The Key Misconceptions of Remote Work Part 1

June 18, 2021

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In the area of software development and IT solutions, there are people who still consider that working remotely, negatively affects the performance and efficiency of employees, without taking into account the advances in technology allow a constant and immediate communication, apart from all the existing tools so as not to have to count on the "physical" presence of the employee in the company. Remote work is on the rise. Some employees and employers prefer the benefits of not having to physically move to the company such as: - The traffic - Operating expenses - Lower costs - Home cooking - Hours of work lost by "socializing at work" In this first part of this article, I would like to expose some misconceptions about the work done remotely. ***Does working remotely mean a reduction in productivity?*** We are accustomed to the traditional perception of the "need" of a head within ears range as to maintain control and efficiency. However, working remotely, offers fewer distractions than in the work space, since there are no distractions such as birthdays, time to socialize or fellowship. Remote workers may have their distractions, but it is easier to re-orientate and concentrate in less time by being isolated from "entertainment." Beyond this perception, a study by the Harvard Business Review, shows that 13.5% of US companies have registered an increase in productivity by allowing remote work. ***Are the remote workers out of touch?*** This point is key to being able to change the perception of people who are closed to remote work because they consider that the employee not being physically being present in the office means that he should be on a walk or at a picnic. With the multiple tools available to handle reports and employee collaboration times such as Jira, it is very difficult for an employee to fail to fulfill his or her professional duties without activating alerts to managers. Communication and having an effective Resource Manager are the key to making remote work even more effective than in the traditional way. ***Does remote work mean that your information is at risk?*** To a large extent, this is the biggest concern of Generation X, since transferring company information and data into unsafe server computers, will lead to deficiencies of confidentiality. This simply is not true. The technology has advanced in such a way that a qualified IT team can keep these types of problems to a minimum. There are a lot of secure solutions to be tapped by IT teams around the world. Employees' configuration with cloud-based applications means that security is outsourced to the software programs examined, and IT teams can monitor version control without accessing an employee's physical machine. In addition, good security practices such as the creation of two-factor authentication and virtual private networks (VPN) ensure that information is blocked and can not be tampered with by unauthorized persons. ***Is communication affected?*** When someone works remotely does not mean that the quality of the communication decreases. Today's Telecommunications eliminate that claim, however, for this process to work, managers need to outline clear expectations and choose the right tools for the job so it can be done remotely. This was the first part of my article. In a few days I will be publishing the second part with other misconceptions about remote work that I would like to clarify.