4 Obstacles the Remote Worker May Face
With the remote work lifestyle on the rise, many members of this new kind of workforce are running into obstacles that we never would have anticipated fifty years ago. Still, although these problems may seem new, many of them are common issues even for non-remote workers. By focusing on the solutions in addition to defining the problems, we can create a more remote worker-friendly work world in all industries.
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1. Workday Loneliness
One of the biggest difficulties that remote workers face with their lifestyle is loneliness during the workday. For introverts who prefer to get their work done alone, remote work can seem like a dream. Even so, most of us need social interaction to feel fulfilled at work, which is where co-working spaces can create a happy medium between isolation and distractions in the office. According to Zippia, the typical square footage for a co-working area is roughly 9,799 in North America. Depending on how many people are trying to work in that space, it can seem like a lot of room, or it can feel cramped, so you should get an idea of how large a co-working space is and how popular it is before you commit to working in it.
2. Parenting While Working
One of the major challenges that many remote workers need to overcome is balancing parenting and working from home. You don’t have to keep both worlds completely separate, though. You can use working from home as a learning opportunity if you have children by incorporating elements of your job into realistic play as is appropriate for the age range of your little ones. According to The Genius of Play, children from the age of three forward process how the world works through the medium of pretend play realistically, so it’s rarely too early to practice this method of showing your kids what you do for work. You can also make taking a “break” a game and send them on their way when you have a work meeting or give your child some age-appropriate play items to “file” if they get bored.
3. Issues with Training and Advancement
Another obstacle for remote workers and their lifestyle is struggling to get adequate training to perform their jobs and advance in their field. According to Zippia, 59% of employees believe that an increase in training correlates with improved performance at work. Without opportunities to advance their skills, network, and learn how to do their job more efficiently, remote workers may become discouraged and seek work environments that support them with sufficient training.
In analog work settings, you can ask a senior coworker how to do something if you’re unsure what to do, which is an informal and useful form of training. Companies can foster mentoring between remote employees by opening up communication channels on popular remote co-working platforms. They can pair new remote employees with senior ones for regular meetings.
Webinars can also be a great way to train new employees and make training accessible forever if you post them on a public platform or one all employees can access. Although recording webinars takes time, energy, and money, you only have to do it once. Then, you can distribute the webinar to appropriate employees and even make extra revenue by selling it to other individuals or companies if it has information that is generally useful to those in your industry.
4. Connectivity Problems
For some remote workers, struggling to keep up a stable internet connection can be an obstacle. To fix this, you can work to create deals with internet companies or encourage remote workers to get a bandwidth that will support their work. You can also teach employees how to test the bandwidth of their internet connections.
Remote workers face many obstacles. Still, there are solutions to these problems. Work with employees to come up with solutions that work for their lifestyle and yours.
