Remote work – what are the biggest advantages?

Author: Roman.Bobak@msg-life.com

Career

15. 03. 2024 5 reading minutes

Working from home office or having a full remote job, is very popular nowadays. Both employees and employers tend to be in favour of it. No wonder. As well as it is bringing a degree of freedom, it can save time, energy and even costs. While the company saves on work space, the employee saves on not having to travel to the office. What is working from home like and what are its biggest advantages?

Remote work meaning

If you’re asking what a home office is, the answer is quite simple. Home office, also known as remote working, is a type of work that you do directly from home. It doesn’t tie you to one workplace where you have to commute regularly.

Interesting fact is, that if you were interested in knowing what a home office is a few years ago, you would most likely have encountered that the term was only associated with creative jobs that one did for a living.

There were several reasons why home office work was not so widespread. These include in particular the fact that it was not defined in the Labour Code, so many people did not even know it. Large, medium or small companies did not provide it to their employees.

Home office rules for employees

But the question still remains, what are the principles of home office work? To begin with, there are no fixed home office rules. Every job is different and requires a different approach. It is therefore important to agree with all the details with your employer, ideally it should also be in your employment contract.

However, working from home has a few universal principles that you’ll encounter almost everywhere. These include:

• Observance of working hours – here you may encounter strict working hours, e.g. from 8 AM to 16 PM, , or the number of hours you have to work on a given day, but it’s up to you when you do so. The second type of home office work is more benevolent, but you’ll encounter it less often than the first.
• Marking of the attendence – some employers may require you to keep a record of when you start and finish work, breaks and various other details, even if you are a full-time remote worker.
• Health and safety compliance – if you have to comply with health and safety at work, you need to do that also at home.

It’s also a good idea to follow practical recommendations that make working from a home office more productive. These include:

• Create a comfortable working environment – set aside a room for your home office or at least an empty corner in your living room or bedroom where you can concentrate. Next, be sure to get an ergonomic chair and a large enough desk to work at. Various accessories such as notice boards, shelves, storage boxes and the like can also help you increase productivity.
• Think about regular breaks – working from home requires breaks so you can focus well. So once in a while, get up from your desk and walk around the house, or go outside for a while.
• Plan your work tasks well – with a full-time remote job, your day is firmly in your hands, so plan your day well so you can get everything you need to get done during the day.
• Don’t do everything yourself – remember that working from a home office doesn’t mean you have to do everything yourself. On the contrary. When you need advice, don’t hesitate to contact your colleagues.

Home office work – its popularity increased especially during the pandemic

The popularity of working from a home office has grown very slowly. Companies did not want to provide it to employees because they felt they would not have control over them. In addition, some companies would have to change their established processes due to part-time or full-time remote working, which would cost both time and money.

But everything changed in 2020, when the world was hit by a coronavirus pandemic. It has forced us to rethink and change many things, including the way we work. Companies have made it possible for employees to perform their duties remotely, making working from the home office a common standard.

When pandemic was over and things returned to normal, many have returned to their offices. However, most employers still allow remote work at least a few times a month.

Home office in Slovakia

Home office in Slovakia is now a common standard. It is provided by both smaller and larger companies. Usually you’ll encounter a hybrid type of work, but some employers have switched to full-time remote.

When we look at jobs that you can do from your home office in Slovakia, IT and creative fields are the most prevalent, i.e. programmers, developers, graphic designers, marketers or copywriters.

Home office from abroad

Home office from abroad attracts especially travel lovers. If this is something you would like to do, keep in mind that this style of work will only be possible with full remote. With a hybrid work, you have to stay in one place because you have to go to the office regularly.

In addition, pay attention to the employment contract itself. When travelling, especially to time-shifted countries, it is ideal to agree with your employer only on the number of hours you have to work, not on the exact hours, for example from 8 AM to 4 PM. Such a condition could complicate things for you.

Full remote work

Full remote refers to the type of work where you work 100% remotely. This means that you do not go to the office or other premises in the employer’s company as in the hybrid alternative. This way of working gives you a high degree of freedom, because you don’t have to do it from home, but from a completely different city or even country.

Full-time remote is provided by companies only occasionally. Typically, you’ll see a hybrid type of work that benefits from both on-site and home office work.

Full remote work and its pitfalls

Occasional home office or having a full remote work looks tempting and good at first sight. Many people associate it with a great deal of freedom that they do not have in their normal workplace.

Of course, working in a home office will give you more freedom, but there are also certain rules you have to follow. In addition, when you start working from home, you will find it difficult to separate your personal and professional life.

Other pitfalls of working from home, whether IT or other work, include more demanding concentration. This applies to anyone who does not live alone. Other people at home will, like you, use rooms, talk and make the usual noises, such as walk louder, cough, open cupboards and so on. They can cause a constant distraction.

Think about these pitfalls when choosing a job as much as the benefits or rules of a home office. This avoids having too high expectations that could disappoint you later.

Full remote vs. hybrid

When someone mentions the term “remote working” or “home office”, most people think of performing work tasks from home. However, the truth is that working from home is divided into two categories, namely full remote and hybrid. What are the differences between them?

Full remote

● You only work remotely,

● You do not visit the employer’s office or other premises,

● You have a high degree of freedom,

● You can work from anywhere, not just from home,

● Job offers on full remote are not as widespread as in the case of hybrid.

Hybrid

● You work from home a few days a month and on other days you are in the office or other premises of your employer,

● you have less freedom,

● You can generally only do the work from home, co-working or a café (but not in another country),

● Job offers for hybrid work are currently more widespread than for full remote.

Home office advantages

The benefits of a home office are various. Main advantages include:

• Freedom – home office gives you a certain amount of freedom. You can adapt your working day to your needs.
• Saving time and money – home office jobs are great in that you don’t have to commute anywhere, saving you time and money.
• A wide range of options – work from home is now offered by companies in many fields. For example, IT support in the home office or other IT professions are popular. Java developer, graphic designers, journalists, social media specialists and many others can also do full remote.
• Employee benefits – Most employers provide the same or similar benefits to home office employees as for those who work in offices or other premises of the company.
• Ability to work from different locations – in the case of hybrid style you can work from home, cafe or co-working space. On the other hand, with full remote you have the option to perform individual tasks from another country.

Home office disadvantages

You already know the benefits of a home office. However, you should also know its disadvantages. These include:

• Multi-tasking – You may be tempted by a number of other responsibilities while working from home, such as cooking, cleaning or laundry. However, constantly leaving your desk is not exactly ideal. This will negatively affect your concentration and cause you to complete fewer tasks.
• Difficulty concentrating – your concentration may be disturbed by animals or other people in the house or apartment talking or doing something.
• Lack of communication with colleagues – a home office job isolates you from your team and can leave you alone most of the day. This can be uncomfortable for some extroverted personalities.
• Time management – home office, working from home is not suitable for those who don’t like to plan and manage their time. You’ll need to schedule your individual tasks so that you can get everything done and still deliver quality outputs.

IT work from home

IT work from home is one of the most popular jobs. In this field, you can do almost everything remotely – from home office IT support to tester or developer.

In most cases you’ll find a full remote IT home office, but if you’d rather be in a team, look for the hybrid type.

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Remote work – what are the biggest advantages?

Roman.Bobak@msg-life.com