3 Lessons That Lockdown Remote Working Has Taught Us

Summary – The perception towards remote working has definitely changed in 2020, but it doesn’t mean there aren’t obstacles that need to be overcome for taking it mainstream. In this blog, we discuss the three main lessons that remote working in the lockdown has brought to our notice and how coworking spaces can fill the gap:

It’s been more than a year now since we have been living with the virus, with the last year setting several things into perspective, redefining some; coworking spaces have never been more relevant. One of the things that changed in the last year has to be the importance of remote working – its sheer flexibility, family time, and the importance of self-discipline. With more than 80% of employers already keen to keep their employees working remotely going forward, it opens up numerous possibilities for coworking spaces; but with several responsibilities. 

While working from home in a pandemic can get overwhelming, and affect productivity; the safety of our homes, as well as the lesser traveling time definitely earn it brownie points. For a coworking space trying to redesign its operations to attract newer members, having transparent hygiene protocols, as well as set up spaces at closer-to-home, suburban locations will be the priority. The shutdown and social distancing have also taught how crucial collaboration can be in terms of getting things done right – something that most enterprises and employees have taken for granted until all these years. While Zoom calls and meetings can be a great way to connect safely while working remotely, nothing beats a good face-to-face discussion in a  conference room team meeting. 

Therefore, this makes work a social activity that requires physical connection too apart from the virtual ones. A coworking space can be a perfect melting point for fulfilling such a purpose without compromising the health and safety of the coworkers. More importantly, for pioneer companies in technology and innovation, what could brainstorming mean over virtual meetings? Also, how does it affect an employee’s mental well-being or how far it goes in preserving company culture if there’s no unplugging after work, in a work-from-home scenario? All these things do make a difference in the long term, as learned last year. That’s not all. There are  more valuable lessons that remote working has made us realize unlike before, they are:

1. With great flexibility comes great responsibilities

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Work evangelists across the world mostly talk about flexibility when they’re talking about remote working. Think about it, you can balance your chores around your work – like you need to water your plants at 4 pm, or help your kid with their homework –  it’s a no-brainer. Especially if you work with an asynchronous team, such parallel working would mean no harm at all. But is it really that easy? 

According to the Labor Department reports, over 850,000 women signed out of remote work. In case you’re wondering, that’s 4x the number of men who gave up remote working, why? Because staying at home, learning on remote, and taking care of your children all at once don’t go too well for first-time remote working mothers or for single parents. Remote working is definitely a privilege that not everyone is cut out for, especially with the existing payroll policies. 

Then there’s of course the fact that you can always get too distracted or unmotivated to work in the first place. Be it a random doorbell or the latest news stories, there’s a solid chance that your attention is getting distributed. Over time, you may find it trickier to concentrate on the task at hand and instead focus on other unimportant things as a force of habit. Something that can be disastrous in terms of your work. 

How coworking spaces can optimize the situation?

To achieve the right harmony between your work and indulging in distractions, an employee requires a lot of motivation. Something that goes beyond just looking and admiring, and more on the lines of seeing the bigger picture. In a coworking space filled with professionals from different walks of life and related domains, an employee can finally discover the true meaning of their work and find contentment in it. Such purpose-driven motivation can come from the sense of community with professionals and industry veterans – something that’s abundant only at coworking spaces. 

2. Remote teams need frequent engagement, less management

Employers often interchange overseers to that of a manager, from where things go downhill, as micromanaging comes into the picture. Experts say that in remote working, micromanaging direct reports by mid-senior professionals is the last thing you’d want to have on board to build a cohesive working experience. In fact, it’ll only take you away from the real work happening and instead, build barriers for you and your employees.  

Your remote team would require support and insights into doing things efficiently, and perhaps more frequently than the at-office team. But that doesn’t necessarily mean a disadvantage, and can even come as a quality enhancement process, as they can concentrate more on the quality of their output than the hours churned each day. 

How can new, improved coworking spaces help?

It is the whole collaborative spirit of the productive environment, as well as the energetic, non-cramped, away-from-office setup of coworking spaces that tends to show improvement in the performance of an individual. The heterogeneity of communication, sharing, brainstorming ideas is what pushes the boundaries of your employees to come up with never-before results; something that coworking spaces can richly offer.   

3. Connectivity is a serious issue for remote workers

Let’s face it, the last thing an employee would want while a team meeting or a weekly client call is to face network issues. With huge numbers of employees working from home unexpectedly last year, connectivity has been a regular issue worldwide. In Ireland, the government had to intervene to provide 30 megabit broadband across all states, to counter such issues. 

How coworking solves the problem?

Coming equipped with state-of-the-art connectivity resources and system peripherals is a must-have in coworking spaces. This way, remote workers can avail such facilities as soon as they signup with any coworking community. Even coworking spaces have reported an increase in the demand for their membership because of their good connectivity features in the past. Now, installing a good fiber connection at the employees’ homes can be more expensive when compared to that of the coworking spaces because of the shared connection and affordable packages. So, for remote workers, coworking spaces are a viable option when they’re trying to be cost-efficient. 

Where Does it All Lead?

Remote working can come in all shapes and forms, and while some of them might work out for a majority of individuals; they all have one thing in common – blurred lines between office and homes. With employees stuck in their homes as they work for more than a year in between a pandemic, working from coworking spaces can come as a fresh breath of air that can help combat all the shortcomings in the best way possible; without having to try hard. Zioks is one such evolving coworking space in Kolkata that balances collaboration, community, and personal safety in our shared spaces. Our technologically enabled workstations, built on the basis of  social-distancing protocols and more can cater to all your needs, just like the way you need them.