It is a reality that companies, regardless of their scale, sector, or region, have had to face changes due to the pandemic, such as the Japanese company Fujitsu, which announced in July that it was transferring 80,000 employees to a remote work setup. This signals a massive shift from the company's traditional corporate culture, which, incidentally, is one of the largest in Japan.
Working from home during the pandemic brought some great benefits to a portion of employees and companies in Brazil, such as less commuting, more time with pets and family, savings on items like parking and vehicle maintenance, among other factors.
But on the other hand, it has also brought some inconveniences for professionals and companies, which we can call the 'pitfalls' of remote work.
Below, we list 5 of the most common drawbacks and problems of adopting this work method, along with how you can solve them if this is your issue.
1 - Working from home doesn't work for everyone.
Most large companies, such as Google, Facebook, and Twitter, have championed remote work as the " new normal ." But this "rule" doesn't work for everyone.
Those privileged with this type of work are usually employees in the areas of technology, engineering, finance, or administrative services, facilitating the remote work process. However, some sectors and functions have not changed, except, of course, for the measures and precautions to avoid contagion of the virus. Below are some examples of occupations that have not undergone changes during the pandemic:
- Employees who rely on computers but have limited interaction with the public, such as:
- Business and finance (banking)
- Those who rely on computers and public interaction:
- Health centers and hospitals
- Those who rely heavily on computers or public interaction.
- Construction
- Maintenance
- Production
- Those who do not depend on computers, but primarily on public interaction:
- Food services (markets)
- Retail
- Delivery of goods (motorcycle couriers and delivery services)
These employees are on the front lines in the fight against the spread of the virus, being exposed in the most comprehensive way possible.
Giving greater attention only to employees who are able to work from home is perhaps a major pitfall, as those who are unable to perform their duties at home are likely to face the most difficulties and problems in carrying out their tasks.
How to solve it?
Try to balance your attention and efforts between in-office and remote employees in order to keep the tasks and needs of both sides as healthy as possible.
An interesting way to minimize problems with on-site workers is to automate processes with remote teams, consequently freeing up more time to identify potential issues with employees who remain in the on-site work environment.
Give your team sufficient attention and remember that everyone is going through adjustments and being away from almost all of their usual activities, which can make the workday and tasks more mentally tiring, requiring greater attention and care from managers and business owners.
2 – Mental fatigue
Although most workers in remote work face a lower risk of contracting Covid-19 at work, the shift to teleworking also brings its own health risks. And this, in turn, translates into productivity pitfalls.
The mental fatigue from holding successive remote meetings is real. Microsoft conducted a study , asking 13 pairs of colleagues to complete tasks both in person and remotely while connected to brainwave monitors. As a result, they found that collaborating online is more mentally draining than working together in person.
Thus, it is possible to see that social bonds and collaborative techniques formed in person are not always transferable to a remote environment.
How to solve it?
Eliminating meetings may not be the best way to solve this problem, but streamlining processes and reducing video conferencing is certainly the first step.
Today, the market offers many tools for task management, eliminating the need for excessive or lengthy meetings, and even simplifying the control process for managers themselves.
Organizing each employee's activity chronologically and by importance or urgency reduces the need for meetings and also reduces the time spent in each meeting, making the employee's work process more automated and productive.
3 – Unfavorable work environment
From an employee's perspective, we must remember that those best suited to working from home are generally those who perform high-level cognitive work, whose tools for doing their job are their brains, their computer, and the internet. Well, these people may have more difficulty concentrating in environments that are not conducive to the cognitive effort their work demands.
The reasons for loss of concentration and consequently low productivity can be:
- Discomfort while working from home due to poor quality equipment, or slow and malfunctioning devices.
- Excessive noise and sounds, due to many factors such as:
- Children in the house
- Pets
- Neighbors
- Works
- Mobile notifications
- Household chores alongside work.
- Temptations related to rest, food, and habits associated with their presence at home, such as:
- Family members cooking during work hours.
- Tasks being performed in resting areas, such as sofas, beds, and armchairs.
- Playing games with children, family members, or pets.
- Cell phones, social networks and chat applications
How to solve it?
Some factors are up to the employee to maintain order and identify points that may harm their work and productivity, such as distractions, food-related temptations, and procrastination, among others.
However, the minimum requirements for a favorable work environment for an employee working from home include equipment such as chairs, desks, computers, and lighting of sufficient quality so as not to turn what should be an ally into a hindrance to work.
Providing equipment that fosters a healthy and comfortable work environment for employees can, in most cases, reduce a large number of productivity and focus problems.
4 – Are the rules different? Or are there no rules?
Not having routines and rules is good initially, but it can be harmful if the employee has problems with discipline and completing tasks effectively and with quality.
People responsible for personally supervising tasks, or encouraging this process to be done more quickly, may have lost their jobs, or may have to adapt everything to remote work.
Work rules will likely need to be reviewed and, most importantly, presented to employees working from home. Schedules, tasks and deadlines, permissions, meetings, questions – everything must be clear to everyone in order to adapt to the new process. After all, companies and managers face significant difficulties in "controlling" actions, working hours, access, and permissions, among many other aspects, when work is performed remotely.
How to solve it?
Keeping all remote access to the company's internal network controlled for employees working from home, and blocking websites outside the scope of work, is an effective way to circumvent problems related to productivity and non-compliance with rules.
Today, the market offers various tools for controlling internet access and secure remote access, which is truly important considering the increasing cases of data theft and attacks on the networks of large companies worldwide.
You can learn more about this topic in the Internet Access Control Guide for Businesses .
Don't leave the task of maintaining company data security to your employees; after all, the biggest losers in this situation are the managers and the employees themselves.
5 – Legislation
When it comes to remote work and legislation, the Labor Reform refers to home office work as telework. This category encompasses services provided outside the company's premises, using technological tools, and whose nature is not characterized as external work.
Therefore, to adapt the company to this work model, the organization must transform the 'in-person' activity into 'telework'.
To this end, the legislation basically dictates that there must be an addendum to the employment contract, establishing all the details regarding the change in work modality and the responsibilities, making the method legal and feasible for both employee and employer to implement.
However, many companies lack sufficient knowledge or a dedicated professional to verify the data and create such a document, leaving legal aspects vulnerable to potential labor lawsuits or problems with disoriented or malicious employees.
How to solve it?
To assist professionals, managers, and business owners in the process of implementing remote work in companies, Lumiun has developed a Template for an Addendum to the Employment Contract for Telework – Home Office .
The template is available for download and includes the minimum necessary information divided into clauses, which can be edited by adding or removing information relevant to the company.
Download the file and share it with colleagues or companies that also need it.
We know that many companies still face challenges in some aspect of implementing remote work, and that's why we seek relevant information daily to help improve processes.
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