Coronavirus: How is the Pandemic Promoting Remote-Work?

Did you know that the WHO has officially declared this disease as a pandemic? Making headlines, being a matter of national emergency, we all know Corona is making its way to all the parts of the world at lightning speed. Affecting almost every industry, this virus is quickly making matters worse for the working class.

National Public Radio states that as per the reports recorded till the date March 23, 2020, the virus has infected more than 300,000 people worldwide. And, the real barn-burner of a question is: how is this pandemic affecting our jobs? Well, the stats suggest that the world will soon be leaning towards building remote teams and emphasizing remote work.

Did You Know Coronavirus Is Causing A Stir In The Corporate World?

A year ago you wouldn’t have thought that we would be in the clutches of a pandemic much less that our work would be this much affected by it. In this state of emergency, offices around the world are practicing safety first and emphasizing the fact that most jobs can be done remotely.

Since all gatherings are being forced to shut as fears rise over the pandemic, workers are being pushed into working remotely. The front runners of Apple, Google and Amazon are telling their employees to practice teleworking effectively. And, this isn’t just promoting a good health statement but is also raising awareness for the disease.

Why Is The Prevalence Of Remote Work A Good Thing?

Numerous reports suggest that remote working and telecommuting is exactly how all work will be conducted in the future and COVID-19 is just a factor that sped up this process. Let’s dive into the concept of remote work and see if this is, in fact, a viable option for the future or not:

Remote Teams Is Equivalent To Retained Employees

Aren’t all our attempts at managing our team about retaining our employees? Well, telecommuting might be all you need to create a work environment where your team wants to stay. A remotely working team will have access to facilities like:

• Flexible hours.
• Saving on commutes.
• No expenditure on buying lunch.
• And, finally, not being tied down to the surface area of one chair.

But Does Remote Work Promote Better Productivity?

The answer is yes. Teleworking has led remote teams to redefine productivity. Things like being able to roam around the house for fresh air, operate from different rooms, and wear the most comfortable articles of clothing can help keep your mood elevated and hence increase productivity.

• This is evident by the fact that teleworkers have ranked their productivity at 7.7/10 when compared to the ranking 6.5/10 for office workers.
• Also, researches have shown that while office workers lose more than 37 minutes per day to distractions, remote workers lose only 27.

Practice Corona Prevention By “Work At Home”

Since the term “social distancing” has been surfacing recently, it’s time you know that’s what remote work is all about. The awareness that people should not be in each other’s direct vicinity is the major reason that telecommuting has become such a huge deal. Here’s what the biggest establishments are doing for their employees in this major pandemic outbreak:

• Google
• Amazon
• Microsoft
• Facebook
• Alphabet
• Twitter

In addition to this, Twitter and Google have also been canceling and postponing events that would engage with a public gathering.

Corona Has Managers Worried On How To Manage Remote Work

Remote work is not exactly a new term or a buzz word for that matter. For years now businesses have been looking for raw talent and picking out the cream of the crop and hence recruiting people from all around the world. This has successfully taught us so many lessons on how to successfully manage remote teams.

If you are a manager who is dreading the changes that novel coronavirus is bringing to your work life, you should know that it is natural to be worried. Here are just some of the practices you could adopt to fight the many challenges that work from home presents:

#1 A Remote Team Needs More Support

The first advice would be to simply be available for your team. Transitioning to work from home isn’t just difficult for managers it is a task for your team as well. So the best thing you can do for them to show your support is to keep the communication channels strong and always open.

Your team would want quick and convenient responses on their work but the key is also to give them timely replies. Therefore I suggest that you choose a good tool that can help you set up a space for chats and group chats.

#2 How Will Effectively Communicating Goals Help?

Just as you would for a local team, define goals, milestones, and deadlines for your remotely working teleworking team. Visualizing the targets could be a game-changer for your remote team. Even though far, your team can always use a reminder that they share the same vision.

This can be put to effect by establishing all goals and envisioning them using a project management software that can be used by all the members of your team. Your team will be able to experience a sense of oneness when they are using the same platform.

#3 Set Up The Rules And Regulations

Things like submitting files, limits of work timings, communication methods, replying to messages within 24 hours, and distributing work, etc. are also very important while dealing with work during this pandemic.

When something comes with set guidelines, you come off as a manager who trusts in their team. Trusting your team and delegating responsibilities becomes easier when you have a set of rules to stick to.

#4 Remote Teams Thrive On Consistency

Regular check-ins are a must to make sure that everyone is okay with the terms of working from home and telecommuting. And apart from that consistency with communication also helps in making collaboration a lot easier for remotely working for teams.

Regular back and forth conversation is highly underrated in the work environment. Keep everyone in the loop by frequently scheduling video calling and video conferencing sessions with your teammates.

#5 Ensure Transparency Within Your Team

Maintaining a team culture through telecommuting would be a challenge for sure. However, team culture is all about team trust. And, team trust is all about workplace transparency, therefore, managers should try their best to bring transparency to effect this infection season.

The easiest step to combat this problem is to maintain transparency with a project management tool where everyone gets to be on the same page. With the seamless allocation of tasks, you can make your teammates feel more inclusive.

#6 Good Tools Will Boost Productivity

For any office, using reliable tools and software platforms can be a transforming experience. However, remotely working teams depend a lot on these to survive and do better. And, this is with good reason, since these tools offer you a platform where the whole team can stay connected.

Using these tools, you can place your files, documents, images in one place and send them ahead for reviews for everyone to see therefore cutting your communication time in half. Besides, the project management software you use will also act as a reporting tool that will help your team stay on track and be on the same page.

Conclusion

As the novel coronavirus continues to overpower everyone’s health, the occupation industry is not letting the pandemic overshadow their work efforts. Focussing on the safety of all, offices are promoting the idea of remote work and telecommuting to contain and avoid the infection.

To conclude, this article has been about how this corona-driven remote work movement could change the way we conduct business. I hope now you know that there are many strategies that leaders could adopt as the world goes through this transition period.

By Vartika Kashyap, who is the Chief Marketing Officer at ProofHub, a project management software. She has been one of the LinkedIn Top Voices in 2016, 2017 and 2018. She is also a contributor at Business.com, The Next Web, YourStory, and Huffington among others. Her articles mainly revolve around productivity and leadership.

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