Working Remotely

George Bogner – Working Virtually

When you’re at work, nothing sounds more amazing than a toasty day indoors with your favorite blanket and being able to sleep in. When you’re at home, you reminisce about making jokes with your co-workers and wonder what is on the menu for lunch that day. The paradox between working remotely versus working in the office is being faced by millions upon millions of people right now during this pandemic.

As I have been granted the opportunity to work remotely for nearly the past few weeks, there have been many positive attributes that I have gained from the experience. First and foremost, at this point, it has become a daily routine to wake up and log onto a WebEx or Zoom meeting. Prior to working from home, the idea of logging into a web-based application for meeting was very foreign. Becoming comfortable in using this software and ultimately learning how to run my own virtual meetings is a very particular skill to learn in itself. Furthermore, throughout this time working remotely, I have been able to fine tune my writing and speaking when it comes to contacting customers. Learning new sales tips, ways to approach certain situations, and being able to add to my arsenal of selling knowledge has been very interesting as well as refreshing. Overall, the traits and skills worked on and learned throughout this time will be very beneficial when we are “back to normal” to say the least.

With their being pros to a new experience, there is always some cons. First, technology is always not reliable, no matter how advanced we become. Getting everyone online to attend a virtual meeting can be a challenge for management. In addition, the lack of consistency from different internet providers and as well as the actual software crashing, creates problems in the remote world. Another con would be related to the accessibility of management. Yes, management may be a phone call or an email away, but the ability to walk into your managers office to ask questions and layout certain tasks is something that is most definitely taken for granted. Losing the human to human interaction in person with your peers is the largest negative from working remotely.

Overall, I believe the future of the work force will be geared towards working remotely or virtually, but in due time. Over the next few weeks, the world will have come close to perfecting the work at home work space. Lastly, I believe there will be a proper balance of going into the office versus working from home once the COVID19 “Stay at Home” order is vacated.