6 main challenges of telecommuting

1. Loneliness

This is perhaps the most common problem. Yes, telecommuting expands the possibilities. You no longer need to spend several hours commuting to and from the office or be distracted by noisy colleagues in the open space. But when you work day after day, week after week without personal communication, there is a feeling of isolation. This is especially difficult for outgoing people who need more communication.

2. Differentiation between working and non-working hours

It's hard to disconnect from work when your home and office are the same place. Especially if team members are in different time zones. It feels like you must answer any time of the day and agree to late video calls. Sometimes this is inevitable, but regularly working 14 hours a day is irrational in the long run.

3. Distractions

There are almost more of them at home than in the office. Especially if you have children or pets. And in coworking spaces it is not always comfortable, especially if they have glass partitions, music and too sociable neighbors.

4. No insight at the cooler

Conversations with colleagues in the kitchen or near the water cooler are a source of inspiration for many. After all, not everyone shares their opinions in messengers, where they are visible to the whole team, and the text cannot be deleted. During personal communication, new ideas often arise, and not fully formed thoughts in the process of discussion lead to unexpected solutions.

5. Communication problems

Tools for video chats began to work much better, but still there are overlays: sometimes the connection is cut off, the background noise interferes with the speaker's words. And in general, they are inconvenient for several people to communicate, because they were created for one-on-one meetings.

6. Feeling less important than those in the office

Lack of respect is not the most obvious disadvantage of remote work, but it often arises in companies where personal communication is valued. Indeed, there are people who procrastinate at home. But they are in the minority, and the prejudice applies to everyone. Because of this, responsible employees have to worry once again about the opinion of colleagues.