Okay, let’s get to the basics first. You don’t like to cover long distances to travel from Corner A to Corner B, you don’t gel along with your co-workers, and you definitely don’t like distractions while you are at your workplace.
What do you think the all-in-one solution for these issues could be? Working from Home, eh? Between you and me, Work From Home is the new dynamic.
If we get started, we literally can’t stop on the benefits that work from home brings along. Working from home is a common phenomenon now ever since the Pandemic has taken a toll over our country. However, let’s not fully thank the pandemic since Work from home has been a culture for any organization for quite some time now.
As a temporary culture, work from home has been quite popular, and nonetheless, people like working from home. Well, we can’t thank technology enough like Skype, Microsoft Teams, Facebook, Zoom, and other authenticator applications. Also, let’s not forget to mention texting and emailing. We all love that, don’t we?
Therefore, all of this boils down to one conclusion – people no longer have to prove their productivity by working from an office. It could also be a subject of highlight while they are working from home.
Let’s look at the Key Points of Work from Home.
The Kickoff
- Remote work opportunities are now very common for big tech giants like Dell, Amazon, Kaplan, and so on. All of these plus many more top organizations now offer to work from remote opportunities. However, it is also important to beware of scams.
- As easy as it might sound but working from home needs stability, you have to make sure that there is all the required technology available for you + a workplace. In addition to the preliminaries, having a decent internet connection, a schedule that works for you and your company, and different means of making connections with your office colleagues.
- This is a most talked about benefit of Working from Home. According to the research, working from home helps in boosting the productivity of the employees, lower costs and turnover. Not to forget to mention, employees enjoy some perks and flexibility plus they don’t have to commute any longer.
Working from Home – What is it?
Working from home, which most of us also refer to as remote work, is a work condition or an environment where associates don’t have to work from an office. It is work done in a manner that doesn’t involve individuals being physically available at the same place but still getting the work done from home.
Also, working from home also means working with other team members, collaborating with them, and then turning out to be productive by working on the same projects and by maintaining the same deadlines.
In short and simple words, working from home gives leverage to many other tools used widely for communication like Microsoft Team, Messengers, and Skype to communicate with one another, track tasks, and then eventually get things done.
Types of Work From Home Teams
Here is an overview of the popular remote teams’ structure, basically the most common ones. Let’s keep reading.
Flexible Work From Home Teams
This could be referred to as an – hybrid approach. In this mechanism, the employee isn’t entirely working from home. In addition to that, all the colleagues don’t necessarily have to be at the same location at once.
For some companies, employees are allowed to work from home easily by being at home for a few days. However, employees are also hired specifically for some tasks. This is also open for associates who are looking to working from home for longer-term. These teams also make use of collaboration tools just like other remote companies do. This is primarily because one or two members of the team are situated at different locations.
Fully Work From Home Teams
Fully remote or working from home teams are those when the associates working in such a company don’t have an office and everyone who is a part of the team works remotely. Well, looking at the brighter side of these teams, there are perks.
Being in such a team, you can flexibly create your own process and technology that helps in taking care of the needs of the employees from the first day itself.
Distributed Work From Home Office Hubs
A ‘distributed’ workplace is nothing but when a company decides to set up small different offices spread across different cities. Therefore, the geographical approach of such workplaces is totally magnified. In parallel to that, it also becomes crucial to decide the task load among employees and then conclude on how to proceed further with such a technical approach.
Organization and its structure also become an important aspect in such cases. It is mandatory for different teams to feel the relationship to be distributed amongst the people so that the whole thing is sorted out quickly.
Ways to Work from Home ‘Productively’
Let me ask you this, how do you know if your work is being counted as ‘effective’? How do you ensure productivity in things you do?
It doesn’t really depend on how you are working, i.e., full-time, part-time, or even one day in a week, either way, your productivity should be in the right place. To make sure all of this happens, you need to have a workplace that is entirely enabled with the technology of the right kind. In addition to that, it is also important that all the major distractions and disruptions are taken care of.
Furthermore, you need to also have a schedule that will help you to interact with people socially which is quite very common when you are at your regular workplace. So, if you wish to be a remote worker ‘a successful one’, keep reading!
