With working from home becoming more and more common, the arguments against it are fading. Since COVID-19 forced a lot of us to recreate our offices in our houses, many have seen the benefits of working remotely. However, there are still pesky and damaging myths about working from home that some still hold onto. 

 

MYTH: People aren’t as productive at home 

This is the most prevailing falsehood about remote work. The idea is that people who work from home will slack off, staying in their pajamas all day and doing the bare minimum of work. 

FACT: Actually, the opposite is true! A Stanford business study has found that allowing employees to work from home increases productivity, as well as overall happiness. They took more calls, worked more hours, used less sick leave, and had shorter breaks. It’s all about the comfort that a home environment provides. 

 

MYTH: Can’t monitor the employee’s work

Managers and business owners have always kept an eye on their teams, and it’s well within their rights to. The longstanding norm is that if someone is in the office, the boss can drop in at any time and check up on progress. It’s easier to monitor your employees in person. Much like the previous myth, managers worry that without supervision their employees will slack off. Monitoring team members who work from home and keeping track of their productivity seems impossible. 

FACT: Keeping an eye on projects being done from home is actually quite easy. Setting up virtual meetings and daily check-ins is vital to keep communication channels open between boss and employee. There’s also several different softwares that people can log their hours and projects. Tech like Asana, and G-Suite are great for checking progress on tasks – in fact, with software you’ll learn more about a project’s progress than a quick chat. 

 

MYTH: Remote workers can’t be trained

Training processes vary from industry to industry. The usual way of training new employees is to show them the office, give them their tasks, and watch over them for their first few days to ensure they’re gelling with the company style. It’s effective, hands-on training that’s worked for centuries. And there’s the ever-present worry that remote training isn’t effective. 

FACT: Online training is completely feasible, and in some circumstances works even better than in-person. Universities have offered online teaching for several years, and since COVID is has become even more common. A lot of normal pre-employment courses, such as harassment and data security training, have been online for years. 

HIPPO’s own Virtual Assistant training system is completely online, and its success speaks for itself! 

 

MYTH: Employees won’t have all their files 

Having physical files and information storage is common in office environments, and if people are working from home they won’t have access to all that material. There’s also a question of confidentiality in the case of case files and sensitive financial data that most business owners don’t feel comfortable converting to digital. 

FACT: The cloud, USB transfers, Google Drive, and document scanning have been live for well over a decade now. Yes, there are some roles that cannot be converted to remote work, and some files that can’t be made digital for safety reasons – but the vast majority of employees and data are easily convertible to online work. Digital events on Zoom, cloud saving, and Google Drive are all ways to store files that employees can access from anywhere with their business accounts. 

 

MYTH: Teams will lose touch with each other

Similar to the file-access myth is the idea that employees won’t be able to communicate well if they work remotely. They’re not in the office, so no one can just duck their heads into a neighbouring cubicle and ask questions about a project. No one can arrange a brainstorming session in the conference room, because no one’s in the office. Nothing gets done. 

FACT: There’s so many applications for people to communicate through that it’s almost not funny. Skype, Facebook, Slack, WhatsApp, Telegram, and the prodigal Zoom are all ways that employees already talk to each other, in or out of work. Naturally, some leadership from management is necessary to keep everyone on track, but odds are that online communication is already happening more than in-person in the office environment.

 

MYTH: Everyone will miss the office environment

This is one of the more substantial arguments against remote work, because it has a basis in fact. Many people at the moment are forced to work from home due to COVID-19, and the isolation is making work difficult. Aside from that, if you work remotely there’s no spontaneous Friday afternoon drinks or office barbeques. Worse, working alone at home requires higher levels of discipline than at the office. 

FACT: You can recreate an office environment at home. Set up a workspace, gather your co-workers and friends on Facebook, Skype, Zoom or Slack, and get to it! Benefits of remote work are also no distracting phones ringing all day, no risk of interacting with annoying co-workers, and overall, less pressure. There’s no need to dress up or commute, ultimately saving time and creating a relaxed environment. Several studies have found that many employees’ mental health improved when they started working remotely. 

 

FINAL BIG FACT: 

Working from home is less expensive for everyone – it’s true! Think of all the money you spend on commuting, whether it’s to pay for public transport or for fuel to drive. The longest commute that remote workers make is from their bedroom to their kitchen to their office, and that doesn’t cost a cent. 

It’s also cheaper for the employer. All the money business owners spend on internet, computers, and office supplies for each employee can be saved instead, and used on projects to grow the company. 

If you’re curious to learn more, contact us at HIPPO!