Introduction 

Life after COVID-19 has become different as we see productivity and interest in remote work decline. Nonetheless, in discussing the pros of remote working efficient time management, convenience, and saving money are among the points. As a consequence, this work has also some downsides like loneliness, miscommunication, disturbances, and the imbalance of work and life. In dealing with these issues, the following solutions can be considered.

It is a serious issue to have little face time with people you barely see and still inspire them to reach their full potential as remote workers. The roadblocks that inhibit managers from sustaining motivation and productivity vary.

Managing Remote Worker

Communication is a very important point when it comes to remote work, and the use of appropriate mechanisms and schedules can help to keep employees up to date with their work progress. Defining expectations for new projects is complex, and expertise, along with knowledge-induced errors, should be avoided. Provide sufficient tools and resources to every team member to enable them to reach all of their work goals. Moreover, if managers can successfully handle these issues, their employees will be filled with good work and thus, they will become performers. Getting adherence to the best strategies that motivate productivity and performance helps the manager tell the employee to perform the work of the assured quality reliably.

Challenges for Managing the remote worker

Here are the few examples of challenges that remote workers might face:

Lacking physical interaction might lead to complications, errors in understanding, and feelings of alienation among the workers.

• Absence of physical interaction can result in misunderstandings, feeling alienated, and causing problems between the workers.
• The fact you will be working in the same environment has its advantages and therefore will be difficult to balance your personal and professional lives. It is possible, thus, that concentrating on work may be impaired.
• Insufficient technology and internet link can lead to problems in developing projects and making design more flexible.
• The danger of any type of sensitive information or data being hacked in the remote work environment.
• Ensuring that workers are still inspired by their tasks and have fun while working, for example, is not always easy. The lack of physical interaction has caused people to become bored, easily distracted, and, thus, productivity to decrease.
• The remote workers might be the ones who could struggle with their time management despite the fact that they work from home. Boundaries are often not set well and unorganized work divisions contribute to this.

Challenges for managing the remote workers – how to overcome it.

Managing remote workers can be tricky, but the following tactics will help you navigate them:

• Facilitate communication channels: Not interacting is the cause of miscommunications. To avoid this, provide access to various platforms to communicate. This can help in building a rapport among remote workers.
• Bonded Flexibility: Defining the limits and timeframes eases the application of both family and career personal areas. Causal pauses in between tasks may increase efficiency.
• Essential devices: Supplying essential devices and software to the remote workers will enable them to complete their assignments.
• cybersecurity policy: Strong cybersecurity policy, issuing VPN and updating all devices with the latest anti-virus should be implemented. Details step-by-step organized process should be made where all their workers should provide tasks according to their specialty. Regular tracking and updates should be discussed with the team. 
• Establishing appropriate boundaries: Establishing appropriate boundaries enables you to cut down on distractions, concentrate on the areas of your career that need development, and look after your mental and physical health.

Performance Management for Remote Workers 

There are measures to ensure all employees are in harmony with the organisation and increase the productivity of the organisation. The concept of teleworking came into being almost with the boom of technology.

• Communication: At first, the workers needed help giving feedback based on no rational consideration of the timeline; therefore, today, it is extremely important for both the company and the workers to be honest while communicating and thoroughly analysing before giving deadlines.
• Readiness of worker: As you know, workers’ readiness to embrace new performance management methodologies is often the major obstacle to their implementation.
•  Managing Misalignment: To be more precise, the failure to communicate clearly the expectations of both sides of the company as well as the workers is the core of this problem.  This is possible if you help management to view the situation from a broader perspective and training the front position.
• Worker’s perspective: It is also essential to consider the worker’s perspective by asking them for updates and feedback. This will ease the tension in the work environment and help companies as well as workers grow. providing.

Post-COVID, managing remote workers efficiently has become an even more difficult skill not only due to the increased competition but also due to the newly emerged scenarios. Possibilities for overcoming this challenge are increasing productivity through teamwork and promoting participation.

5 Tips for managing remote workers

Some of the technique to overcome with common challenges as a remote worker:

1. Encourage transparent communication: Communication software comes into play enabling workers to communicate smoothly. Making it clear with contracts, positions, projects, timelines, and availability improves the clarity of responsibilities. Key updates from workers, teams, and one-on-one meetings are fundamental to ensuring stability and problem identification.
2. Strong team: Including companionship and recognizing the workers’ efforts is very essential for the retention of their motivation and self-assurance. Empowering the dialogue by using different communication tools and platforms can make workers socialize and share experiences thereby creating a sense of responsibility among them.
3. Resource:  Workers’ well-being plus their productivity are highly dependent on the technology and the training that they receive. Thus, workers have to be provided with devices that can access the internet-based resources and the facilities are made available.
4. Focus: It is essential to have a clear and definite aim that is productive. On the other hand, letting employees work at their preferred schedule contributes to job satisfaction and a harmonious life balance that is necessary for a balanced working environment.
5.  Work-Life Balance: Acknowledging workers’ needs for frequent breaks at work can cause burnout and destruction. On the other hand, using periodic medical and mental health check-ups to help out remote workers deal with stress and not feel out of place can be a great way to avoid the development of physical and mental health issues.

Conclusion 

The effective remote worker management requires careful assessment & strategies. Meticulous communication is a vital component of bridging communication deficits. Providing different tools, scheduling your own preferred time, and progress assistance are ways to power motivation and efficiency. Routine interactions and yearly health examinations can take care of the gaps that can arise due to the absence of physical communication, thus enabling the assurance of physical and mental well-being. 

References

Fried, J., & Heinemeier Hansson, D. (2013). Remote: Office not required. Crown Business.

Eikenberry, K., & Turmel, W. (2018). The long-distance leader: Rules for remarkable remote leadership. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

American Psychological Association. (2020). Psychologists’ advice for newly remote workers. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2020/03/remote-work-covid-19