The Pros And Cons Of Remote Work: Does It Make You Independent Or Does It Isolate You?
The world of work has changed dramatically in recent years. One of the most important transformations has been the emergence and massification of remote work. Today, it is a modality that is present all over the world. And, in the future, it is expected to become the predominant professional modality.
Remote work implies great benefits. It saves time and spares travel from one place to another, while helping to reduce traffic jams and, consequently, pollution. In general, it offers greater flexibility in the organization of time and offers greater autonomy to the worker.
However, working remotely also presents several problematic aspects. Like, for example, the fact that this work is done in solitude. You don’t have a colleague next to you to discuss something or to joke around during the break. The others begin to become an abstract and purely functional presence.
We are therefore entitled to wonder about the future of organizations. Will collaborative environments disappear? Is this lack of contact with other employees, which often helps solve problems and innovate, completely harmful?
The pros of remote work
Remote work offers great benefits. The first, which we have already mentioned, is the saving of time compared to traveling. This also means saving money and emotional energy because we no longer have to deal with the usual frenzy of big cities. Remote work is therefore more economical for the worker, the company and the society.
Moreover, with remote work, or telework, geographic barriers disappear. A person can work in any part of the world, for any company. The company is a winner because it allows it to access more talented profiles. The worker has more choice because the labor market is larger.
Teleworking also offers a large margin of autonomy to the worker. He can negotiate his schedules and avoids all the pressure of “physical” work. He is no longer obliged, for example, to buy professional outfits. In addition, he can organize his work environment as he wishes and arrange it as he wishes to feel more comfortable. Finally, working remotely gives him greater independence.
The cons of remote work
Remote work guarantees greater autonomy, yes, but it also requires greater self-discipline. No one is monitoring the work we do and this lack of external control could lead to great disorganization in many people. Some fail to reproduce the professional routine of the company at home. Disorder and instability can therefore appear.
Since you no longer leave your home every day, problems at home sometimes end up interfering with work. There is no break with the family environment and if it is not healthy, it will negatively affect performance. You should also know that at home, there are a lot more distracting elements than in an office. This could affect the quality of the work and the time it takes to get it done.
Another handicap arises: we no longer have colleagues around us. This can impoverish social life and generate a feeling of loneliness, while harming work because a team gives us a certain intellectual and emotional stimulus. The skills for collaborative work could therefore disappear.
A model under construction
Remote work is a relatively recent modality (mainly linked to IT even if, by looking in history, we can find “ancestors” for it, such as sewing work). We are in a phase where the methods and processes to enhance its benefits are being polished and perfected.
In principle, distance should not be a limitation for conducting collaborative and integrative experiments. These form the basis of innovation. Currently, we have seen the “octopus” type structure imposed, in which a head concentrates, creates and unites the dispersed parts. This should change over time.
The ideal is that remote work does not generate workers who are isolated, lonely and invaded by work in their personal lives. There is still a long way to go to achieve this goal. Teleworking is a new challenge for organizations and for those responsible for organizational well-being. But we will surely see effective responses emerge over the next few years.
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