Is Working From Home Working: Pros & Cons Of Remote Working

Ever since the spread of Covid-19, the entire work was in the shoes of facing lockdown, which was quite a discomfort for everyone, especially for working professionals. So, to avoid zero productivity, more than 95% of organizations adopted the concept of remote work and ordered their employees to work from home until the pandemic gets over. 

But, the question is, 

Is working from home working? Well, some firms do doubt that work from home factor may result in the reduction of productivity. But, it strictly depends on how the management treats their employees while they work from home. But, remote work has its pros and cons, which everyone should know. Let’s have a peep at some of them:

PROS OF REMOTE WORK: 

Reduction In Leaves: 

Working from home has its own advantages. One of them is the reduction in leaves. The employees used to take leaves either when they were sick or for some personal reasons. But, due to flexible working hours, they can get their unfinished business done without wasting their leaves. 

Flexible Working Hours: 

Flexible Working Hours

The best part of remote work is the employees get the benefit of flexible working hours. They can log in and out as per their convenience, as there are household chores that need to be taken care of, and they cannot deny that. But, it’s mandatory to work for the entire official hours even if they are logging in late, early, or on time.

Financial Benefits: 

Even if lockdowns and remote works have some perks, it has some good outcomings as well. All the utilities, travel expenses, lunch charges, etc., get saved. In this case, employees get the benefits of their payroll and do not have to spend any penny for official purposes. 

More Productivity:

Work Productivity

The chances of productivity are more while the employees work from home. The WFH allows employees to work in a comfortable and quieter environment which helps them focus more on their work. Sometimes, the employees even work for longer hours to deliver more productivity. 

CONS OF REMOTE WORK: 

Feeling Isolated: 

Lockdown was a pain for everyone. Even if everything is unlocked, the organizations still feel remote work is the safest option. But, it is a kind of demotivation for the employees, and they ultimately get exhausted and feel isolated because of the remote work which was in process for so long. 

Security Risks:

Security Risks

The threat of insider threats increases during remote working. As of now, the management and employers cannot keep sight every time of their employees. So, there can be security risks that are threatful for the organization’s confidential documents. 

Distractions: 

There are a lot of distractions while the employees work from home, as there’s a lot of household chores, which can be quite distracting for the employees. Distractions can result in the reduction of productivity and overall can leave a bad impression on the management.

Work From Home Costs:

Work From Home Costs

The cost of work from home can be immensely high while the employees work remotely. The expenses of laptops, internet connections, and other equipment come under the office expenses, which go from the employee’s personal income. 

Also, the management can take a step forward to make remote work beneficial by following some points, like:

• Monitoring the employees through employee management software
• Tracking their working hours
• Prevention from insider threats 
• Keeping an eye on their browsing activities
• Communicating with their team frequently

Work From Home

We have mentioned the pros and cons of remote working so that employers and employees understand it better.

You can also watch: Monitor Remote Work Easily With Powerful Monitoring Software: EmpMonitor

WRAPPING UP:

So, we hope our readers got a clear solution to their query, ‘Is working from home working?’ We discussed the pros and cons and made a clear picture of the perks and consequences one may face/enjoy while the employees work from home. 

Screenshot Monitoring | What Is It And Is It Legal At Workplace?

A screenshot monitor is just one of the many capabilities available in time-tracking software. Its purpose is to give the employee immediate insight into their activity during the time tracking period.

This data can be collected over a long period to provide enough information for future project management details. Project managers will be able to make more precise estimates regarding future project completion times with this information.

The reason behind the organizations completing their projects in a given time frame is somehow related to screenshot monitoring. More work can be accomplished with better project management.

It is where a screenshot monitor comes in handy, especially if you’re outsourcing and your staff is spread out throughout the country. Any employee’s progress can be tracked more readily by a business owner or project manager, regardless of where they are located.

Whose Time Is It in the Office?

Let’s start by determining if employers have the right to know what all their employees do during official working hours. On this subject, there are two main points of view.

The first is the assumption that the time employees spend in the office performing the tasks for which they are compensated is the company’s time. After all, they use corporate computers and equipment, work for and on behalf of the firm’s clients and projects, and, most crucially, they are paid to devote their time to the company. My house, my rules are the principle. Because employees use the company’s computers, everything they do could be considered relevant to the employer’s knowledge. They could be doing something unlawful, leaking information, and so on.

The second point of view is that even though employees utilize business computers and networks and are expected to work on company tasks, keeping our professional and personal lives separate for eight hours a day is difficult. Employees have the right to check their accounts or enjoy some entertainment during their required break times, at the very least.

But, Is Using Screenshot Monitor Legal?

Screenshot Monitoring

If you are in business, you might be questioning if using a screenshot monitor is illegal and immoral. To clear up any doubts, we’ll go over why it’s legal and to what extent it is.

Employers are concerned about their data and employees’ privacy. Therefore, they may believe that monitoring employees is illegal before deploying it.

Employers use software to track their employees’ actions, such as which websites they visit, how long it takes them to accomplish a task, and how long it takes them to take a break; there is even a tool that allows managers to snap screenshots of all employee desktop activity. All of this is achieved with the help of Screenshot Monitor.

This type of software is advantageous to the firm because it automates various procedures and aids in better performance estimation. The software will boost efficiency while also safeguarding critical information and ensuring that work is error-free.

