When the world was hit with a global pandemic, many businesses were unprepared. In order to contain the virus, Singapore’s government had to sanction a lockdown; forcing everyone to be quarantined at home. This forced many businesses to transition into a remote working model and to digitalise their operations. Digital transformation remains a challenge for many and aside from businesses, individuals also struggled to adapt to the abrupt shift in work dynamics.

Despite all the hardship, globally many companies have managed to establish a presence digitally which opened up new markets. As more people grew accustomed to working from home, companies also needed new ways to track performance, attendance, moral, and work efficiency. This meant that companies had to invest in HR technology to leverage these software and platforms to perform efficiently.

After more than 2 years, remote working has become the new normal. However, there are still individuals who find working from home more disruptive and they’re less efficient. There are definitely pros and cons of remote working but for those who still struggle, what are some ways to make this arrangement work? Before we do into that, let’s address some of the benefits and disadvantages of remote working.

Pros

1. Less time wasted on commute

In Singapore, a survey held in 2020 showed the average time a person commutes amounted to 46minutes. When taken into consideration an entire week, the time wasted adds up to a total of 3hours 50minutes! Research has also shown that commuting more than 30minutes a day can lead to higher stress and anxiety levels. This will impact the productivity and efficiency of the employee as well.

2. Better Work Life Balance

Working from home enable individuals to better plan their schedule. The convenience of being at home gives employees the flexibility to get work done and attend to their personal needs or errands as well. This convenience gives employees more control over their work and personal life balance.

3. Cost saving

According to a research done by IWG, a company is able to save up to US $11,000 per year for each employee that works remotely. These cost savings come from reduced real estate lease, utility bills, and overhead costs.

Employees also save costs from remote working. It is reported that an individual can save anywhere from US$600 to US$6000 a year by working remotely half the time. They mostly save costs from commute and eating out during breaks. Especially for companies in major business districts, the cost of a meal can be substantial.

Cons

1. Decrease in productivity

An office is meant to create a conducive work environment for employees. Shifting to a work from home arrangement may be disruptive to certain individuals. With a myriad of distraction and other personal responsibilities, one can find it hard to focus on their work task. Even more so for employees with children, with some schools being closed, they will also have to attend to the needs of their kids while juggling work responsibilities.

2. Increased lag time in communication

The biggest difficulty of working remotely is communication. Compared to working in an office where you can approach colleagues for assistance, a remote working arrangement makes collaborating more challenging. Employees have to depend on video calls, emails, and messages to communicate. This increase in lag time also affects the productivity of individuals and the company as a whole.

3. Working hours are blurred

With the over-reliance on communicating through text and calls, certain employees may feel stressed due to constant work-related communications after work hours. As everyone is working from the comfort of their own home, certain work calls may extend past working hours, causing employees to burn out. This can negatively impact performance and moral of employees.

With that being said, companies can also do their part to motivate employees and set clear boundaries when it comes remote working. Some companies even held events online by sending employees care packages with activities and consumable for them to partake in together via a video call. Clear work deadlines can also be set to ensure employees perform without having the need to constantly track their performance. The flexibility can be highly advantageous if remote working is done right!

As we mentioned earlier about leveraging HR technology to be more efficient, not every company have the resources nor the time to invest in the implementation and training to utilise such technology. That is why, many of these businesses turn to HR and payroll outsourcing companies to assist with this aspect of their operations.

At Talent Spot, we invest in our technology and people to provide world-class HR services to our clients. Our team of specialists are trained for specific niche industries to better cater to your needs. Our goal is to help manage your company’s HR processes so that your business can focus on other core processes without having to worry about HR. Save time and money while we help increase your company’s overall efficiency and performance!