Everything You Need for Managing Remote Work

The "work-from-home" workforce has just received a major boost from the current global coronavirus pandemic. But even before COVID-19 became a factor, more and more people have said goodbye to their arduous commute to work. Thanks to ever-evolving technologies such as Skype, Facetime, Slack, Zoom, Google Hangouts, Authenticator applications and cloud computing - not to mention SMS and email - it is no longer necessary to work full-time in an office to be a productive member of the team. In fact, many types of work can be done just as effectively, if not more effectively, from a home office.

As attractive as remote work is to employees, it wouldn't be such a strong trend if employers didn't recognize the benefits from their side of the desk. Companies with a "work-from anywhere" policy can increase employee productivity, reduce staff turnover, and lower organizational costs, according to a recent study by Harvard Business School. Another study found that teleworkers with very complex workstations that don't require a lot of collaboration or social support can perform better than their colleagues in the office. Even in the event of a natural or man-made disaster, a distributed workforce is better able to keep operations running, even if part of the group goes offline.

Key Takeaways

• For employers, working from home can increase productivity, reduce staff turnover and lower organizational costs, while employees enjoy benefits such as flexibility and the absence of travel to work
• To work effectively from home, you need to ensure that you have the technology you need, a separate workspace, an Internet service that meets your needs, a working schedule that you can stick to, and ways to connect with others
• Key areas for remote working include computing and IT, education and training, and healthcare; positions include customer service representatives, virtual assistants, data entry and transcription, teachers, and more
• A variety of top companies, including Amazon, Dell, Humana, Kaplan and Salesforce, offer remote working opportunities, but it's also important to be aware of scams

How to work effectively from home

Whether you work one day a week (or more) remotely or full-time - whether of your own free will or due to a health situation or weather event - it is important that you work productively. This includes a dedicated workplace with the right technology, ways to interact with children, pets and other potential disruptions, and a schedule that allows for the social contacts and incentives normally associated with working with others.

Here are strategies and tips to help you succeed as a remote worker:

Know the basic rules

Does your employer require a schedule of nine to five years or is it flexible? Are you allowed to work over public WiFi? What technical tools do you need, such as zoom for video conferencing, Slack or Microsoft Teams for group discussions or Trello for project management? If you're working for someone else, it's important that your employer sets the ground rules and makes sure you have the proper equipment, such as a laptop, network access, passcodes and instructions for remote login, including two-factor authentication. Be sure to do trial runs and solve any problems that might interfere with your work. If you work for yourself, you may need many of the same tools.

Set up a functional workspace

Not everyone has their own home office, but it is important to have a private, quiet space for work. If you can, separate your work area from your personal space and use it only for work, not for other activities.

Get the Internet speed you need

If you have children, their FaceTiming and Xbox habits can slow down your connection and download speeds. It may be helpful to get as close as possible to your Wi-Fi router (remote devices tend to consume bandwidth), or you may consider switching to Ethernet. You will probably need a dongle, since laptops don't have Ethernet ports these days, and an Ethernet cable to connect your computer to your router. Wondering if your most used website is down? Check out isitdownrightnow.com, which monitors major websites and services to see if they are working.

Using Phone Apps

If you need to make long distance and/or international calls as part of your job, Google Hangouts, WhatsApp and Skype allow you to make cheap calls all over the world via the Internet. And if you and the person you're calling use the same service, the call is free.

Minimize distractions

If you have a barking dog or a hammering worker outside your windows, you should invest in noise-reducing headphones, such as Apple's AirPod Pros. And if the kids are at home and you don't have childcare (e.g. in the summer or in case of a natural emergency), you should consider whether you and your spouse (or a neighbor in a similar situation) can take turns caring for them - which may mean talking to your supervisor about working evening hours.

Plan for additional social interactions

Some people love the idea of working in solitude, but even the most introverted among us can feel a little claustrophobic after a few weeks at home, alone, staring at the same project for hours. It can get lonely. Be prepared and try to plan a time when you are in contact with the outside world, such as lunch (even if it is at 3:00 p.m.), a video chat with a friend, or a practice session.

Where to find work from home jobs

Work-at-home jobs are no longer limited to multi-level marketing (MLM) outfits like Amway or Avon. Improved technology and the need to reduce costs and/or keep overhead low have encouraged businesses of all sizes and in a variety of fields to create more opportunities to work from home.

