What are the definition, types and benefits of remote work?
Work models and organizational management have also changed with the growth and development of technology, especially the Internet and communication technologies. Remote work is one of these new collaboration models that many companies use today. The benefits of remote work and its potential as an organizational culture became more visible than in the past with the outbreak of the Corona virus and long periods of quarantine in the form of a forced success.
But what are these hidden potentials? What other potential benefits does telecommuting have that we’re not aware of even as a telecommuter or manager of telecommuting employees? To answer these questions, first we need to know what is the exact definition of remote work? Join us and finally get to know one of the most important business space management models in the coming years.
What is the definition of telecommuting?
Many of us, even if we work remotely, do not understand exactly the concept of remote work and often consider it limited to freelancing. In order to better understand our position or that of our remote employees, we need to know how this concept is defined in business science and management.
According to the definition of the Techtarget website , telecommuting is a model of business environment management in which employees perform their tasks remotely using communication and messaging tools. In this model, the workplace of the employee is any place other than the official location of the company.
The communication tools used in remote work also include from email to phone, messaging applications and holding online meetings or collaborative tools such as Trello. Some companies even design their own tools to communicate with remote employees. Today, with the emergence of new fields such as artificial intelligence and metaverse, business communication has become more realistic or in other words three-dimensional.
As it is known, telecommuting is more suitable for people who work with their soft skills or knowledge. In other words, the telecommuting model cannot do jobs that involve physical tasks or require face-to-face communication.
What are the types of telecommuting?
Remote work itself is divided into other types, which we will briefly introduce below.
Full-time telecommuting
You must be asking what is meant by the word “full time” in the description of remote work? Full-time remote employees are actually the same as regular employees of a company, except that they do their work remotely. They have to start and finish their work at a certain time, like in-person employees. This presence and absence can be controlled in different ways. Sometimes they may also need to be in the office. Companies also use the term remote for their official employees by making them work remotely.
Part-time telecommuting
What most people mean by remote work is its part-time type. In this model, the employee can have flexible or inflexible working hours. However, like any other part-time job, it must perform daily tasks. These tasks can be completed in less than eight hours. They usually do not need to be in the office and have less commitment for this work. The coordination of this model of remote work is mostly done through holding an online meeting.
Remote work with freelance (project) model
One of the well-known remote work models is freelancing. A freelancer accepts a project and completes it within a certain period of time. Unlike the previous two models, companies have no obligation to pay employee benefits to these people other than the agreed wages. Instead, a contract is signed between the two parties and the obligations of each are stated in it. By entrusting their projects to freelancers, companies outsource their affairs.
A freelancer is actually his own employer and is considered a small one-person company. The best translation for the word freelancer in Farsi is digital contractor. These people find suitable projects with their connections or through freelance sites and send a sample of work and request for cooperation to the employer.
Five benefits of telecommuting for the employer
With the mentioned introductions and definitions, now we can better answer the question, what are the benefits of remote work? In the following, we will answer this question from the point of view of the employer.
Reducing the cost of managing the business premises
The presence of each employee in the workplace has costs for the employer. Computer, desk, chair, energy and space are only part of these costs. By remote working or so called remote employees, these costs are reduced to a considerable amount. Even managers can make their space smaller, buy less equipment, or pay less for the maintenance and cleaning of their office.
Instead, companies will be able to spend the reduced costs on their infrastructure and development. They can develop their website, budget more for advertising, marketing, and product development, and even educate themselves and their employees more by holding an online class.
greater financial efficiency; The result of telecommuting for managers
In the continuation of this article and in the benefits of telecommuting for employees, we will explain how this work culture has a positive effect on employee productivity. This higher efficiency will ultimately benefit their workplace. The speed of projects will definitely increase with the remote working provided that the appropriate software and hardware infrastructures are provided and the employee’s commitment is monitored. More employee productivity means reducing company costs, increasing production or service, and as a result, market development and earning more money.
More effective communication between people
Today, remote work tools have improved and perfected so much that communication through them is sometimes more effective than face-to-face communication. Employees can participate in meetings with more preparation, and their peace at home allows them to communicate with their colleagues more efficiently, faster and with less tension.
More continuity in work
With all the employees gathered in one place, the smallest incident can stop them all from working. As a simple example, we can point to electricity and internet outages. But one of the benefits of remote work for the employer is that employees work more continuously. In other words, a problem that happens to one of them will not affect the other.