Lesser Distractions
You know what will work for you if you live in a society or environment where there is hardcore background noise? For example, construction going on or pets barking.
The best investment to make in such a situation is noise-cancellation headphones like Apple Air Pod’s.
The biggest struggle, however, is kids. The noise and the disturbance of all of it just align through while you are on a client or having your regular sync-up calls. So, if you are basically functioning without childcare, it is highly suggested that you get one. This will be a life savior option to have. Alternatively, you can also switch your kids to your relatives or neighbor in case of emergencies.
Ground Rules on the Go
How flexible is your job? Do you have a nine to five schedule or is it the other way around? Does your company allow working on public wi-fi’s? What are the different conferencing tools that you need?
So, before you start working for someone, it is very important that you know the ground rules. If your employer lays all the ground rules on the table, it becomes convenient for you as well. Therefore, speak directly about everything like the equipment you own, the workplace setup, the internet, and so on. In addition to these, you also need to have all the required setup done on your laptop or desktop whichever you are using for remote login.
For example, you will definitely want to know all the authentication, login creds, passcodes, and so on which you are going to need for remote access and to work from home effectively. Also, once you get them, do a dry run to see everything is working. After all, no one wants to sit down with their IT team to resolve password and login-related issues every day.
Social Interactions – Plan Ahead
Honestly, for some, working alone in peace is a need. People love to work with minimum people around even though they are at home. I am such a kind.
But, trust me when I say this, it doesn’t matter how introverted you are, after few months of working from home, it gets on to you. Again, I have been a victim.
You start to crave people, meet them, go out because being lonely at a stretch point is something you can no longer afford. So, here is a heads-up ladies and gentlemen, be ready to be prone to such a situation.
One of the best things to do in such cases is scheduled a call or set up some connect-time with your friends. Go out, either for lunch or even breakfast. Meet people, talk to them, and find out how life has been for them while they are working from home. Even a video chat might help.
Internet Speed Plays a ‘HUGE’ Role
You won’t believe it if I say what the absence of the Internet can do and the kind of destruction it can cause. It is very common to have slow internet speed or downloading speed if your kids are playing Pubg or are using X-box to enhance their gaming skills.
What do you think is the solution for this? Making a short-term relationship with your router might help or you can even switch to Ethernet. Sadly, Ethernet ports no longer work for laptops nowadays, until you have a very old model, you can consider getting a dongle. Get an ethernet cable to connect your laptop with the network.
Applications are the BEST
Depending on the kind of job you are enrolled in, it might be a day-to-day task for making international calls or set up meetings with your colleagues residing in other location areas.
The cheap modes of interaction could be Google Hangouts, Zoom, or even WhatsApp. All this works if it is global. However, for holding on and making international calls, Skype or Microsoft Teams are the best options to consider.
Also, a free call, if the services that you and the colleague you are making a call to are same.
Working From Home – The New Future???
There have been many surveys that have stated the effective benefits of working from home and how every organization should get used to it. This is the future and that is how people take it.
This is also one reason why many recruitments that are taking place now are aiming to hire employees based on different locations and distributed.
Let’s help you understand the topic better.
1. Lesser Commute, More Sustainability
Working from home, without a straight speck of doubt, has many benefits, in the short-term as well as long. One of the benefits that we are discussing under this section is sustainability.
Consider it this way, if you belong to a company having 10000+ employees and everyone is spread across different cities. Furthermore, only 10 or a maximum of 15 employees from each city have to commute on a daily basis to work from an office and the rest are working from home, then there is a lot of saving and sustainability we are talking about both i.e., economically and ecologically.
- Billion and Trillion Miles of Highway Driving
- Reduced Greenhouse Gas Emissions by approximately 60 billion tons *we are talking average.
- Millions of savings in Gases
- Million Barrel of Oil
Therefore, this not only helps in creating a social impact but also helps in saving the environment. There is no loss one has to go through in the process, right? Thus, signifies and explains how working from home could lead to a sustainable future.
