Working from home has become increasingly popular since the pandemic and businesses are adjusting themselves to let more colleagues work from home if their role doesn’t necessarily require them to be in the office full time. A lot of colleagues think that working from home is easier and that may be true to some degree, but it still presents its own challenges.
We’ve put together this blog for you so you can see the advantages and disadvantages of home working so you can see if it would suit your business or not.
Advantages of Home/Remote Working
Flexibility – With colleagues no longer becoming exhausted in the office environment they may be more open to working earlier in the day or weekends. This can come in handy when dealing with clients or partners that don’t work the same hours as your own office or reside in different countries.
Improved mental health and wellbeing – Working from home enables colleagues to get things like extra sleep, extra time with family and less stress regarding travel which is more beneficial for mental health.
Financial benefits – With colleagues working from home businesses can save a bit of money on office space, office supplies, bills, and other facilities. Colleagues will also be able to save money since they won’t be traveling to work every day.
Less sickness/absence days – With colleagues in a restricted work environment there is less chance of illnesses spreading around which is a big issue during the colder months. By working from home, a person is also likely to feel happier which will keep their health up and make them feel more motivated to complete work.
Disadvantages of Home/Remote Working
The feeling of isolation – Working from home isn’t for everyone and it can be specifically hard for social people. Isolation can leave a person feeling disconnected from fellow colleagues, however, with technology becoming more prominent in businesses everywhere, digital meetings and catchups are the main ways to oppose the negative feelings.
Bad performance monitoring – If a colleague is working from home their motivation for work may be less than what it would be if they were in the office and because of this the standard of the work they do may start to fall. With employers being in the office they may not notice a drop in the work standard at first and by the time they do it might have already affected something else.
More security risks – There is more of a risk with laptops being taken home and staff needing to access servers from home. Businesses should ensure they put measures in place for protecting company data in the case of company laptops (or other technology) going missing.
Bad impact in mental health – Whether it’s being out of a sociable environment, not being in a routine or not being able to set a boundary between work and home a colleague’s mental health can be affected greatly by working from home so even if given the choice, it’s not always the best thing to do just for the sake of working at home.
The security risks a remote colleague can face
Email Modification Fraud, Business Email Compromise:
This is the most frequently used cyberattack method criminals use when attacking remote colleagues. Cybercriminals interrupt and/or fake emails and messages to change important things like bank details so any payments will go to them instead of the intended destination.
Phishing, Smishing and Vishing:
These methods involve cyber attackers sending out emails that are designed specifically for getting private and sensitive information from the receiver. This information could include passwords or bank details. However, other emails are not for getting information but to download malicious software.
Ransomeware
Unfortunately, in some circumstances data can be ‘taken hostage’ when malicious software infiltrates an IT system. Payment will be demanded by cybercriminals after they’ve informed someone they‘ve gained access to their devices. However, paying the ransom does not always ensure that full control of systems get restored to the owner.
Another way
Hybrid working combines working in the office and at home. The pandemic created the the biggest experiment that the world has gone through as a whole; having staff work at home during the pandemic then re-introducing them into the workplace slowly but realising that maybe they didn’t have to for everyone. Hybrid working is more beneficial for people who want a better work-life balance but who also want to keep that structure in their day to day lives so they don’t get too comfortable just being at home.
Working this way can be beneficial to an employer too as it creates a wider talent pool, increases productivity, makes for fewer absences, creates more workforce diversity and reduces overhead charges.
If you’re looking to promote remote working within your company or considering it for yourself but need more information in taking the next step, check out our trending guide Your Tech Guide to Remote Working to learn a little bit more about it.
To learn more about the benefits or downsides to remote working, contact us today by email or call us on 01329 888444.
