It is no secret that the face of remote work has changed over the past year. Studies show that more then a third (33%) of American jobs will still be remote by 2021.
Remote work has many advantages, but there are also some drawbacks. Continue reading to learn how to avoid the six most common mistakes in remote work.
It is difficult to maintain a work-life balance
Work-life balance should not be a slogan when you work remotely. It should be a way to live your life. Your team must feel empowered to leave work at the end of each day.
Do not make yourself available for your coworkers during the night or day. Keep to your daily work routine and stop working after hours.
Inadequately maintaining a professional workspace
It doesn’t have to be a large corner office that has a view from your home. You will need to have a well-organized home office if you are going to work successfully from home. Keep it as organized and clean as your office.
One of the best ways you can maintain a professional workspace, is to give your team the tools they need to succeed. You might also consider offering virtual office services. This article explains more about virtual offices.
Poor Communication
Online communication can be difficult. You can miss vital body language if you communicate only online with coworkers via chat, email or video calls. Do not rely on email or video meetings alone. Your team members can communicate with you via the channel that is most convenient for them.
You don’t want everyone feeling bombarded by emails. Find the right medium for your team and encourage them to use it.
You can reach London Virtual Office to help you set up a system of virtual meetings.
Communications for business purposes
Try Micromanaging Your Team
Your team members will all have different backgrounds and life situations. It will be difficult to keep track of what your team members are doing at any given moment due to these differences. To navigate the new world of remote work successfully, you must give your team the freedom and autonomy they require to complete their work.
Micromanaging can make you feel better about knowing what everyone else is doing, but it can make your staff feel worse. They will feel incompetent and mistrusted, and their productivity will likely drop.
Not giving adequate recognition or rewards
It was simple to praise colleagues in the office in group meetings or other settings. You could also gift them a coffee card or some other token of appreciation for a job well performed. Recognizing your team’s hard work is just as important, even if they are located far away.
You can give public and private praise to people who do extra work and get the job done well. Make sure you hold team meetings regularly and give praise when it’s due.
There are not many opportunities for growth
It can be difficult to determine which employees are interested and motivated to move up in their career by working from home. Insufficient opportunities for your employees can lead to stagnation.
Do not let your top talent go because they feel there isn’t enough opportunity to grow. Encourage your team to grow by allowing them to take on more responsibility, get extra training, or go further in their education.
Avoid these Remote Work Mistakes
You can see that remote work has its challenges. With the right information, however, you can avoid common mistakes in remote working.
You can find more information about this and other topics on our blog.