2. Low Costs
Well, let’s spill the beans on this one and you will agree with me when I state that working from home reduces costs at a very high level.
Speaking of reduced costs, on average, every company saves a grand total of approximately $10,000/year for one employee working full-time. That’s a pretty huge number for one employee. Nope, I am not talking about lay-offs. *cough*
In order for a company to run smoothly, there are tons of accessories on costs involved like a cost for electricity, office maintenance, and so on. There are many expenses.
In addition to this, employees also save a lot of money which sums to approximately $4000/year.
Offsite meet-ups are also expensive which are planned usually once a year. Speaking of this, remote or working from home teams also hold offsites for every member of the team at least once a year, obviously the involved costs are much lower.
3. Increased Diversity
Having associates in your team who belong from different cities and locations, adds a lot to the diversity of a team. This in turn also helps in boosting the productivity of the team.
When you hire people based out in different cities and locations, there is a competition amongst the members of the team to walk and talk through it and to challenge one another in terms of working aspects.
More the diversity, more the returns and profits. We say so because multiple people from infinite backgrounds have different approaches and problem-solving skills and this eventually helps an organization to come up with different approaches eventually leading them to the way of more profits.
4. High Retention
There are many people who do a job and think working from home jobs are the best for them. Working from home productivity goes without saying is extremely elated and many employees are now looking for opportunities to have a completely based working from home job.
Surveys have spoken for almost 90% of people who think working from home is the best and makes a good fit.
Not to mention, the work from the home policy has seen growth ever since the pandemic has hit and there have been statistics that speak highly of the perks like the balance of work and life, flexible and easy to maintain schedules, and productivity.
Nonetheless, the whole of this also ensures the loyalty of associates towards their organization. This drastically takes a toll on the retention rates and boosts them to 10%.
For jobseekers too, remote and work-from-home positions that are compatible with their lifestyle is a preference. They also have the flexibility to enjoy working as they want.
Different Types of Working From Home Jobs
Who said working from home jobs are only for corporate employees? Nope, not all of them.
There are many people who are working from home as freelancers, they decide clearly on the kind of business that wants to take upon. It is also evident that many top firms and companies are looking to hire contractors to fill up their position and this is becoming a huge turn through.
Do you know what is the best part of this? If you have the skill, you can work from home for more than one, two, or even three companies at once. With the right set of skills and management abilities, this becomes easy and there are vast opportunities waiting for you.
Moreover, it’s no surprise anymore when a work-from-home freelancing gig hosts up its own small business. This is a very common practice widely accepted today. Also, this also gives employment to others.
Some of the most common working from home options are listed below. It’s a blend of both i.e., those jobs that require skills and the training of the right kind and those that are entry-level jobs.
Content Writers
Are you a writer who loves to write and wishes to get paid for it? Well, then being a content writer will work out for you.
Being a content writer has its own perks. The necessary skills required are exceptional writing skills, proofreading, and able to speak your mind on paper. Microsoft Word or WordPress in case you are writing online.
Freelancing as a content writer or even being a content writer and writing your own blogs is a helpful way that will let you work as you, please and will also allow you to love what you do i.e., writing.
Teachers
Ever since the pandemic, all schools and colleges have seen a shutdown and online classes have been the only option for students. This also calls demand for online tutors and teachers.
Virtual learning is the new way of learning and aims to offer all sorts of study approach like elementary, college-level, and so on. Therefore, being a faculty or a teacher, you can literally teach from anywhere.
There are many teaching jobs that will require teaching credentials whereas if you work as an online tutor or teacher, you don’t need to go through all this hassle. However, having a strong teaching background is always given a preference over others.
Being a physics or a calculus teacher earns a huge profit per hour. There are also scoring jobs in which you will have to simply test score at home. But the sideway here is, scoring jobs will need someone to have a teaching background or even a college degree.
Translator
Translators are in great demand, especially for international companies. The job of a translator is simply to translate files, documents, audios, or even videos from one language to another. Sometimes, there is also a need to translate conference calls or conversations.
So, if you are someone who has a knowledge of different languages and is also looking to work from home, then being a translator is the best option for you. Trust me, you will be in the demand for having command over uncommon languages.
