After a dreadful end to 2020, 2021 was the time people started accepting the new normal. It was now the time to jump onto the bandwagon and confront COVID-19 head-on!
The work-from-home culture that wasn’t too popular and considered unsuitable across several corporate domains started operating almost everywhere. Now that lockdown restrictions have been lifted, the dilemma of reopening the offices is staggering. As the pandemic continues to rage, most workplaces have chosen to retain the work-from-home structure.
Upwork estimates that 1 in 4 Americans (about 26% of the workforce) are expected to work remotely through 2021. Although this trend sounds reasonable, working from home has its own set of challenges.
Challenges of Working from Home
Here is a list of the most common issues faced by people at the time of working remotely:
Managing their schedule and time
There is a blurred line between personal and professional life
Too many distractions
Reduced direction and supervision
Coordination and communication challenges
Unclear performance figures
Social isolation
Without the structure imposed by traditional workplaces, you need to create your own routine and structure. If you love the freedom to work at your own pace and hours, stay prepared for additional responsibilities too.
Apps – digital tools that facilitate work from home
A study of 16 000 workers by Stanford has found that working from home increased their productivity by 13% over nine months. However, one must acknowledge that it is easy to get distracted, procrastinate, or put in less work when employees work remotely.
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Their best bet is to try out some incredible apps available in the digital marketplace. Using these could help employees to enhance their productivity and manage better functionality. We highly recommend remote workers with kids at home to organize their routines and use viable digital tools.
Below, we have rounded up a list of six apps to help you do so:
Serene
Serene app allows you to say goodbye to digital distractions and get used to undisturbed work experience. It will enable the ever-increasing number of remote workers to maintain a high focus level and produce their best possible work. This hybrid app marries everything in a well-designed, easy-to-use package.
You can use it to track productivity, play focus music, and plan your day. A survey from Udemy discovered 3 out of 4 people admitting they feel distracted at work. Meanwhile, 16% said they are almost always distracted. Given how this rate goes higher when people work from home, apps like Serene could be our savior.
Its creator Marcus Taylor has integrated some enticing features into this app. Some of which are:
1. It enhances your concentration with focus music
2. Blocks access to distracting websites and apps
3. It breaks your day into clearly defined work intervals
4. Prompts you to plan your day around your goals
5. Tracks productivity and usual distractions
Serene is the app that gives you a much-needed push to get things done more effectively.
Slack
Slack is the app you need to execute a successful remote-working plan. It is the primary source of communication between teams within the organization. Every company requires an ideal communication solution, and Slack can make it happen.
A San Francisco start-up proposed answers to all communication issues that occur within the organization. It is one of the best team managing applications because it offers much more than other messaging apps. Team members can chat outside main topics, which prevents these messages from interfering with project-centric conversations.
You can get this app for free with access to 10 000 recent messages of the team, integration support with about ten third-party apps, and a 5 GB total storage. Alongside, you also get 1:1 video and voice calls between the teammates.
For more features, you can purchase the Standard plan.
Zoom
Zoom is the ultimate video calling solution for teams and individuals. Its accelerated use in corporate and educational settings during the pandemic didn’t go unnoticed. While Skype may freeze during the meetings, Zoom is there to pull people out of such miseries.
Eric Yuan, the founder of Zoom, stated in a blog post that throughout May 2020, Zoom was witnessing 200 million daily meeting participants. The following month, this figure rose to 300 million. Some key features of this app that make remote working possible are:
1. You can run group or one-to-one voice calls
2. You can use it to host webinars
3. Remote teams can run video calls and one-to-one meetings
4. Team members can also send messages using Zoom
5. You can share files for collaboration between all members
The free version of Zoom will be enough for a large chunk of the small teams. However, misleading end-to-end encryption claims by the company have raised plenty of questions against its security.
TeamViewer
TeamViewer is the application that introduces users to a world of remote desktop access. Its remote access software allows users to establish a connection with a remote device or network. It facilitates improved processes for IT support and enables streamlined cooperation among teams working in different locations.
Remote access software works by developing a connection between the host and the local device. Once the connection is established, the two machines are connected by a secure desktop sharing network that allows you full control of remote devices and their resources.
Besides, TeamViewer caters to those using this program for meetings by providing a text chat feature and a whiteboard.
Time Doctor
Time Doctor is a multi-functional time tracking app that lets you monitor your employee productivity during work hours. Large companies like Verizon and small enterprises like Thrive Market use Time Doctor to manage their remote working teams.
This app analyzes all the websites and portals they access. It tracks users and also designs a progress report without invading their privacy. This feature lets you categorize the sites and apps they use in the following groups:
1. Productive
2. Unproductive
3. Neutral
4. Unrated
It has a simple interface so everyone in the company can use it with zero issues. The app has an advanced security system to ensure that users’ data stays protected.
All credit card transactions process through Stripe’s secure encryption, which is the encryption used by some leading banks. Also, there is regular penetration testing such as the one in the airG scam free apps. This is to provide the highest possible level of security.
RescueTime
The name “RescueTime” sounds similar to that of TimeDoctor. This app also tracks your activities and generates a performance report of your employees. It helps the user and their subordinates to focus on their work and get more done in less time. Companies can also use RescueTime to track their employees without intruding on their privacy.
Working from home could make people feel relaxed and distracted. The leading authorities need to keep an eye on how employees are spending their time. This is to ensure that they stay alert and work hard.
Parting Thoughts
Working from home can be challenging. The entire fleet of troubles and distractions may make you stressed as you fail to achieve better outcomes.
However, with the right time tracking, communication, and project management tools – managing work from home could be a breeze.
All it requires is dedication, effective tools, and a little bit of research before you go for downloads. You are likely to notice a substantial difference in yourself as well as your team’s productivity.
Don’t forget to let us know how it goes!
