try and make the above hacks work for you.