Data Entry
Transcription Jobs and Data Entry Jobs are poles apart and are completely different. However, the skills needed to do either of them is more or less the same. Also, the qualifications you need to be a transcriptionist or a data entry associate are similar.
Usually, for a data entry job, you need to enter facts, numbers, or even figures into an excel or a spreadsheet. There could be tons of things that you may need to enter like filling up the payroll details, bank-related details, and so on.
On the other hand, for a transcription job, you will need to create documents listening to audio files. Basically, this is for businesses that need documentation of all their meetings, conferences, podcasts, and so on. It is the job of the employer to provide you with the details and the content.
In either case, you need to have a good typing skill and well-versed detail skill to work thoroughly.
Pros and Cons of Working From Home
Here are some of the most common advantages and disadvantages of working from home.
Advantages
- First off, is Financial Benefits, which helps to save on supplies for office, space, and bills. Staff can also pull out advantages of tax relief.
- Working arrangements are very flexible and agile in a work-from-home environment. Now that employees don’t have to report to the office timely, they can work flexibly i.e., late mornings or early evenings. You also have the advantage of wrapping up some important tasks during the weekends.
- The third benefit is technology. In order to be in continuous touch and to stay connected, the internet makes it an easy process. Different tools like Skype and Microsoft Teams have made it very much possible to stay connected to one another and to have timely updates from other members of the team.
- When you are working from home, it almost feels like a break. A big break from the office even if another staff is working. The need for leaves and holidays sees a partial downfall since as an employee who is working from home, you get to spend most of your time with your family. However, if you are the employer, you must make sure that employees get the required leaves.
- Next inline is a proper work/life balance that is a lot improved ever since the working from home concept has taken over. It also is helping employees and staff to be able to easily maintain their work and life balance. Say for example, with no more commute, there is a lot of time saved. Hence, it not only adds to using that time wisely but also offers you free evenings to spare.
Disadvantages
Well, we can’t deny the disadvantages of working from home. Below are a few.
- Isolation or Loneliness is one of the most reported issues of working from home. Individuals and staffs often feel a disconnection from their organization and colleagues. The whole natural thought of being at the office slides in.
However, this issue could also be overridden by maintaining and being in touch with colleagues and speaking on daily sync-up calls. Communicating on a regular basis helps a lot. Not only regular sync-up calls come to the rescue but also social meetings or gatherings once a month can help burst stress and will help you feel less void and isolated. - Team spirit maintenance could be a real struggle when you are working from home. There are many issues when it comes to coordinating with other members of the team.
- Work from home jobs works well for some jobs while for others it doesn’t. Not all jobs are flexible with the working from the home approach. Therefore, it is not best suited for personalities of a few kinds.
- Initial costs that a company has to undergo for providing training of the right kind followed by infrastructure and equipment like laptops, desktops, etc. Moreover, along with these, there is also a growing need of adapting safety and mental health standards to the maximum.
Frequently Asked Questions on Work from Home
What are the equipment that you need when you start working from home?
How can you find work from home jobs?
What are some of the job options one has while working for home?
1. Affiliate Marketing
2. Dropshipping
3. Tax Accountant
4. Medical Billing
5, Sales
6. Translator
7. Content Writer
8. Freelancer
9. Customer Representative
10. SEO Specialist
Are payments while you are working from home made on time?
What are the must-have qualities for working from home?
How do you work when there isn’t a stable connection?
Should you be always available while you are working from home?
If you are living with your family and have kids, they need your attention too.
Takeaway
Working from home is surely exciting and empowering. Also, it brings you way more profit where you can just sit and enjoy your work while being at your happy place. However, you have to weigh both i.e. pros and cons of the situation.
Work from home is a great opportunity to stay away from the daily grind of the people. Regardless of whether you are a freelancer or a full-time employee, work from home is the best way to escape from office chores. Not to forget, there are always responsibilities to fall back to that come along. Maintaining planning, focus, and disciple could be some of the best practices.
Work from home is fun and exciting for many but also a struggle for another lot. It’s on you how you take it. Until we meet next time, enjoy working from home.