Increasing employee loyalty with telecommuting
All the benefits mentioned for remote work and the benefits that this model has for employees will also increase employee loyalty. In fact, if he is a person looking for advancement and a suitable job position, he considers telecommuting as one of the merits of his job and tries to maintain it. In addition, remote working of the employee also has a special message for him, and that is that the employer trusts him. Therefore, if he is a trustworthy and committed person by nature, he will try to respond positively to this trust.
A loyal employee can work for a company for years. The manager of that company will have less need to hire new, less experienced people and pay the costs of recruitment and human resources department. Of course, we must remember that an employee does not commit to an incentive just by being away from work or receiving other items. He must be a committed person who proves his loyalty to the company by receiving these benefits.
6 benefits of telecommuting for employees
But what are the benefits of telecommuting from an employee’s point of view? The following points show why this work model is much more attractive to employees today.
Reduce cost and time
Financially, remote working model for both parties; means employee and employer; It is a win-win game. The employee will no longer need to pay commuting expenses. You may imagine that in the telecommuting model, he has to pay more for internet and phone; But statistics show that this cost is less than the cost of commuting for most employees. Of course, many companies make their official employees (except for freelancers) work remotely and pay them for their internet and telephone.
Another benefit of telecommuting for the employee is reducing his time cost. Especially in big cities, people sometimes lose several hours of their day on the way to and from their workplace. The remote worker is at home after finishing his work and cannot bear the fatigue of going back and forth.
Higher energy and more focus
By eliminating the issue of commuting to the workplace, reducing unnecessary communication and reducing distracting factors, an employee will definitely experience better mental, physical and psychological conditions throughout his day. Mental and physical burnout is one of the main factors in reducing employee productivity. In numerous surveys conducted in Europe and America, the answer of many employees to the question, what is the main benefit of remote work at home? Maintaining mental peace, reducing fatigue, eliminating non-work or unnecessary communication and doing things faster and easier.
Of course, we must mention that the role of infrastructure and facilities is very clear in realizing this advantage of remote work. The better the quality of the internet, computer, and even the employee’s camera and headphones, the easier it will be for him to do things. 5G internet has solved this concern in many countries of the world. In our country, some areas of Tehran, Karaj, Mashhad and Tabriz are equipped with this technology.
More creativity with remote work
But what is meant by increasing creativity as one of the benefits of remote work? Many studies show that in the conditions of mental peace and also in familiar environments, the sense of psychological security of a person increases. A feeling that will lead to increased creativity. Remote employees usually solve challenges easier and faster. They will also have the opportunity to brainstorm and make suggestions to improve their productivity or that of their workplace. This advantage is especially important for freelancers. Because they basically enter into projects, most of which have the nature of problem solving.
Better income and job opportunities
But one of the most important advantages of telecommuting for employees is that they are no longer limited to companies in their hometown. They can work with the best companies in their field of activity anywhere in the world and even earn dollars by developing their capabilities and improving their communication infrastructure. In this field, foreign freelance sites have provided very good opportunities. Working with better and more reliable companies ultimately means increasing the credibility and income of the employee.
Time flexibility with telecommuting
Especially if you are a freelancer or part-time telecommuter, you will have the advantage of time flexibility. In a double job, you will not necessarily have certain working hours. You can do your project even during the night or during the holidays. Of course, in many cases, you still need to coordinate with your employer.
This is exactly why many students and even college students today have part-time remote jobs. They can make good use of their free time and even do their projects on their mobile phones while commuting from school or university. This advantage, of course, has also made it easier for many people to have a second job.
Better integration of work and life
One of the advantages of telecommuting, especially for today’s mechanized man, is to infuse a sense of life into his work. The home environment, comfortable clothes and even the child or pet next to you can give you such a feeling. This integration will help you manage your life better and timely. It is interesting to know that some high tech companies like Google provide such conditions even for their on-site employees. During the day, a telecommuter can organize some household chores, go shopping, rest a little, even cook and eat his meal on time. Also, he will no longer worry about his family members. Of course, it is necessary for a person to learn time management skills to be able to keep this balance well.
Remote work is a win-win work culture
In this article, we tried to answer the question, what is the meaning of remote work? As we said, this work communication model, above all, relies on technology, especially the Internet and communication software, and it is not applicable to all businesses.
However, many of today’s knowledge-based jobs, where the employee performs digital tasks or at least can provide digital output, can benefit from telecommuting. The most important of these benefits are cost reduction, time, productivity improvement, increased opportunities and time flexibility that benefit both the employee and the employer. What do you think about the telecommuting culture? Have you experienced it as a manager or employee?
