There’s a push-pull dynamic surrounding remote workers. They could be saving your small business a lot of money but they can hinder productivity.
Remote Work Issues
A new study from CyberLink reveals just how disruptive some remote workers can be to small businesses. And it also shows just how much workers from home believe that dynamic hinders their work.
First, there’s a big problem with the technology employed by today’s remote worker. It’s a situation everyone has encountered. You’re all set up for a meeting with some of your home-based colleagues and someone can’t connect.
Of the 1,543 small business office workers and business owners surveyed by CyberLink, 31 percent said they’ve been late to or missed an online meeting due to a tech problem.
These problems could run the gamut from being unable to secure a good mobile connection to video conferencing software glitches. And it only takes one participant with technical problems to have the entire meeting go sideways.
But glitches aren’t the only problem. Some meetings are just too complicated. CyberLink found 22 percent of those responding to its survey said they’ve missed a meeting because they couldn’t even access it.
Company Culture
Connection problems are just one part of daily office life that’s different when you add in remote workers. After all, there are no connection problems when you get the team together physically in a conference room, right?
But there’s another negative impact remote workers can have on your small business, and it’s an important one. Remote working is making it difficult to build a company culture and personal relationships.
Those office workers surveyed by CyberLink say it’s “twice as difficult” to get to know the boss of the company or collaborate with their colleagues.
Finding a Happy Medium
There are a lot of small businesses that can’t survive without remote workers. The technology that’s available right now allows companies to connect with help around the world. The benefits are seemingly endless.
But as this survey reveals, small businesses that rely on both on-site and remote workers must strike a balance that doesn’t alienate each group from each other. And it would obviously be helpful to find the most reliable conferencing technology and team workflow platform to have everyone literally working on the same page.
CyberLink partnered with YouGov to conduct its survey of small business office workers and owners.
Online Meeting Photo via Shutterstock