Would you like to work in this modality? Know the advantages and disadvantages.
According to a study by the technology company Citrix Systems, it is estimated that by 2020 29% of employees will work remotely. Currently 24% of companies have adopted mobile work styles, using the various devices available for their employees to carry out activities without being physically in an office.
Working from home seems very attractive, we imagine ourselves in pajamas, with breakfast in front of the computer, with all the comfort that our home offers us, avoiding hours lost in traffic, stress and the expenses that come from moving to the office and eat away from home.
However, doing home office is not so easy and it is not for everyone. For working at home to be productive and successful there must be certain favorable conditions, in addition, the employee requires specific skills.
5 advantages
Goodbye to traffic . In countries like Mexico, mobility in the city has become a major economic, environmental and security problem. Only between CDMX and the metropolitan area some 34 million people travel daily in private vehicles and public transport. With more employees working at home, without the need to travel, traffic, polluting emissions, and spending on transportation and gasoline would be significantly reduced.
Time saving. According to information from the Regus firm, 28% of Mexicans spend a minimum of 45 minutes arriving at their workplace, which means more than an hour and a half a day invested in moving from home to the office. For many Mexicans the times can exceed 4 hours of daily travel. Working from home we would recover many hours invested in journeys.
Flexible schedules. One of the big problems for many employees is the traditional 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. schedule that often prevents people from taking on important tasks, such as going to the doctor, attending a meeting at their children’s school, completing a formality, etc. Younger generations are increasingly demanding flexibility of hours, a factor that could improve working from home.
Higher quality of life = more productivity. An investigation by Brown University of more than 13,000 NASDAQ employees found a 12% performance increase for home office employees , Forbes magazine reported; in addition, employees reported feeling more satisfied. More and more studies support the idea that working from home boosts employee productivity.
An advantage for motherhood. One of the most vulnerable sectors to labor discrimination is women, who assume almost 100% responsibility for the upbringing of children, even if this means having fewer opportunities in the labor market. Making home office could be an effective alternative for mothers and fathers to attend to their domestic responsibilities with better conditions, sharing the care and education of their children.
5 disadvantages
Dangerous distractions. Being able to concentrate and be productive is already a challenge in the office, which is supposed to be a conditioned place to make it easier for people to do a job. Your house is not always the best place to work, especially if there are great distractors such as television, friends, your partner or your young children; Working at home requires discipline and a quiet space that works as an office.
Failing to establish a work environment . Maybe a 9 to 6 schedule Monday through Friday is not flexible for many, but working half an hour on a project and then doing the dishes can be a dangerous temptation when you are at home . To take full advantage of freedom, it is necessary to establish schedules and rules to separate your personal life from your work life, otherwise you will end up working at midnight: “after all, you’re home.” A mess in your schedules could bring you more disadvantages than long-term benefits.
Quality family time? Not having to go to an office does not necessarily mean that we will spend more quality time with the family. Being at home allows us to take care of other activities, but the demand of the work can do that we do not have time to enjoy the children or the couple for attending pending. Once again discipline and organization are key.
Technical support is at your own expense. When you are in the office and something goes wrong with your computer equipment, you just have to call the Support manager to get a solution, but when we work from home, technical failures are our problem and even if the company offers assistance, we will lose a lot of time.
In working life human relations are of great importance, sometimes problems arise with a colleague or the office environment is tense. However, there is also an enjoyable and motivating part of human contact at work, such as a friend, a mentor, or a group activity.
