Working from home can work really well for those who have a busy life or trouble with child care but it can also have many disadvantages, especially for business owners who often see falls in productivity from allowing remote working. Working from home isn’t anything like working in a normal office environment, and while there are some advantages (often largely for the employee), there are a number of disadvantages (usually for the employer) that we explore in this article.
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The lure of the housework
One of the main problems when employees are working from home is they often get sucked into doing household chores. When in the home environment, remote workers are always surrounded by everything that needs doing.
When a person is remote working it’s so easy for them to cook something for lunch from scratch, start preparing tea, or even go out to the supermarket or corner shop. It is important to remember that all of these things are something they simply wouldn’t be able to do if they were out at work or at the office.
The distraction of the housework when working from home can be huge. Because people at home are in their own property, it can be very easy for them to think, ‘I’ll just tidy the kitchen’ or ‘I’ll just do the vacuuming’ – tasks they wouldn’t be able to do if they were physically in the workplace. Housework simply becomes a way for employees to avoid doing their actual work, and what may seem a small task or break away often becomes several hours.
No daily structure
When in the workplace, employees will often have set working hours, set breaks, and usually, a plan to work by in order to complete all their daily tasks. They will usually have a routine, from waking in the morning, to grabbing breakfast, and then probably making the daily commute to work.
When working from home, it can be all too easy for employees to completely lose this structure and have no real plan. A lie-in can become a common occurrence, and they might not know what time to start and could genuinely just feel like they really don’t know how to start the day anymore. Some employees actually benefit from being ‘managed’ to some extent, especially if they struggle with organisational skills, and for them working from home and the lack of structure can present difficulties and make it feel like hard work.
Traditionally, people have tried to maintain a distinct separation between work and their personal life, with work being done in the workplace and the home environment being used for winding down, spending time with family, cooking and relaxing, etc. Working from home can really disturb this equilibrium. Setting a structure to a day when working from home can be tough because employees haven’t necessarily got anything that separates home life from their work life, it is all done in the same building.
Lack of community and teamwork
People, by nature, are social creatures at heart which is why working from home can induce a real lack of community and teamwork. What many people consider a big disadvantage of working from home is the total lack of community and teamwork. Some employees may thrive when around other people, and for them working from home might be a struggle. Home working can often feel very isolated and lonely.
While the prospect of working from home can make some people very excited, without the distractions of the workplace and some incredible home comforts, there are others that might find it all too difficult to spend long hours alone and collaborate with just a computer screen. People’s productivity can be better when they are surrounded by other people and the hustle and bustle of a thriving environment.
Nothing quite replaces face-to-face interaction and communication with actual work colleagues and the laughs that can also come with it. Today there are various platforms such as Zoom, Skype, etc., where work colleagues can connect through video calls and conferences, though it just doesn’t feel the same as colleagues sitting together, having that personal interaction and brainstorming ideas to work effectively.
Need to be extremely self-motivated
Lack of motivation can be a real issue for some of those working from home. It sometimes can be hard for employees to get themselves into the right mindset to smash those targets and meet goals, especially when they might be struggling to get out of their PJs.
To work from home, employees really have to be self-motivated and if this isn’t something that comes naturally then they really have to put some time and effort into developing this skill.
In order to stay motivated at home, it is vital that employees create a working environment or space at home where they feel able to focus and complete tasks. If their idea of working from home consists of sitting in bed, not getting dressed, or sitting in front of the television with a laptop, it is unlikely that they will be very productive.
Certain personality types may struggle
The big problem with certain personality types, especially introverts, is that they can struggle so much with being alone. If someone is the type of person that needs to go to work because it’s a huge part of their wellbeing, in the sense of mixing with other people, then being stuck at home alone all day every day can be pretty damaging to mental health.
Some people really rely on the interaction they have with their work colleagues, and in some cases, it can be the only interaction they get at all. Working from home can contribute to depression and feelings of loneliness and isolation. While virtual meetings can help to some degree, they aren’t the solution for everyone’s needs.
Studies have looked at the effects on workers’ mental health due to working from home. It has been found that well-being, stress, depression, fatigue, quality of life, strain, and happiness mostly diminished while spending long periods working from home.
The impact on health outcomes was strongly influenced by the degree of organisational support available to employees, colleague support, social connectedness (outside of work), and levels of work to family conflict. Overall, women were less likely to experience improved health outcomes when working from home.
Mobile phone and social media
Most day jobs mean that employees can’t be on their phone every 5 seconds checking social media and replying to messages. The lure of social media and the checking of the phone constantly can be such a big distraction when it comes to working from home. With nobody monitoring behaviour, the temptation is always there for employees to be sucked into wasting time on mobile use throughout the day.
If employees are having to work from home regularly then this may mean them having to mute phone notifications and only checking their email at hourly intervals. Of course, this can be difficult if they don’t feel the need to be that disciplined, but it can be a big drawback of working at home.
There are too many distractions
Unless employees have their own physical space and separate working environment at home, such as an office or separate building, then they are probably susceptible to a whole host of different distractions. Many people do find that working from home can bring along with it the benefit of a good work-life balance.
Many employees may feel that working from home allows more time to be with family and take part in other life events, but there is a little more to the picture. Watching TV and listening to music can be huge distractions to working from home life.
A survey released by Glassdoor, where nearly 1,000 employees were asked about their top concerns when working from home between March 11 and March 13, 2020, reported that roughly 32% of employees say watching TV is a top distraction when working remotely, followed by 27% who say child care is a huge distraction.
When employees are at work, the main thing they need to do is focus and concentrate while doing their job. Focusing and applying themselves can prove to be highly difficult with the distractions of family wanting attention or other household noises. Not every home working environment can provide good working conditions as an office space can.
Lack of equipment and support
When working from home, employees are often away from all of the facilities and equipment they need to complete their job tasks. Being around colleagues and able to have a quick conversation and get questions answered can often become a long-winded process when working from home. It can turn into an unanswered phone call or several emails and a long wait.
Employees might not have access to all the same information sources, and office equipment such as printers, papers may be lacking, so working from home can be much more challenging in this sense. They might also face technical problems and equipment not working or even have slow internet. It may also be necessary to set up virtual private networks for employees to encrypt data and provide secure access over the internet at home.
What’s more, at home employees likely haven’t got the correct set up in place to ensure work surfaces are the correct height, and a lack of dedicated desk, poor-quality chairs and subsequently, bad postures can become very common. Neither of these should be an issue with a properly equipped home office. Without a proper desk and decent office chair, an employee’s back, neck, and shoulders will eventually suffer.
Conclusions
Working from home and away from a traditional office and fellow employees can come with its challenges. For many, it is an unnatural way of working, and the social aspects and teamwork methods are lost when employees are separated from co-workers and not physically present. It can be easy for employees to feel isolated and become a victim of all the distractions, including family members, that are going on around them.
For home working to work for your business, you need to ensure your employees are self-motivated and able stick to a good working schedule and plan accordingly to ensure productivity stays high. With good organisation, employees can make hybrid working models productive. It’s a case of employees being able to adapt to the situation and trying to separate their professional and private life the best way that they can to overcome some of the disadvantages outlined.
