✏️ Challenges & Opportunities of Remote Work
Tell us about your personal experience or what you know about remote work. It can be your plans or dreams as well.
During the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, as a teacher in public schools, we were told to engage the students in online lessons. Did we achieve our aims? Did the students respond? Did it work?
The aims and objectives were not achieved due to the challenges some of these students were having. For instance, we have a high population as a school, some of these students come from a broken home, some live with aged grandparents, some are less privileged, some have no access to technology, some have limited access to technology and without access to digital devices, remote learning cannot work.
Did the students respond? Out of 100%, about 10% responded which made the work tedious and strenuous. Whenever it's time for the lesson, you will only see 5- 10 out of 80 students per class online. Those you met online are neither from a rich home nor those whose parents have their time. It was not the best at all. Nothing was taught during this time.
Did it work? To me, it didn't work because as a teacher too, we encountered electricity challenges, no means of buying fuel, and data subscription. The government did not encourage nor motivate us by providing the necessary reinforcement. So, we got tired and some teachers refused to teach while some teachers stopped. It did not work. Working from home as a teacher cannot work in government schools in Nigeria.
What is remote work? Remote work is the practice of employees doing their jobs from a location other than a central office operated by the employer. Such locations could include an employee's home, a co-working or other shared space, a private office, or any other place outside of the traditional corporate office building or campus. This is by my research on Google.
The Pros of this remote work
More job offers: Remote workers have more than one job offer which they can do at the same time while working from home.
It saves time: Remote workers have the best time ever and this can reduce their carbon footprint. It saves employers money on transportation and reduces long hours on transportation.
- It helps us to balance life and work: Remote work allows employees to set their schedules and work from anywhere, giving them more control over their work-life balance.
It saves costs: Companies can save money on office space, utilities, and other overhead costs by having employees work remotely. And it also saves commuting costs for your employers. it reduces expenses for business travel costs since most meetings happen over video calls in remote teams.
It increased productivity: Many remote workers report being more productive when working from home due to fewer distractions from colleagues.
It gives job satisfaction and retention: Remote workers tend to be satisfied with working from home thereby giving retention to stay on the job.
It gives access to a larger talent not minding the diversity: Companies can hire employees from anywhere in the world, allowing them to access a more diverse and skilled workforce with no restrictions globally.
The Cons of Remote Work
Whatever has advantages must have disadvantages👌
Eye damage: Remote workers are prone to eye damage because of the screen they face from morning till night. The rays coming out from the screen are dangerous to their sight.
It reduces communication flow: Remote workers work without face-to-face interactions, and they may struggle to communicate effectively with their colleagues on projects.
It brings about loneliness: Remote workers may feel lonely and miss the social interaction that comes with working in an office. They are not social, always alone in a confined space.
Source
Loneliness is at its peak.
It averts collaboration: Remote workers work alone without collaborating with their colleagues thereby posing a fallout on projects. They work based on their ideas alone. No feedback.
Distractions at home: Working from home can come with its own set of distractions, such as household chores, family members, or noisy neighbors.
It causes negative health effects: Remote workers are prone to different health challenges such as obesity, backache, stroke, etc and this may affect productivity.
Security concerns: Remote work can pose security risks, such as information leakage, data breaches, and cyber-attacks if proper security measures are not in place.
- Lack of work-life balance: Remote workers may find it difficult to disconnect from work and experience life if they don't set clear boundaries between work and personal life. **All work and no play makes remote workers a dullard🤣🤣
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As the kind of person I am, I don't like remote work, it puts me in confinement.I like to explore new ideas and I do this with my colleagues at work. I like to
hustle, go out every day, and see the meaning of life. Meet new people, work with different minds, and catch up on new ideas.,
Thank you for reading through.
This is in response to the ecency support writing contest.
Yours in love���� @flourishandflora