You may have heard that the pandemic accelerated several processes that were in progress, remote work was one of them. Until 2019, working outside the company’s headquarters was a possibility for some and a desire for many, however, with the measures of social isolation and reduction of circulation, working at home or at another address became a reality for thousands of people practically overnight.

Remote work, especially for those who work in the technology segment, may seem charming at first glance, but is this type of work in 100% of the workload beneficial to employees and managers?

Working from home while traveling to another city, in another family member’s home or even in another country, can seem like an extremely attractive proposition for those who waste a lot of time in traffic, want to spend more time with their family or want to explore the world without giving up work.

It is advantageous for companies too, as the costs of the structure are reduced. However, like any decision related to routine, you need to carefully examine the pros and cons.

We highlight three points that need to be taken into consideration before joining the remote model, if this is a possibility offered by the company you work for.

1. Remote work can make activity flow increase

The routine of going to the company, occupying a workstation, and fulfilling a workload gives the employee a sense of the beginning and end time of a journey. The company of colleagues and the commitments of the day, which turn to that environment, make the day start and end with better established limits.

But at home, sharing the day with family and other distractions, the worker can have the feeling that he is not delivering everything he should. With that, the productivity process can be compromised. When there is no good time management with the number of tasks that need to be delivered, the time compensation cycle begins, and the hours pass without the person realizing that, in the end, they are working more than if they were in the company.

It is natural that some days it is necessary to work a little more. Consider that if you were at the company, you would not be working until dawn every day, why does this need to happen at home?

Organizing this routine becomes a great and important challenge. A tip to solve this problem is to schedule the first hour of the journey to organize the deliveries that need to be made that day. It is important to consider how long each activity takes to complete as well as the urgencies and priorities.

Breaks should be part of this productivity map. If you need to, put an alarm clock on your cell phone when there is an hour to go to fill the day’s workload. At this point, make an analysis of what is ready, what can be completed and what will be left for the next day.

Use workflow organization tools, especially if you work in a team, and start talking so that everyone can evolve together.

Read: Make your home office work with balance and good management of your activities

2. Remote work can harm professional motivation

In the technology segment, it is normal to enter a room and find the team focused, each one at their stage of the development process, but this is not the case all the time. Working together with the team there are breaks that become great brainstorming moments.

That informal conversation can bring insights to something that the person needs to solve, and this interaction generates an important collaborative construction for professional motivation. In the remote work version, as easy as it is to create a virtual meeting room using audio and video, there comes a time when seeing a link on WhatsApp can even cause anguish.

Instead of having a conversation that adds, the employee wants to isolate himself, and this undermines daily motivation.

For this situation, the solution might be to organize the number of tasks and meetings that really make a difference, including time for an off-the-scenes chat at some point in the week. But the ideal thing is to be able to personally share the moments necessary to relax.

3 – Difficulty in separating the cost of work from the housework

Have you ever calculated how much your home expenses have increased since remote work started? And it is not just about costs, but about the quality of the infrastructure that had to be provided so that the work was not harmed.

Tech company employees have personally suffered from the issue of Internet service delivery. Who has not fallen during an important call? Or did you get stuck while the customer explained the most important part of the project?

It can become exhausting to have to worry daily about the quality of the broadband provider, with the value of the electricity bill that has risen, especially if the use of air conditioning is now much higher than before and with the value of the supermarket, after all, those who are at home end up eating more often.

Balance between remote and face-to-face is ideal

There is a consensus that the proposal of working in the remote system makes life easier for those who need and want to fulfill a workload outside the company, but does the level of deliveries yield the same qualitatively when compared to the time the teams worked together in person?

The managers of large technology companies in Silicon Valley are studying and debating the consequences of teleworking for their businesses, and if this is happening at the epicenter of technology and innovation life, it is certainly happening all over the world.

What experts have concluded is that the hybrid work modality must be the best way. In practice, combining times and days to gather teams and carry out projects in person will be essential for great achievements to continue to be developed.

How has it been for you? Do you miss being in the company, or have you adapted very well to telecommuting? Let us know and let us deepen this conversation.