The recent forced shift into teleworking (also known as remote working), has hit most employees like a ton of bricks. While teleworking is not a new concept, a number of organizations are coming across as unprepared. And this is showing up with the number of layoffs happening at the moment. This article will shed some insights into the most common teleworking challenges during the coronavirus pandemic.
Those who adapt are most likely to survive. This applies to organizations who want to stay in business in the current coronavirus crisis. There is no other option. You have to implement a teleworking setup if you haven’t already.
COSTANSIN Ltd. Management Team
Top 4 Teleworking Challenges During the Coronavirus Pandemic:
Let us make it clear – challenges of teleworking affect both employees and employers. The key understanding is that in order to make teleworking successful, they are both pulling the same end of the rope. This does not come without its challenges. Let us look at the main challenges of remote working:
1. Lack of Onsite Supervision
The lack of face to face interaction between employees and management is probably one of the obvious challenges. While some team leaders worry that their team members may not work as hard as when they are on-site, research suggests otherwise. Employees, on the other hand, may feel that their leaders may not be emphatic and close enough to support them in their day to day work.
2. Tech Support
Tech support can be a big challenge for newly remote working organizational setups. Tech support is already challenging when you work in the same office – it is therefore of no surprise that supporting remotely can potentially amplify the frustration for employees.
3. Social Isolation
For most employees, (including ourselves!), going to the office has a social benefit. We would like to spend time with our awesome colleagues, have a cup of coffee or even spend lunch break together. Working remotely removes most of the social interaction and often leads to depressed employees, unmotivated (and unproductive) at work, and even worse, feeling distant from the company culture.
4. Shared Work & Home Environments
When your home becomes your office, and vice versa, it can lead to either distraction or to overworking. Although most people imagine remote working as working from a coffee shop or from the beach, this rarely happens in reality – especially now that most communities are either in home quarantine or social distancing. Reality is that employees have to find a way to share work and home within the same physical confines of the apartment.
Beyond the Challenges of Teleworking
While teleworking can be challenging to make it work effectively for your company, one needs to see the bigger picture. The coronavirus pandemic has forced business leaders to rethink their staffing continuity planning.
Reality is that teleworking is the only option to remain in business in these hard times. Trust between employers and employees is essential to overcome these challenges.
Conclusion
After reading this blog post, one can appreciate that teleworking poses a number of challenges that need to be addressed appropriately by organizations. Simply setting a remote working tech setup does not cut it. Proper HR policies must be in place to make teleworking work. The most common effective strategies will be reviewed in our next article.