The FlexJobs employment agency reviews its telework/part-time/freelance lists for legitimacy and conducts regular surveys to determine where the increase in flexible working is. Here are some of the key areas and companies identified over the last two years.

Health and medical services

In the healthcare sector, leading companies with home offices include healthcare giants Aetna, Magellan Health, BroadPath Healthcare Solutions, Humana, CVS Health and UnitedHealth Group. The job titles they were looking to fill included computer or telephone-based positions such as account manager, actuarial consultant, business intelligence manager, case manager, medical writer, patient educator or case attorney, revenue integrity director and sales representative. Other recent remote positions include Clinical Care Manager and Case Manager for Registered Nurses.

Education and training

Some of the more surprising opportunities FlexJobs has found are in areas that are typically thought to require training in face-to-face contact, for example. The growth of online learning companies such as Pearson, K12, Grand Canyon University and Kaplan has led to more opportunities for freelance and part-time positions such as curriculum writer, parent mentor, SAT teacher, science teacher, student services coordinator and tutor. The Chinese online education company VIPKID offers young Chinese students an American educational experience and provides its teachers with a flexible, remote-controlled work schedule.

This provides opportunities for those who are fluent in different languages. Companies such as Appen, which evaluates and coordinates communication for international clients, or EF-Education First, an international language training and educational travel company, need employees who can act as interpreters, translators and curriculum developers.

Computer and Information Technology (IT)

A less surprising, work-friendly category is Computers and IT, which is known for its advanced approach to virtual offices. Some employers-such as Red Hat, Salesforce, and SAP-are offering jobs in high-tech sales (sales is one of the original flextime jobs). Other job titles that tech companies often want to fill with remote workers include positions such as project manager, web designer, software developer, power systems engineer, and technical writer.

The most important types of home offices

Not all home offices are for company employees. Many people work for companies as freelancers and decide to start their own business. As mentioned in several cases, companies are increasingly turning to these independent contractors to fill a variety of positions. Working from home also offers the opportunity for those who have the time and organizational skills to manage two or three positions simultaneously. It is not uncommon for entrepreneurial types to eventually turn a freelance home-based work opportunity into a small business, even as they hire others.

Here are some of the most common work-from-home options. Some are more on the side of the unskilled/beginner, while others require special training and expertise:

Virtual assistants

Imagine a virtual assistant as an external secretary. A traditional secretary brings many costs to a company, and if the company is small, it may not need a full-time employee. Virtual assistants work from home and often communicate with the boss via chat, facetime, slack, or other real-time service. They can do most of what a traditional administrative assistant does - respond to email, create business documents, call customers, schedule appointments, manage social media, accounting and data entry - but at a lower cost. Key talents for this type of work include good communication skills and some office experience.

Translator

International companies constantly need translators. They can translate files and documents or transcribe and translate conversations and conference calls. People who speak unusual languages are even more in demand, and these home offices are plentiful.

Call center/customer service staff

Many companies, large and small, outsource their customer service to agents from home. Since some English-speaking customers may have difficulty communicating with agents who speak English as a second language or have a strong accent, more and more companies are looking for more call center agents in the U.S.

Most of these types of jobs involve incoming calls, order assistance or account information, but some also require outgoing calls. Most also have a fixed work schedule - although payment is often by the hour (or sometimes by the minute) while you are on the phone. The typical qualifications required for this type of work are good communication and social skills, although most employers require a background check. An evolution of the traditional customer service job is that of a chat agent who answers customer questions live via the company's website or social media.

Data entry and transcription

Although they can be two different types of jobs, data entry and transcription jobs usually require the same skills and qualifications. Data entry involves entering facts and figures into a software program or spreadsheet. It may involve entering payroll data, catalog or inventory items, or working with a customer relationship management system.

Transcription work includes the creation of documents from audio files. This is typically done for companies that require documentation of meetings, workshops, conference calls or podcasts. In most cases, the employer provides the software and content management system required for the work. For both activities, employers generally look for detail-oriented employees with good typing skills.

Teacher/Tutor

With the growth of online education there is a growing demand for online teachers. Virtual schools are appearing everywhere, offering study programs at elementary, high school and university level; teachers can usually work from anywhere.

While many online teaching jobs require teaching qualifications, this is not the case for online tutorships (although an educational background is often desirable). Tutors for advanced subjects, such as mathematics and physics, may earn a higher hourly rate. There is also the possibility to do standardized test evaluations easily at home. At least a pedagogical background or a university degree may be required for job evaluation.

