The office is mobile, but can everyone work remotely?
In the news there has been more and more emphasis on the increase in smartphone / tablet usage for office workers across all industries…..but does working remotely work for everyone?
The answer is no, the majority of people can discipline themselves to work on their own and get the job done, some of these can even work more effectively that if they were in a busy office, but for others, we need that human interaction.
Not as instant as speaking to someone in your team……
Yes, the world has become smaller thanks to social platforms, instant messaging, video conferencing etc, but it still doesn’t beat the speed of speech for example, you are sat at home and you want to know if anyone can help you with a excel problem, or how to close a difficult candidate/client, you could tweet, post an update to LinkedIn & Facebook or even get on the phone to one of your colleagues, then wait for an answer, BUT if you are in the office, you could just ask someone who is there, that way you would get an instant response and they could even come over to you and help! It’s that human interaction that working remotely cannot offer.
You get better relationships when you are face to face……
Would you only talk to a client or a new candidate by texting/tweeting or just by phone, not really, to get the personal relationship that is needed a face-to-face conversation is the only way to conduct meetings, yes, video conferencing and calling is quick and easy, but so impersonal and detached.
Would you hire someone just by online conversation? Probably not as you don’t know who that person is really, you get a lot of information from body language.
In my opinion, working remotely is a great thing, for the occasions where it is necessary, for example, can’t travel to work for whatever reasons, travelling to and from clients etc.
Do you currently work remotely? We would love to hear your side...
