How to work remotely and productively

4 difficulty levels

Depending on the presence of factors distracting from work, Ekaterina Kovalevskaya, director of the consulting agency Prof-Consulting and the head of the committee for training and development of the HR Forum association, identifies 4 levels of difficulty:

    Habitual work in the workplace. Here only colleagues on working or non-working issues can potentially be distracting.
    Work in a cafe, in coworking. Food and a change of scenery appear as distracting elements. True, they can be both distracting and motivating.
    Work at home, where you can always potentially be occupied with something else.
    Work at home with a family, especially its small members, is the fourth level of difficulty.

Such a ranking of labor suggests that not everyone can afford to work outside their usual workplace, depending on their motivation, character, self-discipline and their position.
Benefits of Remote Work

Corporate standards oblige the specialist to adhere to the established schedule of the working day. According to a Regus poll, most of the time people would like to spend the free time they spend on sports (56%), sleep (53%), work (50%), and communication with family and friends (50%). Another study shows a decrease in staff turnover and the number of unplanned absences of a person in the workplace due to illness or family circumstances after the introduction of flexible working hours with the ability to work remotely.

The main advantages of remote work are:

    The ability to independently schedule work.
    The loyalty of employees to work more productively and keep to an “understanding” work.
    Save time and money: in the case of workers - on the road, lunch, clothes; in the case of employers, the maintenance of the office, the hiring and training of new employees.
    Improving the quality of life. Remote workers find a balance between work and personal life much easier.

Often working mobile means working more. But experts still warn against abuse:

“Employers mostly use the opportunity to work at least part of the time outside the office as a motivational element. The practice of remote work pays off by introducing it several hours or days a week. On an ongoing basis, productivity may fall, ”adds Ekaterina Kovalevskaya.

See also: 10 basic misconceptions when looking for a job
Disadvantages of Remote Work

Remote work seems attractive to many with its variety and practicality. But we must not forget that work outside the workplace can both minimize distractions and create new ones. To protect yourself from the processing and the illusion of a “carriage of time in reserve”, know and fight against the main disadvantages of remote work:

    The need for greater self-discipline and self-control.
    Organization of the workspace: the necessary technical means and programs that work without fail should be available.
    The danger of running yourself. Certain asociality and unwillingness to monitor their appearance may well appear if you work exclusively from home, for example.
    The rejection of loved ones and family of a similar form of work. Culturally, men are much more often allowed to work at home and are not distracted. For mothers, especially with young children, work at home is practically unrealistic.

Anna Bobel, director of the recruiting company ARCHERS, highlights the main drawback for employers in the remote work of personnel - the lack of control:

“Leaders are used to playing the role of educator for their subordinates. And when a part-time employee works remotely, it is immediately difficult for him to understand whether he is working effectively or not. ”

Rhythmic planning meetings, absolute transparency of plans, building a clear connection between employee motivation and efficiency, as well as selective control methods that are available today thanks to rapidly developing technologies will help to combat such a drawback.
Remote work - not for everyone

Anna Bobel confirms this thesis:

“Outside the workplace, either very focused people who manage their time well, or who are very in love with their work and who are ready to do their favorite thing around the clock, can work.”

Remote work with flexible schedules is acceptable for relatively creative muse-dependent professions. These include website designers, 1C programmers, IT specialists in general, content creators, the consulting business as a whole - people involved in project work aimed at the final result, rather than the process and the amount of time spent at the workplace.

Those professions that are directly related to production, communications at the workplace, direct communication with clients, usually follow a more general approach from the point of view of management.
Expert Advice

According to one of our experts, Ekaterina Kovalevskaya, people who have strong internal motivation, support from loved ones, self-organization skills, and the presence of deadlines can cope productively with remote work. Ekaterina Kovalevskaya also shares with Work.ua readers the personal secret of productive work:

“It would seem that the work of a recruiter, a business consultant is not the most creative, but specific to the constant shift of the work schedule. When work at the office is tiring, I go to some space (cafes, coworking), but not home. Such an opportunity to change the picture that surrounds you works as an additional inspirational stimulus - it works easier, plus it is a useful emotional discharge. ”

Anna Bobel, who willingly shares them with Work.ua readers, has basic rules for productive work outside the office:

“Planning, planning and planning again is my main advice. In the evening, you should clearly allocate your day with a margin: what time you spend on work, and what time you devote to going to your grandmother for pies. Perhaps you can easily do day work in 3 hours at night - you can make an effective schedule of the day, taking into account your own strengths and features of biorhythms, for yourself. ”


As you can see, there is nothing complicated in remote work. If the specificity of the work allows, you are responsible, self-motivated and know how to work highly productively, then it will not be difficult to establish a labor process by working outside the usual workplace. The main thing is the desire of the employee and the understanding of the employer. Would you like to work remotely?