10 Most Common Challenges Your Remote Workers Face 

As remote teams continue to thrive, managers are appreciating the benefits of having flexible work arrangements.

Indeed’s Future Workforce Pulse Report shows that managers experienced a surge in total productivity after employing remote workers. Because of this success, the global remote workforce is expected to reach 36.2 million by 2025. For the American economy, this translates into 22% of the total workforce going remote. 

Speaking of remote workers, they appear to be happier, healthier, and more productive—thanks to their flexible schedules. But that’s just one side of the picture. Like everything else, some challenges accompany them.

Whatever they may be, it becomes management’s responsibility to resolve them. Pragmatic management would dissect these issues before working toward a resolution. 

Let’s talk about some of the commonly observed struggles of remote workers and how you can play your part in overcoming them:

1. Overworking 

Pre-pandemic, managers couldn’t imagine employing large remote teams. Yet, post-pandemic research has proved that remote workers work more than on-site workers. 

That’s because since your home life and office life are under the same roof, it can be difficult to switch off. There is no commute time to get out of the ‘work zone’, nor is there a ‘getting ready for work’ window to provide you with some time to arrange your thoughts before you commence work. 

With the 9-5 boundaries blurred, remote workers usually work beyond office hours and report staggering amounts of unpaid overtime. 

While this may be great news for businesses, it can have devastating effects on workers. Workers may complain of lacking work-life balance and risk burning out. Such toxic productivity is bound to catch up with your organization in the long term. 

Solution

Even the most talented of workers are only useful in their prime. Since remote workers are at a higher risk of burning out, here are some ways you can mitigate it:

• Use an automated time tracker to ensure workers stay within the weekly legal working hours. If you identify a worker constantly working overtime, ask them to step back and relax.
• Train workers in the art of time management so that they can deliver results within designated timeframes.
• Establish boundaries for those dealing directly with remote workers. Discourage them from approaching remote employees after hours. 

2. Constant Distractions

Whether it’s a parcel delivery, changing baby diapers, pets running around, or attending uninvited guests, remote workers may find themselves engulfed by unavoidable distractions. 

Distractions at work can reduce time and productivity. Workers may struggle with time management and rush through tasks to get things done. This may compromise the quality of work, as workers feel frustrated by interruptions. 

Solution 

Remote workers must learn to be accountable for their time to overcome distractions. Here are a few things that may help:

• Ask workers to create a work schedule to share with family and friends. This way, everyday interruptions are planned outside of critical work hours. Also, ask workers to share their work calendars with colleagues to politely decline any work disruptions.

• Install a time-tracking tool on employees’ devices to monitor their work. With updates and reports of their daily activities, you can ensure you’re there to spot unproductive behaviors and suggest solutions to avoid work delays.

• Modern tracking apps include distraction and idle time alerts. These effective tools nudge you to return to work when they sense prolonged inactivity. 

3. Time Mismanagement

Remote workers must learn to be experts at time management since they don’t have supervisors to oversee their progress and guide them in the right direction. It is hard enough to avoid distractions at home, let alone stay on top of designated tasks. 

When working from home, you require self-discipline to stay motivated all day. Without coworkers or managers to lay out a proper workflow, remote workers may struggle to decide what tasks are most critical.

A lack of discipline and supervision may lead to delays in completion and haphazard performance by remote workers. 

Solution 

Not all is doom and gloom; we have some tricks up our sleeves to help you resolve time management and productivity issues faced by remote workers:

• When it comes to enhancing productivity, your initial concern is determining the time required for various tasks. Time tracking tools offer a solution by monitoring on-site and remote workers daily.

By keeping track of their time on timesheets, you can see what task or project took what time. This may enable you to establish benchmarks for maintaining and enhancing turnaround times. Additionally, it helps identify any obstacles hindering productivity so that you can take prompt corrective measures.

You can also discover which remote workers are most time-efficient or productive, allowing you to assign tasks to the best-suited person.

• Tracking time can foster accountability by letting workers monitor their real-time productivity. Even when working remotely, workers can review their tracked time to get a good idea of how they spend their day and how to improve it. 

Using productivity and activity reports, you can share meaningful insights about their work patterns with workers to help them spot clumsiness. When workers work on improving their performance, they are more motivated to outdo themselves. 