Avoid the scams

Obviously, home offices have moved a long way from the old ads for "making money by filling envelopes". But anyone who wants to earn a living without leaving home must be very careful.

Do your homework about a potential home employer. Make sure that the company is established. If you can't find evidence that it has a physical address and sells a product or service, it's best to avoid it. Make sure you can find contact information and test it out. Many con artists claim to work either directly or as subcontractors for household name companies.

As with any job, there should be an application and probably an interview: Anyone who legitimately wants to hire someone wants to meet - or at least talk to - the applicants. And finally, you should not incur any out-of-pocket expenses for the hiring process. If you have to pay a fee in advance for an opportunity where you have to work from home, or buy a "start-up kit" or other substantial cash expenses, then it is probably a scam. However, you will most likely need to invest in a fast, reliable Internet connection if you don't already have one, and a quality audio headset.

Tips for life at work at home

Although the idea of being one's own boss, being able to determine one's own working hours and working within one's own four walls has advantages - and clear advantages - it also has some disadvantages, both for self-employed and teleworkers. When this happens in the shadow of a national health emergency, it brings an extra layer of discomfort and insecurity.

Here are three tips to help you find a healthy balance:

Stick to your work schedule

Anyone who has ever worked from home will have to struggle with the lack of understanding of people who think that working from home does not really mean working. The burden is on you to set your working hours, to stick to actually working during those hours and not to let anyone distract you from the fact that you are really working.

Unfortunately, life at home has its own distractions that can burn up precious daylight and cause well-meaning home workers to be late on important projects. In addition to the typical nine to five year interruptions (calls from salespeople, power cuts, accidents, needs of pets or children), there are personal boundaries that continue to shift.

Close family members must understand that they cannot be helped to move during the workday or even chat on the phone for an hour. Setting boundaries when you have children at home can be especially hard. On the positive side, showing children that you are working hard on something you love - even the parts you don't love - can have a big impact on their future career aspirations and their overall attitude to work.

Beware of workaholic tendencies

Efficiency and flexibility are two of the top 10 reasons why people want to work from home, along with shorter working hours (what could you achieve with eight hours of keyboarding without being interrupted by email or daily staff meetings). But sometimes flexibility is too much of a good thing. If your office is always there, waiting, and this deadline is getting too much for you, it's pretty hard to just close the door and pretend you're gone for the day. Many home workers work more hours, not less, and register their work at night and on weekends just because it's there and they can't ignore it.

It is true that many homeworkers keep a five-hour day as opposed to an eight-hour day. However, this does not mean that they work less. Hours are often billed as "billable hours", which means that for every hour they spend performing a task they are billed for, many minutes are spent on unpaid administrative tasks.

Do not bet on saving money

Without daily commute, mandatory lunches and the cost of office-suitable clothing, it may seem that working from home reduces some of the costs in your budget. But there may be additional expenses. The cost of setting up an office can include laptops, printers, internet service, cell phones, business cards, web hosting, business services and software. Forget about using your existing equipment for your business if you plan to write off the full cost of it against tax. Personal and business purchases must be kept separate for tax purposes.

First of all, you can only deduct for a home office if you are a freelancer or entrepreneur. Since the Tax Reduction and Employment Act of 2017, as an employee you can no longer deduct non-reimbursed work expenses, including all deductions for a home office. Therefore, it is especially important that you try to have additional costs covered by your office.

So wait before you try to deduct half of your mortgage for "office rent" or the entire cost of your Internet. There are strict limits on what can be deducted or credited on your return. You can deduct valid work-related expenses, but only the percentage that is actually used for your work. So if you pay for an Internet service that is also used by your spouse and children, and even by yourself for non-work related matters, you cannot deduct the full cost, but only the (estimated) percentage that is used exclusively for work-related matters. The same applies to office supplies, telephone bills and incidental expenses.

If you are an independent entrepreneur, you will have to pay your own social security tax (the self-employment tax) and payroll tax (an expense that most employers pay half). In general, a sole trader will therefore not experience drastic cuts in his tax bill.

The Conclusion

Working from home can be exciting, empowering and even profitable, provided you are realistic about the pros and cons. Whether you are a freelancer, part-time employee of a company, or a full-time employee who simply doesn't come to the office on certain days, it's a way to escape the daily grind. But there are additional responsibilities that come with freedom, not to mention planning, foresight, self-discipline and focus. Oh yes, and hours of uninterrupted hard work. As many home workers will tell you, it's not easier to work from home - it's just a different place.