An increasing number of companies are introducing remote work as part of their work style reforms. However, not many people work while understanding the specific definition and ‘’what are the benefits in the end’’ as they are unaware of the term ‘What does it mean to work remotely?’. Thus, to shed light over this we will going to list some aspects about the specific term.
- What kind of work is remote work?
Generally, employees of a company work in the office of the company, but remote work is a work style in which employees work in their favorite place, not in the company. People who work by remote work bring their PCs to their homes, co-working spaces, cafes, etc. to work.
Even if you can work anywhere, you need to contact your boss and attend meetings because you have a contract with the company. This can be done by phone or chat, or you can use video call services for meetings to create a system where you can work without going to the office.
Since remote work allows you to work from home, even people who are pregnant, raising children, or nursing can work comfortably. Using remote work gives you flexibility in your work location, which is a positive system for both the company and employees.
- Advantages and Disadvantages of Remote work
The number of companies that are introducing the work style of remote work is gradually increasing. What kind of changes have you made to your company and employees by introducing remote work? Let’s discuss here the advantages and disadvantages of remote work from the standpoint of both companies and workers.
- Advantages on the company side
By introducing remote work that reduces transportation costs, it is possible to reduce the costs for employees. Transportation costs are a typical example of the costs that can be reduced.
It depends on the company, but basically the company bears part or all of the transportation costs for employees going to and from work. However, employees who work remotely do not have to commute, so there is no transportation cost. As the number of such employees increases, the cost of transportation expenses borne by the company can be greatly reduced, and the company’s expenses can be reduced.
- Useful for branding of the company
As mentioned at the beginning, there is a trend of work style reform, and society is becoming more interested in ‘diversified work styles’. Therefore, by introducing remote work, it becomes easier to appeal the efforts of the company to the outside world, which is useful for branding the company.
In addition, the more diverse work styles, the easier it is for diverse human resources to gather, which gives an advantage over other companies in hiring human resources. In addition, remote work eliminates the geographical restriction of going to the office, so it is possible to recruit personnel from all over the world. Of course, if you seek a wide range of human resources, the chances of acquiring excellent human resources will increase, which will have a positive impact on the growth of the company.
- Business can be continued even in the event of a disaster
When a disaster occurs in the area where the company is located, the business of the company may be delayed due to the disruption of transportation. However, remote work allows you to work without having to go to work, so even if transportation is disrupted, it is easier to respond more flexibly than in a normal company. Of course, if there are no prior measures, the company will be confused, so it is desirable to create a disaster countermeasure manual when creating a remote work system.
- Disadvantages on the company side
- Difficulty to manage attendance
The company does not completely manage employees during remote work. The places where one can work are different, but the working hours are also different depending on the employees. Therefore, it is difficult to know when you are working and it is difficult to calculate payroll accurately.
- Permeate corporate culture
Companies have a unique culture. Since ordinary companies work within the corporate culture, the corporate culture gradually takes root in employees, but working remotely reduces the number of times they go to work, so the corporate culture takes root in employees. It may not be there.
- Advantages on the part of workers
- Commuting time can be reduced
It may take several hours for people far from the company to commute to work. Since it is travel time, the time that can be effectively used is limited, so some people find commuting time stressful.
However, with remote work, you do not have to go to work, so you will have tens of minutes to hours more than usual. This time can be effectively used for picking up children and doing household chores.
In addition to giving you more time, eliminating the stress of commuting can have a positive effect on your mental health. It is expected to have a positive effect on improving physical and mental health and improving productivity.
- Telework that can flexibly respond to emergencies
If you work for a company, you may not be able to prioritize your family and personal circumstances, and it may be difficult to achieve a work-life balance. However, since remote work allows flexible work styles as described above, it is easy to achieve work-life balance.
Recently, the number of people seeking a work style that emphasizes work-life balance is increasing, so remote work can be said to be an attractive work style for such people.
- Disadvantages on the part of workers
- If you work in an office where it is difficult to turn work on and off, you will be notified of the start and end of work with a chime, etc. I can do it. However, remote work does not have such sharpness, so it is difficult to turn it on and off. Also, you have to decide when to start work and when to quit, but there is a possibility that you will overwork because there is no concept of fixed time like in the company.
- Sometimes one can feel lonely in the office as there is no one around to talk about. In office routine, one can have people around, so conversations occur naturally, such as talking about work and other chats, but in remote work, one work by himself, so there is no such chance of conversations. You may feel lonely because no one speaks.
