Working Remotely During the Covid-19 Pandemic
10.12.2021The Covid-19 virus has radically changed many aspects of our lives. In order to prevent the spread of the virus, some restrictions were imposed by countries such as curfews, closure of non-essential places, transition of schools to distance education, prohibition of collective activities. Within the scope of these restrictions, many companies have also switched to remote working.
Remote working is the execution of the current work outside the workplace through various communication technologies such as mobile phones, tablets and computers. The work to be done is planned between the employer and the employee and the employee is expected to stick to this schedule.
In addition to the advantages of remote working, there are also many disadvantages. The biggest of these disadvantages is asynchronous communication. Asynchronous communication is the delayed and irregular progress of communication between employees. As employees move towards an individual work schedule, their priorities may not match with other colleagues, and thus the foundations of asynchronous communication are formed. This can disrupt employees' work schedules. Although people can determine their own working environment, for some people, their environment may not be suitable for working under pandemic conditions. For example, problems with internet connection, too much noise in the working environment, insufficient technology resources can be considered as disadvantages for the employee. In addition, the fact that the working environment and private life are in the same place can also create problems in terms of setting boundaries. Especially if the employee is inadequate in planning or if there is no favorable environment to separate his/her private life from his/her work, it becomes inevitable that the work-life balance is disrupted. If the balance is disturbed, the employee may start to have negative feelings towards his/her job by feeling as if he/she is constantly doing work, or family conflicts may occur as he/she associates the situation with his/her family. Another major disadvantage of remote working is the inability to socialize. Especially in pandemic conditions, socializing poses a risk to health, so this becomes a bigger problematic for employees.
Certain arrangements can be made to minimize the disadvantages of remote working. First of all, in order to eliminate asynchronous communication, it is recommended that the manager or employees prepare a work schedule among themselves. In addition, it may be a solution in terms of work-life balance for the employee to prepare as if he/she is going to work, designate a room of his/her own at home and spend all working hours in this room. However, if the employee does not have the opportunity to designate a room of his/her own, he/she can designate a work environment in the same room with the other members of the household but in a certain area. Preparing the employee as if going to work will contribute to the motivation of the employee as it prevents monotony as well as contributing to the work-life balance. In addition, the employee's socializing with friends, even remotely, can also increase motivation. Thus, remote working can become an advantageous system with few disadvantages for employees.