Types of Screenshot 

What determines whether or not Screenshot Capturing is legal?

The usefulness of the feature is the most important criterion in determining whether or not screenshot monitoring is legal. It’s all up to you. You can take a screenshot of the employees’ activities manually, or make the most out of your software by letting it screenshot every minute of the day.

There are two methods for implementing screenshots.

Manual Screenshot

You can manually activate this screenshot implementation by selecting the time with time tracking statistics and the employee whose Desktop Activity Screenshot you want. Employees perceive this strategy to be more focused and unfair. When you need to ensure work proof for many employees, this is also considered inefficient. You can select to enable the function just when it is required.

Automatic Screenshot

The screenshot of employee activity is taken automatically by the systems for the designated group of employees. This method is more equitable because no employee will feel singled out.

Monitoring turns out to be legal. It is beneficial in situations where employees work on client data and on corporate premises and time. Employers have a right to know if all processes are compliant with industry standards. Employees have the right to personal privacy and freedom during their breaks, and some precautions should be made to ensure that this right  is respected.

Also Watch: EmpMonitor – Best Time Tracking Software | Productivity ManagementConclusion

Conclusion

So, let’s sum everything up quickly. Given that employers have a right to know how their equipment, data, and time are used, and that workers have a right to some personal freedom even at work, it’s fair to conclude that employee screenshot monitoring should (and is) lawful, but you must be careful how you use it to make it ethical.

Why Is Workforce Analytics Required To Manage A Remote Team?

There is no doubt that COVID-19 will have a significant impact on the workplace in 2021. A large number of companies encouraging employees to work from home. It has become much more common and casual for most of us, but the pressure to increase productivity has put all the employees and the company in a difficult situation.

Working from home means more distractions, fewer opportunities to interact with coworkers, and increased social isolation, all of which can lead to lower productivity. And, above all, too much work pressure to resolve such obstacles. Employers must seek new ways to collaborate and manage employees, and more ways to connect with them, while also reducing work pressure.

And, in this case, remote employee analytic tools can assist them in tracking workflow, time usage, and a variety of issues that remote employees face. Now, we’ll go over some of the most important reasons for workforce analytics to help you understand why it’s so important. And at last best HR analytics tools. But before that, we will give a short description of employee analytics. So without further ado, let’s get started on the article.

WHAT IS WORKFORCE ANALYTICS?

It’s also referred to as an HR analytics tool. The term refers to the study of a remote workforce in order to track each employee’s individual activities. The tool makes it easier for the HR department to assess their employees’ ability to maintain a balanced output. This tool should be installed in all systems by every small or large company to keep track of their employees.

1.INSIGHT AND MINDFULNESS

The most important thing is that, as a manager, it will help you relax. The tool will notify you immediately if any employee engages in a specific type of unproductive behavior using those automatic alerts. Furthermore, such a tool or software makes it much easier to obtain accurate, real-time data and the ability to identify and highlight progress and team success.

2.ACCESS TO MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE USE OF CLOUD AND DESKTOP APPLICATIONS

Your remote team may believe they have everything they need to do their jobs well, but the applications and technologies they use may cause more problems than they solve. Workers, for example, may discover that they require additional resources, such as a communication tool. Your remote workers, on the other hand, spend too much time on apps or websites. Those are unrelated to their specific job functions, resulting in decreased in employee productivity and job quality.

3.DETERMINING AND PREVENTING PROCESS PROBLEMS

Because this tool gives you a bird’s eye view of operations in workflows with a granular background, you can see where things are running smoothly and where bottlenecks are present. You can then quickly dig deeper to see if the issues caused by outdated procedures, a lack of proper equipment, or a problem with remote employees. Identifying workers who may cause bottlenecks provides an excellent coaching opportunity for both you and the employee. The issue could be as critical as the need for additional training or process clarification. Spending time with these team members, helping them work better and become vital contributors to your team, can help you solve recurring problems and reroute your career path.

4.LESS BURNOUT AND MORE BALANCE

A balanced workload is beneficial, but overflowing workloads are problematic. Want to see who in your remote team is at risk of burnout at a glance? With this tool, you can see workload distributions across your team, quickly identify where there are imbalances, and create opportunities for workload capacity leveling.

Tools That We Recommend-

To take advantage of these top-tier advantages, the analytics tool you choose must be capable of providing them:

EMPMONITOR:

It is one of the best online employee monitoring software for managing employees remotely or from the office. The user has the ability to review the past 90 days’ performance and take appropriate action. It has a screen capturing and recording feature that allows managers to keep track of their activities in real-time.

So, before moving further, we are sharing an effective video for analyzing your employees performance by using EmpMonitor.
To watch the video, click here

TERAMIND: 

Teramind provides value to its users by securing and preventing data leakage and hacking. It protects sensitive data from unauthorized access and effectively manages employees. To avoid productivity loss, the analytics tool examines and analyses the employee’s productivity during working hours and idle time.

HUBSTAFF: 

Hubstaff handles project management and time-tracking in addition to effectively managing the remote workforce. The administration can use this tool to schedule online meetings and track users using the GPS tracking mode from any location. You can also use it in conjunction with a third-party app to improve functionality.

TIME TO WRAP IT UP;

Overall, we recommend to our readers that Workforce Analytics is a critical requirement and that every company should implement this analytic tool to maintain productivity and improve the workforce in order to keep the company running smoothly.