Challenges of Working Remotely
While working remotely comes with many advantages and perks, it can also have some significant challenges that remote workers would have to deal with:
1. Privacy Concerns
The networks the organizations use are usually well-secured to protect their intellectual property and to protect their information. Unlike when working remotely from places like libraries or coffee shops, the network protection offered is not the same as the one offered in an organization. Which poses threats of data divulgence and security breaches that can affect businesses dangerously.
2. The Challenge to Guarantee Good Working Conditions
In the traditional setting of the workplace, there is a guarantee that the working conditions for each employee are of good quality. However, when working remotely, such a guarantee is hard to be in play. Even if the organization communicated a guideline by which employees should conform while setting up a designated working space, it is somewhat difficult to guarantee that it has been followed to the fullest by each and every employee.
3. Having to Handle IT Issues
The technological advancement nowadays has made remote working easy and smooth. However, with such superior technology, comes superior technical issues that require maintenance. Employees would make sure that their equipment is updated so are the operating system, software, and applications; the tools that help the remote workers to get their work done. If the devices that the employees depend on are provided by the company, then they need to be in constant contact with the IT personnel to check for updates, which takes up from the time that the employee needs to be productive. This also may pose security threats if the updates are not installed correctly.
4. The Increase of the Sense of Isolation:1
Sometimes, working remotely from home could pose a challenge where you would feel stuck at your home office every day. This is why many remote workers prefer to work from libraries or coffee shops to feel surrounded by people and have the chance to engage in small talks. This is mainly because humans are social creatures by nature, and working remotely does not provide much chance to be surrounded by teammates/co-workers, as is the case with working at an office.
According to the Gallup Wellbeing Index, working remotely creates more stress compared to other workers. 30% of remote workers stated that such setup is either a “big problem” or “something of a problem.” This work setup creates more chances of anxiety than the traditional setup.
1 Brandon Gaille 2019, accessed on April 29 2021,https://brandongaille.com/21-pros-and-cons-of-working-remotely/
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