3 Challenges of Remote Working & How to Overcome Them

With most companies around the world struggling to transition into enabling their workforce for 100% remote work it is important to keep in mind that this change is bigger than it seems. The vast majority of people have never worked remotely, and those who have usually only work from home or a day office a few days each month. Until now fully remote workers were the exception, not the norm. 

As an entrepreneur, freelancer, solopreneur or newly remote worker the present situation might have you feeling confused and looking for ways to adapt to the new norm. After all, there are many challenges of remote working that are specific to this type of work.

So it is totally fine if you are feeling weird and to help you out here’s a list of common fears that remote workers have and how you can overcome them.

Lack of Communication

In a traditional office communication is easy because everyone is physically present. You can assess whether somebody is  busy just by looking at them or if they are available to answer a question you might have. 

When working remotely having this “feel for the room” isn’t easy at first and this leaves many people feeling that they are out of the loop and isolated from any guidance from either coworkers or managers. 

With today’s technology communication shouldn’t be an issue at all. There are plenty of apps and software that help your whole team stay connected and in the loop, the important thing is that you are using these tools in the most advantageous way. 

So make sure to book a conference room at least once or twice a week to have a video conference with your team, have a quick daily one-on-one call with each team member, write more emails and keep in touch with instant messages, this can help you make sure that you are all on the same page. 

Job Stability Concerns

In a traditional office it is easy to feel when managers aren’t happy with a workers performance and their job is on the line. They get invited to fewer meetings every week and are slowly phased out of the whole operation. In remote work this “phasing out” is much more difficult to see. This uncertainty can leave you fearing for your job or worrying that it isn’t stable anymore and this extra stress certainly doesn’t help you at all. 

This is another issue that has its roots in faulty communication and can be solved by being in constant contact with managers and coworkers. 

Isolation

One of the most commonly mentioned challenges of working remotely is the feeling of boredom or isolation that remote workers have at first. This is easily overcome by working from a coworking space and participating actively in their community. Another thing companies can do is to create a space where workers can just hang out for a bit, this can be done by having a virtual lounge such as an audio channel where anyone can log in when they feel like it. 

In the end remote work is something that just takes a little time to get used to and with the right tools it can be a very enjoyable experience for you.

About Andrés Sanjose

Andrés Sanjose is a writer and editor based in Guatemala. He previously lived in Berlin for 10 years where he witnessed the birth and amazing evolution of the Virtual Office phenomenon, while working as a freelancer in the german capital. He is very interested in what the future holds for this exciting industry and loves to write about it.