When you search Google Images for the word teleworking, you will find photos that tell you fascinating stories about this style of work.
For example, you might find an image of a woman relaxing on the sand at the beach with no worries, her laptop by her side. Or you might find a man logging into a video call, high on a mountain after an adventurous hike. You might even find an image of a remote worker moving to the moon and working from there just so he doesn’t have to see his coworkers again.
Obviously, this is not the reality of remote work for the vast majority. Many of us are just getting to know what it is, due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. You may like it more or less, but the reality is that it is simply a different way of working and relating.
That is why, at Roas Hunter, we want to explain the 4 myths about teleworking that must be left behind.
Table of contents
Myth 1: Teleworkers are lazy and hardly work
Myth 2: Teleworking is very lonely
Myth 3: It is easier to balance your personal and professional life
Myth 4: You can't manage a team if you're working remotely
Myth 1: Teleworkers are lazy and hardly work
When you're working remotely, your office colleagues and superiors have no idea what you're doing at any given time.
Because teleworkers are not sitting next to their bosses or colleagues, skeptics conclude that they are working less than other employees who cannot be “distracted” as easily in the office.
Time and again, this theory has been architecture email lists disproven. In fact, many remote workers confirm that they work longer hours than office workers, who stop dead once they leave the workplace.
In addition, many admit that despite working more hours a day, because of the more flexible schedules they find that they are more productive and less distracted than in an office.
Myth 2: Teleworking is very lonely
Because remote workers don't work in a space full of cubicles and other employees, people often think they don't like talking to others and aren't good team players. Meanwhile, some who would be interested in working remotely worry about not making real connections with people.
But working remotely, you learn the importance of staying in constant contact with your team about your achievements, challenges, and priorities. Even if you can't walk over to your colleague's desk when you have a question, if you intend to maintain fluid communication with the rest of your team, you will succeed. And even more so today with the technological facilities that exist.
To stay visible and continue socializing with other employees, you should try to connect with your team virtually, whether it's by grabbing a coffee over a video call, or simply checking in regularly on how they're doing. This facilitates stable and strong relationships with other team members, if you don't go into the office regularly.
Myth 3: It is easier to balance your personal and professional life
When you think of someone working from home, you might imagine them doing a couple of tasks at work, then taking care of their kids, or cleaning the house, or making dinner for the family. In reality, people who take teleworking seriously sit at their desks during their workday and avoid any distractions.
Myth 4: You can't manage a team if you're working remotely
If more traditional employers may be more skeptical about hiring remote workers over something they can't control, imagine how they feel about managers.
In fact, one of the biggest myths that has been debunked in recent years is that managers cannot work remotely.
At Roas Hunter, we are all working remotely. Even people who manage teams, whether small or large. Today, it can be said that team performance is not affected by people in higher positions managing teams virtually. And this is the case for most companies affected by the COVID-19 crisis.