• Use data from the time tracker to find opportunities to delegate work. If you see workers unable to complete their designated tasks, reassign some of their pending tasks to those with capacity. This can relieve the load on overworked workers and create a better balance of responsibility.

• Suggest time management techniques for remote workers. Use techniques that may have worked for you in the past for time-related challenges. Common examples of time management techniques are Pomodro, time blocking, eat that frog, Pareto Analysis, and so on.

• Help remote workers prioritize work. The best direction on what’s most important can only come from higher hierarchical levels. Set clear objectives and priorities for every project before it starts so that workers have a defined roadmap and workflow to stick to.

4. Alienation & Loneliness

One of the main challenges of working remotely is feeling alienated from your team.  Being away from the physical office setting means you’ll miss out on spontaneous lunches, coffee breaks, or unplanned conversations with colleagues. 

This absence makes it more difficult to establish deeper and meaningful bonds with coworkers and feel fully integrated into the team. Alienation could be a bigger issue in hybrid settings where some people work from home while the rest regularly work from the office. 

Working in isolation can be incredibly counterproductive for extroverts who feed off the energy of colleagues, tipping them off their game. 

Prolonged isolation, blurred work hours boundaries, and difficulty in maintaining work-life balance can take a serious toll on mental health. Those suffering from poor mental health can struggle in both their professional and personal lives. 

Solution

As a manager, it is essential to facilitate opportunities for your employees to connect and build relationships.

Here are some tips:

• Appoint a Team Engagement Manager or designate a supervisor to regularly check in on remote team members and conduct surveys to gauge engagement levels.

• Organize team gatherings or forums where individuals can openly discuss work obstacles and celebrate accomplishments.

• Initiate frequent brief calls with your remote employees to engage in casual conversations about topics not related to work, such as TV shows, pets, books, and more.

5. Weak Communication & Collaboration

Solid communication is the foundation for seamless teamwork. For remote teams, ensuring communication without a hitch can be integral to the team’s effectiveness. 

In their book Remote: Office Not Required, authors Jason Fried and David Heinemeier discuss how basing communication solely on meetings and emails can be unwise. They explain how discussions could be taken out of context, creating confusion among team members. Rather than collaborating on collective goals, team members would be involved in petty drama, impacting team spirit and productivity. 

Another downside of weak communication could be a lack of prompt feedback. Working away from supervision and guidance could mean workers continue working on false assumptions, inaccurate data, or in the wrong flow. This means you can expect hours of wasted time, energy, and other resources and lag in project milestones. 

Solution

The good news is that there are a lot of communication tools available to remove communication barriers. 

• Companies often utilize platforms such as Skype, Teams, or Slack, which enable both remote and in-office staff to engage in chat discussions on various topics.
• Regular video conferences within teams are an effective means to foster camaraderie among all members. Cultivating strong relationships with colleagues is crucial for an organization to work harmoniously.
• Encourage a policy of open communication by asking workers to take up queries and complaints as soon as they occur. This may help feedback and problem resolution faster and smoother.

6. Different Time Zones

Leveraging on the above point, poor communication could also result from team workers situated in different time zones. When this happens, coordination between team members suffers. 

For example, one worker may be waking up when another team member is fast asleep in another part of the world. This means remote workers in different time zones cannot rely on each other for prompt help, critical problem resolution, or even conduct frequent remote meetings. 

Solution

Employing remote teams from different time zones shouldn’t be a massive problem for proactive managers. 

• Firstly, make sure your remote workers adhere to their work schedules so that they can be reached within their work hours. 

Flexible workers who work typically outside office hours should establish consistent schedules and deliver their work during the same hours. This approach ensures their availability for smoother communication. 

• Emphasize asynchronous communication to facilitate collaboration across time zones. Employ tools like Trello, Asana, and Jira to make progress tracking and feedback exchange easier. This way, you can counter the unrealistic expectation of immediate responses and reduce the need for workers to be constantly available.

• Also, each worker should be provided with a handbook with FAQs and basic knowledge so they don’t find themselves clueless and stranded in search of help.

