Mobile access to work: can everyone work remotely?
Not only as a result of the pandemic, but also due to the nature and form of work being performed, 2023 is definitely a time when remote work dominates. It opens up the job market to many people and brings many comfortable solutions from the employee’s perspective – but how to organize it and manage communication in the company to truly fulfill its purpose?
Remote work: not only the domain of Gen Z and millennials
The past years, starting from 2020, have been a time of the most dynamic changes in the labor market in a long time. The impetus for change was, of course, the pandemic, and the need to adapt to new rules has caused both employees and companies to face the challenge of organizing themselves in a new reality. As it turned out, it was not entirely temporary, and the way and model of work underwent a permanent transformation and remains with us to this day. The adaptation to remote work looked completely different for employees of an older generation – accustomed to working in a classic format – than for those entering the job market, for whom remote work turned out to be the main and desired mode of operation. Especially the latter group, which thanks to the openness of companies to full-range remote work, saw in remote work an opportunity for development and expanding the scope of their capabilities. Millennials and younger generations appreciate the use of well-known tools in remote work, but also the possibility of working from anywhere in the world – in line with the idea of being a so-called digital nomad.
Communication and tools in remote work
Regardless of the attitude towards remote work and whether employees found themselves within its reach by their own choice or by necessity, organizing such work is the basis of its effectiveness. Communication plays a key role in remote work. Modern technologies offer many tools for effective long-distance communication, such as video conferencing platforms, messaging apps, or shared documents. The company should provide appropriate tools, but also training and support in their effective use. Going one step further, tools and applications designed to meet comprehensive needs on the company-employee line have emerged, offering everything in one place to organize and facilitate work in a distributed team. The emplo application facilitates the performance of daily tasks. It allows to stay up to date with everything happening in the company – regardless of the place and nature of work. It combines modules of corporate news, provides a space for discussion groups, event reporting, or exchange of corporate suggestions. Its shape and structure result from the experience of employees at different levels, hence its comprehensive nature and response to diverse needs.
Flexibility of remote work: myth or fact?
Many myths have arisen around functioning in a work environment from the comfort of one’s own home – including those about the flexibility of work and its extraordinary comfort. In reality, when there is a lack of tools and a system for planning work and communication within it, remote work can be a chaotic experience, much less predictable and organized than work in the traditional sense. Distracted and inadequately implemented employees may try to communicate in various ways – also through private phones, emails, or messengers, and time boundaries blur, because we do not have access to an employee only when they are at their desk – but basically always. This is a tough nut to crack not only for employees, but also for their managers and superiors – who are responsible for developing effective solutions to protect employees’ rights and obligations. Thanks to remote work and the lack of physical presence in the office at specific hours, organizations can allow employees a certain degree of freedom in choosing working hours, if possible, so they can adjust their plans to their biological rhythm and personal life. Planning tasks along with determining the time for their execution or using measurable indicators make this process transparent and fair for both sides.
Work-life balance and remote work
Remote work can blur the line between work and personal life. Therefore, it is important to maintain a balance between employees’ work and personal life. Taking care of work-life balance translates into greater employee satisfaction and better efficiency. Thus, clear task setting and control methods become a benefit for employees, rather than a classic form of control. The ability to perform tasks or report on them not only from desktop tools but also mobile ones – in the form of applications – is a step towards greater autonomy and defining one’s path, which respects the individual characteristics and nature of each person.
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