Remote work has grown exponentially over the past few years, with such models of work not being based at any physical location other than anywhere with sufficient online connection. The main characteristic of remote work is that employees are not bound to a singular office.
Thus, employees can work at home, at a restaurant, or even in a different country entirely. Coordination between other employees and administration is done entirely though online means and by phone. Web design, programming and content writing jobs are among some of the professions which heavy rely on the use of a Computer, and hence, are perfectly compatible with remote working models.
Currently, Remote Working strategies are thriving, growing more prevalent with every passing year. Further, some employees no longer need to leave their house for professional reasons. In the United States, for example, Global Workplace Analytics, a research-based consulting organization, revealed that 2.6% of all employees work remotely. This type of work is invigorated by millennial culture, specifically, the generation’s overall tendency to prefer unconventional and more independent means of work. In addition, older generations also have recognized the advantages of Remote Working; a recent survey by the AARP, revealed that 74% of older workers in the United States prefer jobs with more flexible working hours.
However, make no mistake; this increased desire for ‘flexible’ work is not a testament to workers becoming increasingly less productive. Indeed, various studies have attested to the increased productivity of Remote Working employees: A major study by Stanford professor Nicholas Bloom revealed supportive data regarding those engaged in Remote Work. The largest Chinese travel agency, Ctrip, had employed around 70,000 people – many of whom had participated in the study for over 2 years. The results showed that there was an enormous increase in their measured productivity, detailing that lateness, or leaving work early had become much less of an issue. In addition, the health of 50% of workers had significantly improved during the study. Overall, the number of breaks, sick leaves and even used vacation days were greatly reduced. In addition, the company also saved $2,000 worth of office rent.
However, it is important to note that there are varying models of remote work, such as the case with jobs that handle sensitive data. In this case, the data must be processed offline due to strict company or legal data protection laws. In this case, employees gain access to their company via a highly protected VPN. In some cases, data is handed over to an external data carrier.
Despite the fact that being physically present at any office is not required for many remote working jobs (indeed, there are freelancers who have never met their clients), some companies expect these employees to occasionally turn up for meetings, or for other events. So if you are looking for a remote job, it is necessary to read the job description carefully.
