What’s the Difference Between Working Remotely and Telecommuting?
Understanding the differences between remote work and telecommuting is an important nuance. Many organizations—and even workers—view the two as synonymous. But is that really the case? The following chart distinguishes between remote work and telecommuting:
Remote Work
• Able to work from anywhere without restrictions on time zones, state, or even country
• Often never come to an office for meetings or team-building activities; some will fly or drive to central office very few weeks or months
• Other colleagues—from some to all—may work remotely and located across time zones and even different countries
Telecommuting
• Not required to come to an office location on all of the time but may need to reside within reasonable driving distance of the office
• Expected to attend meetings and work from a designated office—from multiple times per week to multiple times per month (varies)
A search on Google for remote work versus telecommuting reveals interesting results. Telecommuting produces 4.29 million findings—obviously a large number. But remote work produces 1.36 billion! The gap between the two continues to grow—likely due to the expanded focus in remote work because of the pandemic (and quite possibly because of “remote work” is the prevalent category nomenclature).
Remote and Telework Is Here to Stay
Research conducted by McKinsey shows that between 20% to 25% of the workforce can work outside of the office three to five days a week without losing productivity. This has prompted many organizations to adopt hybrid work models, with many reducing the amount of office space—including some that have eliminated all office space—as the world emerges from the pandemic. Per a survey by CBRE earlier this year, 80% of large businesses and two-thirds of mid-size businesses intend to move to hybrid work environments where workers no longer come to a fixed office and sit in an assigned workspace five days a week, 8 eight hours a day. EMSI Burning Glass examined remote job postings over the past year and found that the number of monthly postings now is up nearly 190% over pre-COVID-19 numbers.
Defining Telework
Telecommuting workers normally must live geographically close to a company office. They also are required to work from an office location and attend meetings in the office. Sometimes, the business may designate certain days when the workforce needs to be in the office. In other instances, it may be staggered so that there is sufficient workspace and meeting space for all of the workers in the office on any given day. Telecommuters may come to the office several times per week; others may come to the office a few times per month.
Telework remains a great way for businesses to attract and retain top talent. It also enables businesses to reduce capital expenditures (CapEx) for permanent office space. Managers can also have regular or sporadic in-person meetings to check-in on projects and provide coaching and mentoring. These in-person workplace interactions help teleworkers avoid the feelings of isolation and loneliness that remote workers sometimes experience.
Defining Remote Work
Remote workers are those who rarely or never go to a fixed office location. They do not live—or are not required to do so—in a geographic location that is within driving distance of a company office. Some may not even live in the same country as their company’s office. In a Flexjobs’ study conducted last summer, 58% of workers indicated they want to remain full-time remote employees post-pandemic, while 39% expressed a design for hybrid work arrangements. The outtake from the survey is that a paltry 3% of workers wanted to go back to a permanent office and workspace five days a week.
8 Recommendations for Productive Telework and Remote Work
Organizations hoping for a return to permanent workspace for most—if not all—of their workspace are likely to discover dwindled applicant pools and spikes in talent attrition. Now that workers have a taste of remote work, the genie is out of the bottle and it will be difficult to return non-remote (telework) models. For organizations embracing telework and remote work models, the following recommendations will help ensure their workforces sustain high levels of productivity and collaboration:
1. Maintain regular work hours. Certainly, flexibility is one of the attractive options of remote work and telework. But setting hours of operation for a remote workforce is important.
2. Use project management tools. There is a plethora of tools out there, and they can help teleworkers and remote workers stay on time and budget with projects, facilitate collaboration, and more.
3.Create morning routines. One of the ways teleworkers and remote workers can get off to a good start each day is via a morning routine that enables them to focus and prioritize work tasks.
4. Set home workspace rules. Working from home can come with numerous distractions, and it is important for remote workers and teleworkers to establish ground rules with others in their household—from quiet times, to meeting times, to shared equipment, to times for lunch.
5. Schedule breaks. For those working from a workspace in a fixed office, breaks naturally take place throughout the day. Sedentary work can have health and mental repercussions. Thus, it is important for those working remote to schedule breaks, take walks, and exercise during the day.
6. Break up the work location routine. Isolation and loneliness can be problematic for those who never or rarely interact with colleagues, partners, and customers in-person. Coworking spaces like those from Davinci Meeting Rooms are a great way for teleworkers and remote workers to work from a professional workspace that affords them with an opportunity to interact with other professionals.
7. Fully equip your workers. Teleworkers and remote workers need the right technology tools to be productive. It starts with the right monitor, keyboard, mouse, chair, desk, printer, and more. It also includes the right software. Many businesses brought in ergonomic consultants for their employees before the pandemic. It would be wise for them to do the same for their remote workers and teleworkers post-pandemic.
8. Use professional meeting rooms. Rented meeting space like Davinci Meeting Rooms offers businesses the opportunity to get remote workers into one location for training and team-building sessions. They come with lobber greeters, presentation and collaboration tools, administrative support, and more.
We could add other recommendations to the above list such as extending in-office perks to telework and remote workers, overcommunicating using tools like Slack or Microsoft Teams, and more. But the above list is a great starting point. There is much excitement about telework and remote work today—by both employers and employees—and there is good reason. With the right processes and tools in place, employers and employees will reap the rewards.
LinkedIn Profile: LinkedIn
Website: www.tirocommunications.com
Categories
- Business Marketing
- Business Resources
- Customer Success Stories
- Customer Success Stories: Communications
- Customer Success Stories: Meeting Rooms
- Customer Success Stories: Virtual Office
- Entrepreneur Tools
- Management
- Meeting Rooms
- Virtual News
- Virtual Office
- Virtual Receptionist Services
- Workplace Culture
Subscribe to Our Blog
Archive
- October 2024
- September 2024
- August 2024
- July 2024
- June 2024
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- June 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- March 2015
- January 2015
- November 2014
- October 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- January 2014
- October 2013
- September 2013
- June 2013
- April 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- January 2010
Talk to an expert
Want to know more about our Virtual Offices? Give us a call
Get the Perfect Virtual Address Now
Find a Virtual OfficeServices
Virtual Offices Virtual Office Features What is a Virtual Office? Full Time Spaces Live Receptionist Live Receptionist Features Virtual Phone Number Live Web Chat Meeting Spaces Meeting Space Features Coworking Spaces Event Spaces Marketplace Incorporation Services Search Virtual Office Services Near MeInstant Group
- © 2024 Davinci virtual office