More businesses are moving to remote work, and even though many areas have eased their restrictions, some businesses have not made a move toward returning to in-office work. That’s especially true for younger people who work for forward thinking businesses. There are several benefits and challenges of remote work, but you can make it work for your career. Understanding these can help you decide if remote work might be for you, which can help you in your career search.
Challenge: Forming a Connection with Others
When you work from home, you might find it harder to progress in your career since you aren’t right there in the office every day, being noticed by your boss. This is especially true if you are part of a team where some members are remote and others are in person. It’s a good idea to have one-on-one conversations with your boss and managers to talk about career development when you are ready.
One way to focus on your career development is to get a degree in a relevant field. Even though you work remotely, you might have a goal of someday being in a management position. A good option would be to get a degree in some type of business management. Paying for school can put a strain on your finances, so you might consider taking out a student loan from a private lender to avoid the financial burden and be able to pay for college.
Benefit: Better Flexibility
You may find you have a bit more flexibility as a remote worker, because you will have plenty of quiet time to get your work done while still being able to attend virtual meetings. This gives you the freedom to work in a style that you find the most productive. And it’s easier to attend meetings since you do not need to work it around anyone’s commuting schedule. This style of work will give you a lot of insight into whether the job is stimulating enough for you to enjoy it outside of an in-person dynamic, where company culture is easy to achieve. Some of the signs of a dead end job that can be masked by group outings and free pizza on Friday’s will come to light when you are exclusively working from home.
You also have the flexibility of balancing out family needs. Some find it harder to work when there are kids in the house, but having kids at home instead of daycare is possible when you are working from home. This can save you a significant amount of money on childcare. And since you will not be commuting through rush hour each day, you will have more time to meet the needs of your family and spend time with them.
Challenge: Working Too Much
In many organizations, employees are expected to put in an eight-hour workday where they stay focused on their work and get tasks done as much as possible. However, if you are working from home, you might find it is harder to turn off work at the end of your day. If you are in an office, you end the day by leaving and going home, but remote workers might find it harder to make that transition. You’ll need a strategy to avoid distractions in this remote environment. It’s easy to get distracted by laundry, dishes, or other household chores during the day, so you aren’t as productive as you would like. That can lead to needing to stay later or start earlier to get everything done.
