No, Remote Work Isn't Safe For Your Business
We all understand that staying at home is the safest approach to avoid covid risk. Until the vaccine can be rolled out to the whole population, a lot of businesses continue to promote remote work arrangements to keep their staff safe. Health-wise, working from home appears to be the best solution to reduce the infection rate and keep risks at bay. Additionally, for companies, a remote workforce means they can maintain productivity and survive pandemic challenges.
However, while health risks are safely contained in a home office, it doesn’t mean that your remote workforce doesn’t put your business at risk. While there is a lot of untapped potential to explore with digital offices, companies must understand and address the new threats.
Team feels isolated
Workplaces offer a social circle of interactions, whether you’re catching up with coworkers around the coffee machine or go out for a meal after work. Working from home considerably reduces the prospect of seeing and talking to each other. For a considerable number of employees, the safety of the home office brings loneliness and a sense of isolation that can affect day-to-day productivity. Businesses have a responsibility to maintain social bonds between coworkers, ensuring that people at home can still feel part of a team. Planning social events on Zoom, for instance, could provide essential socialization that can cut through lonely days.
People find connectivity shortcuts
Not every broadband connection is equal. As you have no control over your team’s Internet setup, you need to consider potential connectivity issues. Someone who doesn’t have a reliable connection at home could rely on public Wi-Fi or hotspots to access their work data. This could create additional unsecured entry points for cybercriminals and slow productivity. IT expert CyBerJaz has recorded a surge of interest in managed IT solutions since the start of the pandemic. Indeed, services such as network troubleshooting and consulting can help create a secure digital workplace for your remote team.
People can interview for other jobs from home
How do you know when employees are looking for a new job? Team managers are trained to spot signs of disinterest or job hunting activities in the office. However, in a remote environment, you have no way of preparing or reaching out to team members to discuss their situation before they quit. Indeed, home-based employees can now schedule job interviews online without needing to take a day off. In other words, the remote environment accelerates job-hopping and leaves companies facing the consequences without warning.
Confidential data becomes public
Even with a tight cybersecurity strategy, your business data could be exposed in the home office. A common issue in video call communication is the mute button, which has caused some people to share more than they intended to. Failure to use the mute function properly could lead to unhappy revelations! Additionally, team members work longer hours at home and are more likely to accidentally use their work device for personal use. This could lead to device sharing and data exposure.
Should businesses refrain from going remote? The answer is no. Virtual offices can boost talent and productivity. But companies need to be realistic about the risks inherent to a remote work environment. From job-hopping to connectivity shortcuts, the pandemic work revolution is driving new digital risks you can’t ignore.