Work at home is a modern trend, the correct application of which can lead to a huge increase in productivity. In the past few years, the number of remote workers has risen sharply: a Telecommuting report for 2017 indicates that the number of people working at home, since 2002, has doubled at least.
But a new study conducted by scientists from the University of California at Santa Barbara, makes you wary of fans to get to the workplace in a few seconds.
Research results
New data show that the time spent in the office, side by side with other employees, signals to the bosses about the dedication and zeal of the employee. People who work remotely may not rely on rapid career growth. They will be perceived worse than the rest.
Moreover, the study shows that in order to demonstrate commitment to work, remote workers believe that they should work harder than colleagues in the office and feel the need to be “always in touch” to make up for the lack of personal communication. Freelance negatively affects not only career, but also on life in general.
Remote employees are forced to sacrifice their personal lives in order not to lose in fierce office competition.
All this leads to burnout and poor health. As co-author of the study and USCB professor Paul Leonardi said during one of the interviews: “Even if the remote employees succeed in career advancement and career goals, they will spoil the rest of their lives.”
These researchers are not alone in their sad conclusion about remote work. Susie Welch, a member of the Do It So show and author of several best-selling books, recently said that “leadership is an internal work that starts at the place where trust is located.” She explained that the personal aspects of team building are key to building trust and that being removed from them "can be terrible for your career."
What to do to a remote worker so as not to ruin his career
Simply abandoning distance work is not an option, because it is too important for many people.
Tips such as “Just work from the office” are not suitable. Need more progressive thinking. Freelance has too many benefits that make life better.
There are ways to achieve career growth by working remotely.
1. Use video calling. At the same time, dress as if you were in the office.
2. Respond quickly to emails. This will show your responsiveness and availability to other employees.
3. Devote 10 percent of your working time to communicating with colleagues and superiors. If there is such an opportunity, attend corporate events and similar events, talk with other employees in person or at least by video link. To work from home does not mean to leave society. Be sure to maintain a trusting relationship.
4. Ask other employees what rules for communicating with management exist in your company.
5. To avoid burnout, set clear boundaries on when you “work” and when “at home”. Determine the number of working hours. It is individual for everyone, but it is better not to work more than eight hours a day on an ongoing basis.
It all depends on the leadership
All these tips, of course, will help you achieve career growth, but most of all it depends on your superiors. It is the company's leaders who set the tone for relations with remote employees.
If the bosses do not understand how to keep in touch with remote workers, then you will not have career growth at this place. If any undertaking is carried out jointly with freelancers, then there is a chance to advance in service.
What should be evaluated first
Problems in the relationship between freelancers and managers arise due to the fact that bosses do not understand that it is necessary to evaluate not the number of hours during which a person is at work, but productivity.
In fact, it does not matter for the company whether you work an hour or ten, whether you work at home or in the office. What matters is how much you do. However, not all bosses understand this.
Why freelance negatively affects career growth
Perhaps the fact is that the leader does not see how you work, and at the subconscious level he has the impression that you are not doing anything. That is why it is necessary to show him his presence and his work through video communication.
Most often, such a problem arises with older bosses who cannot adapt to changes in the workflow. Some of them may think that working at home is not as important as in the office. Naturally, this is not so.
Some remote employees think that increasing productivity and increasing the number of working hours will accelerate career growth. But in reality, for most companies it’s more efficient to learn how to properly submit their work.