Managers Need To Understand The Difference Between “Working From Home” And “Remote Working”

As managers, one of our goals is to find ways to get the most out of everyone who is part of our team. One way to go about doing this is to show some flexibility in where our team members perform their work. Right now both remote working and “working from home” are popular workplace trends that can have real benefits for your team. Managers know that there are huge benefits for the company as well, especially when you think about the having ability to add team members regardless of where they are located.


The Big Difference

Managers need to realize that there’s a problem with what is going on. It turns out that working from home and remote working aren’t the same. Managers need to stop talking about their remote workers as though they’re just not in the office.

Here’s what managers need to start to understand: there’s a difference. One way of working is considered a benefit, while the other way of working is simply a way of working. When we say “working from home” we are talking about a temporary situation, while remote working is an entirely different approach to getting work done. Managers need to realize that this difference is an extremely important distinction that deserves some of our attention. A key point is that everything about the remote work environment is different from that of your office, where team members have a desk and workspace provided by your company.


The Benefits Of Working From Home

When you work from home it is what you do when you work in an office but stay home on Friday because you need a change of scenery. Alternatively perhaps you don’t have any face-to-face meetings tomorrow, so you decide to avoid the office for the day. This is also something you might do on occasion when you need a block of time without the interruption of team members poking their heads in your office.

When you work from home you might bring your work laptop home and set it up on the kitchen table or at your desk. Doing this represents a significant change from your normal routine and your normal pace of work – which can be a very good thing once in a while. The reason that it’s effective is mostly because it’s different from normal. You can still have the framework and structure of your office, and the people who work there adjust their work given that you are not there.

Managers need to realize that no one forgets to include the boss on an email just because he worked from home yesterday. The manager still has an office and team members know that if they mess something up they’ll probably be invited in for a conversation. This is not always true when you work remotely.


The Benefits Of Remote Working

When we work remotely, or working outside of the company’s office all the time, it is fundamentally different. It requires a different set of abilities, resources, and skills. It requires a self-starting attitude and insane levels of time management skills. It also requires proactive communication and a focus on what’s happening with team members since you don’t have the regular face time with them.

Remote working requires having team members to create their own work environment, which certainly has benefits since they can establish their space so it works best for them. At the same time, they don’t have the safety of an office, or cubicle, or desk to land at when they have to hunker down–unless they create it for themselves.


What All Of This Means For You

When someone works remotely, the office perks can be incredible, as long as you’re willing to make your own tea or avocado toast. Remote workers also have to potentially deal with their family who forget, just because they’re there, that they are actually working. There are many benefits to working remotely because it can allow your team members to allow their jobs to better fit with their lives.

With the right set of tools and a few productivity tips, working remotely can be a great way to work. What managers need to understand that it’s just different than working from home. What needs to happen is that managers need to stop talking about them as if they’re the same.


– Dr. Jim Anderson Blue Elephant Consulting –
Your Source For Real World IT Management Skills™


Question For You: Do you think that workers should be allowed to work remotely?


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What We’ll Be Talking About Next Time

As a manager you need to remember that celebrating our achievements is important for every team. Joyfully acknowledging milestones gives credit to the hard work done by the team, provides motivation for reaching goals, and rewards everyone for a job well done. Nowhere is this truer than where we work. Managers need to realize that many of team members spend more time working than with their families, and the rewards can seem few and far between. How can a manager acknowledge a job well done?