It’s been over 3 years since covid has started and with that it opened pandora’s box leaving many companies having to quickly adapt with remote and hybrid work. The benefits have evolved considerably giving workers the ability to work from anywhere. While most restrictions for covid have already been lifted, the demand for remote work is still as popular as ever in some industries. However, is remote really as great as everyone claims it to be? Everything has two sides to the story and here is a reminder of a couple negative points about working remotely to consider if you are starting a new position that is remote or hybrid based.
Communication Gaps
Whether it’s for a project or even for onboarding a new staff member, communication is the key to success. Throughout a person’s career, communication and collaboration are critical with any task or project. When a lot of it hinges on purely text through slack or emails, there can be a lot that is lost in translation without context or tone. Some may find it easier to figure things out on their own with google at their disposal, but clarification is one of the strongest tools you have as you never know what a colleague means until you ask.
Establishing Boundaries
Remote work can be an exciting benefit as it provides much flexibility from rolling out of bed and hopping on the computer, to switching from work mode and home projects mode as soon as the workday is done. All is great until it becomes harder to distinguish a workspace from personal space because the two is just the same. This can lead to mental health issues arising as there is a lack of structure and no boundaries set. Something that may help is wearing your work attire with the uncomfortable button ups as a reminder of when it’s work time. Or after a long day’s work, plan activities that you would enjoy and relax to mentally split the day from work and personal.
Social Interactions
Starting a new position is an exciting time but also daunting experience as you may be going into a new environment with no connections. It can be especially tough making friends in a remote setting as there’s no communal space that can allow for physical interactions. With the lack of physical presence, it may be hard to socialize without physical presences once again leading to mental health issues for some who need social interactions as part of their life. And with a large portion of our days working, without social interaction with anyone can be extremely taxing and intense on the mind as you feel less affiliated with the company and the people you work with. It is best that we all try to make the best of it when we can work with others and interact with our peers!
Career Progression
Career advancement opportunities are partially based on performance and the other part on how well you get along with the team. Without the physical presences and interactions, it is harder to stand out to management when all you’re doing is staring in front of a screen all the time. In this type of work environment, one must embrace any and all social / work events that the company hosts, either online or in person, to network with people in the company and be known by your managers and your peers. At least the next time that an advancement opportunity arises, the decision makers may remember your name to throw into the hat.
As much as the benefits that comes with remote / hybrid work, they don’t come without some drawbacks as well. Burnouts and isolations if left unchecked can lead to mental illnesses and affect your overall performance and opportunities to improve on your life and career. This doesn’t mean that you should give up on remote / hybrid work, it just means that with the extra time you’ve gained from not having to commute, use that time to improve yourself physically or mentally.
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