The Mixing of Work and Home in the Modern Workplace: A Guide

Working from home, working remotely, telecommuting: it has all become more and more common. 

In fact, many people are opting to forego a traditional office environment altogether in order to avoid the restrictive nature of office work.

Is it possible to maintain a healthy work-life balance on a remote job or one from home, though? 

It’s been said that people are not designed for constant work and that after six hours of mentally intense activity, the brain needs time to rest. 

Not surprisingly then it turns out that research into the effects of remote work and how it impacts family life shows mixed results –some positive, some negative.

Managing Your Home Life While at Work

In a traditional workplace, there is a strong separation between ‘home’ and ‘work’, but in these modern times, home can be work, and work can be more welcoming than home for some. 

Many people are finding that they can plan their own schedules and are free to leave whenever they want, making it possible to explore new opportunities beyond work.

While this gives some people a lot of flexibility, there can be downsides to making home and work one and the same. 

In order to maintain a healthy balance between family and work life, the organization needs certain key elements. 

These include: 

• A favorable working environment –which will allow you to do your job without having to constantly interrupt your day
• Access to necessary equipment
• An encouraging or non-judgmental cultural climate
• Supportive managers or supervisors.

For employers, these factors are vital in ensuring that, rather than disrupting the family, employees are able to both set their own schedules and focus on their work while at home.

Remote teams need cultures with some common elements if they wish to be effective. 

Drawbacks From Remote Working

Not everyone can be a successful remote worker, though, and all of these factors need to be optimally aligned in order to make it work.

Some of the drawbacks include:

• Reduced Social Interaction. When you can’t see the people around you, it’s easy to fall into a downward cycle of loneliness, which is known as the social isolation theory. 
• Loss of Emotional Support. A remote work environment doesn’t give you the same emotional support that you’d get from an office job. You can’t see your neighbors or chat with a co-worker during your break at lunch. 
• Lack of Higher-Level Motivation. When you’re remote, you don’t have the same social pressures to do your job, nor is there a big team that’s counting on you to be at work. You can lose focus on the importance of doing your job well if you’re not motivated by others. 
• Disagreements With Colleagues. When disputes arise, they are harder to avoid than in an office environment. Remote teams often suffer from culture clashes due to a lack of communication and interaction. Communication is key here, but it’s hard in a remote work environment because there aren’t many opportunities for it outside of scheduled meetings.

Benefits of Working From Home

While there are for sure many downsides to remote work, the upsides are often seen to outweigh them significantly.

Some of the benefits include:

• Being Able to Work From Anywhere. The life of the Digital Nomad, it’s often what graduate MBA students look forward to; the ability to work in any city in the world with just a laptop and an internet connection. The freedom of remote work allows a digital nomad to combine working and traveling in order to gain experiences that would never have been possible otherwise. 
• A More Focused Work Environment. Many people find that they can focus better when they work from home, and this is often due to the absence of distractions like noise or others coming in to talk to them. You’re able to set your own schedule and work when it’s best for you.
• Lack Of Commute Stress. A huge percentage of employees consider their commute stressful, and remote workers don’t have this problem at all. If you do have a long commute, try working from home one day a week –you might find it’s more productive than you thought! 
• Time Management. When you work from home, your time is completely managed. You can usually choose the hours you work (or can at least be more flexible with them), when you get up and go to bed, and when you eat and take breaks. This allows you to set a schedule that best fits your needs. 
• Reduced Stress. When you do your job well, you feel like you’re contributing to a cause. You often feel like you’re doing something meaningful that benefits others and that your work is worth it. Working remotely also reduces a lot of the pressure that you might find in an office setting. You don’t have to worry about raising a ruckus and being interrupted by loud coworkers or other distractions, which can make you feel anxious. 
• Travel Opportunities. Remote work provides a lot of opportunities to travel because you don’t have as many worries about your job. If you want to go away for a few days, you may be able to do so without the stress of taking vacation time or leaving your job in the hands of others. Sometimes, it’s much easier to take a quick trip when you’re remote.
• It’s More Flexible with Parenting. Working from home is a huge benefit if you’re a parent who has to juggle working and taking care of children during the day, especially young ones. You can also keep an eye on your child without having to rely on a babysitter. Sometimes parents can feel like they’re not spending enough time with their children by working a traditional office job.

What is the Norm of Modern Workplaces and How is it Changing?

While some people are employed remotely full-time, or even live in another country entirely for work, many employees who work remotely part-time choose this option because it allows them to spend time with their families or pursue other interests when they are not at their jobs.

All this is beginning to change as more and more companies are adopting remote-work policies, with most office-based employers offering a work-from-home option to employees thanks to the pandemic’s great work-from-home experiment being largely a success.

Virtual Reality Can Change the Way You Work

Companies like Google and Microsoft have recently introduced virtual reality headsets for both work and pleasure, upgrading their workers’ experience. 

For example, Microsoft’s HoloLens headset will allow you to fully immerse yourself in your computer world, and as it is completely connected to the cloud, you can easily wear it and use your mouse on another continent while you work. 

In addition, the headsets are being developed to help workers create more realistic simulations of their workplace environment.

Facebook recently debuted the Metaverse and relied heavily on the virtual reality business meeting aspect as a selling point. The goal is to bring people together and allow them to communicate in a new way, according to the marketing materials.

This is one way that virtual reality technology could begin to change the way you work. Virtual reality could change the way that you communicate, and it will most likely be heavily influenced by how this technology evolves.

Is Remote Work for You?

Remote work has its upsides, but be aware of all the disadvantages too. 

The fact is, whether you work at home or remote work for a company, there are still proper ways of handling salary negotiations, performance reviews, and raises. 

It’s all about finding the best option for the future. 

If you have the opportunity to work remotely, then don’t be afraid to try it. Understand all the benefits and downsides, but also understand how remote work is a different lifestyle and how you can still be productive while having a flexible schedule.

Most companies understand that this idea of working remotely may sound like one big challenge, but keep in mind that it won’t always be like this. 

Over time, people will begin to value their privacy more, and the values of remote work will change. 

In order for it to thrive though, you need to embrace this idea and learn about new ways of doing things now so that when it does become accepted as a norm, you’ll have already mastered the skills needed for this new lifestyle.

Conclusion: The Future of Remote Work

The future of remote work is bright. 

Even in the face of new technology, many people would rather stay home than travel to an office each day. Telecommuting and working remotely come with challenges that must be faced head-on, but with some simple preparation and personal commitment, it’s possible to make a successful transition.

This is why remote work has gained such popularity lately – more and more freelancers and employees are choosing this kind of lifestyle every day. 

The benefits of working remotely can be quite satisfying, finding a new job where you can work remotely could be one of the best ways to grow your career.

While the remote-work idea has been criticized by some in recent years, there’s no denying that more and more people have become comfortable with the idea of working from home and are sticking with this trend because they like it.

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