Remote team: pros and cons of working from home

Work is an essential part of everyone’s life. Not without reason, until recently, they said that a happy person is one who goes to work with joy in the morning and returns home with joy in the evening. But what about the new conditions, when the work itself “comes to the house”, that is, when we work remotely?

And if yesterday it was still possible to leave family problems at home, slamming the door of the apartment behind you, and the workers in the office, today it all merged into one, not giving us a break.

All in sight

At the very beginning of studying and working remotely, many videos with comical situations were posted on the Web, when during an online meeting it was clear that an employee was wearing a jacket and tie, but no trousers, or a disheveled husband was walking behind the employee’s back.

There is nothing to say about cats stepping on the keyboard with their paws. Not everyone immediately realized that the laptop standing on the table or on the bedside table has become a window through which not only we see the world, but also the world – us.

Then we began to get used to the fact that we do not have to spend time (and money) on the road, that we can plan our own schedule. But the fact that we were so happy at first became a minus after a few months.

“The absence of the need to wear formal clothes, put on a marathon and go out led to the fact that I gained 5 kilograms in six months and became discouraged,” recalls 33-year-old Zhanna. “It turned out that I lack the views of others to keep myself in shape.”

And finally, we had nowhere to hide from problems. Our spouses, parents, children, animals, colleagues, personal relationships and work tasks all ended up in one physical space.

“Life itself demanded that we decide exactly what we are doing in a particular period of time: work or personal life,” emphasizes analytical psychologist Olga Anaikina. “And if earlier we could run away from home problems to work and vice versa, now there is nowhere to hide: problems must be solved where they arise.”

Time for introverts

Some professions initially involve working online, such as IT or design. Such employees are often invited to remote work.

“I constantly live outside the city, and some colleagues live in other countries, we use special platforms for collaboration, there are no difficulties,” says 26-year-old layout designer Fedor.

Psychologists agree that representatives of such professions are most often introverts, so it is not a problem for them to be out of the office. “For them, solitude is a resource,” says Evgenia Klimenko, a Gestalt therapist. – But there are those who have more pronounced extrovert features, that is, those who are filled with ideas and energy from communication. Teams work more efficiently, whose leaders take into account these characteristics of employees when transferring to a remote location and competently organize the process.”

If our usual work environment and rhythm changes, it becomes stressful for most. “My clients say that remote work gives them the feeling that they have more free time, they are less controlled,” Evgeniya Klymenko continues. – But in this case there is a danger of losing vigilance – it is necessary to have internal responsibility, and personal interest, and motivation. I observe the following in my practice: one of the main problems associated with remote work is procrastination.

All work begins in the evening. When the body goes into rest mode and prepares for sleep, it begins to be loaded with tasks that were not performed during the day, hence the consequence is a disturbed regimen, interruptions in sleep, changes in hormonal levels, and a bad mood.

There is only one way out – to master the skills of self-organization and follow the schedule yourself.

Zoom, I’ll eat you!

Many of us had to get acquainted with the technical services of remote communication for the first time. And when Zoom suddenly freezes at a meeting or important negotiations, we get annoyed, angry at ourselves, at the equipment, at the provider, at everyone who is “guilty”. Business ethics does not allow you to swear on the air, but relationships can suffer due to suppressed emotions.

“If you are annoyed, do not hide feelings from your family, but explain to them the reason,” Evgenia Klimenko recommends, “and then look for a suitable way to throw out excess emotional energy.”

It is not always possible to immediately use stress relievers such as a massage or a walk. But jumping up and running around the room is not superfluous.

And if you have technical problems, you should remember that they happen to most people, not just us. You can always ask a colleague to turn on the presentation or help make sure our microphone is working.

pet me please

When we stopped going to the office, we lost an inconspicuous but essential part of daily communications. After all, the day, in addition to performing professional duties, consisted of many “social strokes” – as the creator of transactional analysis, Eric Berne, called “acts of recognizing the presence of another.”

It can be questions about health or the weather, a joint tea party, just an exchange of views. Is something similar possible online?

“All questions remain the same: weather, well-being and even tea drinking,” says Olga Anaikina. – And a colleague is sitting opposite us, a living person, the same as before, only on his own territory, and we on our own. Changing communication from face-to-face to virtual is a matter of habit.

Working remotely, we can find time for informal communication, but this will require more effort: pour tea and spend ten or fifteen minutes after the work meeting, as long as you want.

But Evgenia Klimenko believes that such a format is categorically insufficient: “Only face-to-face communication – in human-to-human interaction – can raise the mood and have a beneficial effect on the quality of work and relationships in the team.

Therefore, for the working atmosphere it is important to maintain human relations and meet at joint dinners, discussions of projects. And team building should be face-to-face: physical contact is important for a sense of community, so active team games with interaction are the best way to unite the team.”

Study, study and study

Modern realities force us, regardless of age, to constantly acquire new knowledge and skills. You will not surprise anyone with computer literacy, knowledge of Photoshop, Word, Excel. Internet technologies are both our goal and a means to achieve it.

“The network gives you the opportunity not to waste time, not to react to many distractions and to grow endlessly, improve your skills,” Olga Anaikina is convinced. “We have never had so much quality and variety of online learning as we do now. We can use this new resource to stay competitive.”

At the same time, we are also developing super-professional skills, communicating in new ways. “In Zoom, it is important not to forget about those participants in the meeting who are silent,” reminds Evgenia Klimenko. They often have something to say, but they wait to be asked.

This is a separate type of personality: they are brought up like that, not everyone is shy, it’s just that they were taught that way, but sometimes their ideas are the most interesting! And when there is no one to discuss them with when solving new problems, apathy sets in for many, because online depresses the nervous system, and only live communication gives the energy necessary for positive emotions.

No matter how deep we go online, we never cease to need understanding interlocutors. Perhaps we need them even more than before.