7. Cultural Differences

Apart from differences in time zones, cultural and religious differences could be a challenge in remote teams. People from various backgrounds, work ethics, and languages collaborating towards collective goals could sound exciting but be difficult to pull off. 

Workplace expectations could differ from region to region. For example, one culture may encourage working after hours, while another may advocate working strictly within the time parameters. Amidst such contrasting beliefs and practices, workers may become confused about how to do their work. 

Solution

• To mitigate potential conflicts, foster open discussions within your team regarding culture, religion, politics, and other relevant topics. Combine the strengths and experiences of people from various backgrounds to share the benefits of workforce synergy.

• Promote tolerance and acceptance across all subjects to create a safe environment. Additionally, model a policy of non-tolerance towards racism and bullying to ensure such issues never occur.

8. Technology Hiccups

You cannot expect your remote workers’ internet connections and computer devices to be as sophisticated as yours. Since office management undertakes regular maintenance and technical upgrades, remote employees are at a major disadvantage. 

When suffering from a technical hiccup, remote workers lack the knowledge and resources to get it resolved ASAP. This may delay work and cause collaboration problems if others are dependent on the output by remote workers to do their part. 

What’s worse? As management, you may suspect foul play to commit time theft, creating trust issues. 

Solution

• To avoid getting caught up in a technological mishap, arrange a backup plan for your remote employees. Discuss their current internet and computer arrangements with them, and ask what kind of backup the company could provide them with to ensure seamless work.

A backup computer, a cell phone plan for an internet hotspot, or a backup tablet could help workers carry on with their designated tasks until their issues are resolved. 

9. Uncertain Career Growth

Advancing in a professional career while working from home can be shaky due to reduced visibility. When workers aren’t on-site to prove work quality or build a solid rapport with the supervisor, management may not consider remote workers as serious contenders for big promotions. 

In reality, many managers lack experience overseeing remote employees. Due to difficulties managing remote workers’ output and quality of work, developing them for succession plans could be challenging. 

Solution

To ensure you’re being impartial and judging all workers on merit, here’s what you can do:

• Schedule regular conferences and video calls to ensure everybody has a chance to shine. From their contributions, you can gauge their talent and knowledge to fill bigger shoes.

• Take time out to have one-on-one sessions with workers. This would make them feel heard and give them a great chance to express themselves.

• If possible, encourage workers to show up at the office once or twice a week. This can help their FOMO on important career leaps and invisibility. 

10. Unhealthy Lifestyle

Office work tends to involve prolonged periods of sitting, regardless of where it’s performed. However, when working from home, it’s easier to fall into unhealthy habits. 

For instance, having snacks readily available nearby may lead to frequent grazing. Similarly, amidst heavy workloads, preparing a balanced meal might seem time-consuming, making you order a pizza frequently.

Another issue is the lack of physical activity. With remote work, there’s no need to dress up, commute, or interact with various coworkers. While this may initially seem appealing, it can pose a significant challenge for those who already struggle with maintaining an active lifestyle and making healthy choices.

Solution

This is a tricky one since it is primarily a personal decision. Still, as a manager, you can do a few things to encourage workers to make healthy choices. 

• Encourage remote workers to engage in regular physical activity and maintain a healthy diet. Hold seminars on the importance of creating a work-life balance.

• Ask workers to socialize with friends and family. Remind them to utilize their leaves to catch a break from the monotony of work. 

• Ask workers to set regular break reminders. Emphasize taking small breaks between busy periods to allow them to step outside, walk around, and inhale some fresh air.

Remote Work: Challenging but Worth it

Remote working carries a lot of potential benefits for workers and management, but you can’t possibly enjoy these unless you achieve a healthy work-life balance. There’s not much point in hiring remote workers if their job starts eating into their personal lives and vice versa.

Today, there is an app for nearly every possible work challenge. We urge you to discover the different management apps specialized in tackling particular issues. TimeBee is a fan-favorite in the time-tracking industry.

In this article, we have pointed out features of TimeBee that can help you resolve most of the issues in remote working arrangements. 

We have summed up the ten biggest challenges faced by remote workers, along with possible solutions you can offer to make life easier. Creating an equation where productivity maximizes personal growth can be tricky, but with trial and error, it can be achieved. 

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