5 Things the Office Can Learn From Remote Working

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Office and remote work are completely different approaches to doing business. The model of the remote organization of work only starts to gain momentum. But many outdated prejudices about the effectiveness of this or that approach still live in the heads of managers and employees.

For example, it is customary to think that office workers are more organized, more productive, and able to achieve greater results than remote ones. Proponents of this opinion argue that the office environment promotes better concentration, the constant presence of a boss, manager or time tracker prevents office workers from being distracted by personal matters, and a clear schedule 9-5 provides good work results. However, is this always the case?

Of course, remote work has its own characteristics, but this does not mean that remote workers are less promising and effective than office ones. What is more, there are some useful things that office staff can learn from remote workers as well. 

Be Disciplined

The remotes know that self-discipline is everything. The temptation to sleep on Monday morning is equally great, and it doesn’t matter if you work from home or should be in the office. The first thing remote employees learn for themselves is to be disciplined. And do the work on time, regarding the deadline, or within the working day of the office team. 

The reason for this is very simple. If you switched to a remote form of work, no one is watching what you are doing at a particular moment, and the work is still not done – you will simply be fired. And if you do not want to be fired, you will have to work and work on time. This is discipline.

If an office employee can at least somehow hide idleness, then for a remote employee, this is not real. The company is waiting for the result, but we will talk about this in the next paragraph

Manage Your Time Wisely

It is unrealistic to work remotely without excellent time management skills. We have already said that the temptation to postpone work is always present, and it is much harder to deal with this at home. If in the office you can only chat with colleagues, go out for a smoke break or check messages on the phone, then at home, you can still turn on the TV, walk with the dog, pet the cat … And a million other options for what you can do at home rather than work.

When a remote worker should follow the office schedule staying at home, he or she has no choice except for being at the workplace. But when it is possible to plan your tasks independently (for example, if you are a freelancer), it becomes more difficult. 

Estelle Leotard, a writer at Studicus, says that it is very important to do the most difficult task when you feel that you are at the peak of your productivity. During the period of emotional upsurge and inspiration, the most complex tasks seem no longer so terrible. And it’s best to deal with them in the morning so you don’t worry about it until the very night.

And if you use the same approach in the office, for example, to do the most difficult part of the work first, then it is real to save several working hours as well.

Work in Different Environments

It is obvious that the atmosphere in the office can not be anything other than working. However, remote workers are often forced to adapt to circumstances and work in different conditions. Successful remote workers can work in any environment, even if it is not conducive to work and concentration.

A lot of them choose to work and travel at the same time.  When we work at home, we get used to a certain environment, and at some point, even the homely atmosphere turns into a bit of a work environment. When we are forced to come to the office, consciousness itself switches to a working mood. But when you are in constant travel, there is no way to get used to the place and atmosphere. Here, a remote worker has to adapt to each new city or country. Moreover, to do this quickly, because the work will not wait. 

Realize That Your Result Depends on the Quality of Your Work Only

Remote workers understand more than anyone else that the result is the most important. Since the manager does not control their hours and doesn’t monitor what is happening on the screen of their computer, remote workers show their hard work through results. 

And freelancers are the most obvious example of this. Everything is simple here. If your result does not suit the customer, you will not receive any money, recommendations or positive experience for the portfolio.

With office staff, everything works the same way. Only more time passes until the company understands that a certain employee does not bring results. The bad result of a remote employee is immediately visible, and the absence of an office worker result can be masked for a long time.In any case, an employee who does not show a result will be dismissed, even if spends 12 hours a day at work. So, focusing on the result is a vital skill to master. 

Conclusion

As you can see, the form of organization of work is not so important. Companies with full or partial remote teams can be as successful as a company all under one roof.

But in each of the two cases, attitude to work and personal qualities play a role. Those employees who are able to adapt to different situations, focus on work tasks, effectively interact with the team and plan both working and personal time will be successful regardless of the form of work organization.