Remote work took the world by storm as a result of the COVID19 pandemic, and it looks like it's here to stay for many companies. While numerous studies have found that remote workers are healthier, more productive, enjoy a better work-life balance, and tend to take less time off sick while being more likely to stay in their jobs for longer, there are some downsides to remote working, with tech challenges being some of the most common. Thankfully, there are several strategies and tools that every business can make use of to overcome these issues and ensure that all employees enjoy the full benefits of remote working. 

Security Risks:

Despite working from home being more comfortable and offering more freedom to employees, the main downside is that the security risks are much higher. Remote workers can often be seen as an easy target by hackers who know that most of us haven't changed our Wi-Fi password from the factory settings that it came with. To keep employees secure, employers should consider using something like managed IT services in the Dallas-Fort Worth area from Total IT. 

Remote Collaboration:

Without the right tools, remote collaboration on projects can quickly become very frustrating. When a team of designers are all spread out across different locations, for example, they will not be able to interact with documents, items, projects, and one another with the same freedom that they would have in the office. However, this does not have to be a tech problem that your team deal with on a daily basis, due to the large number of collaboration tools out there designed for breaking down the barriers that can be common with remote working. 

Slow Connection:

An all-too-common problem that we saw a lot of when more people started working from home at the beginning of the pandemic, a slow connection at home can make remote working trickier. Home Wi-Fi networks are not normally quite as powerful as business Wi-Fi and internet systems, and in some cases they might struggle to keep up, especially if there are lots of people accessing the network at the same time. Employers are increasingly providing employees with better home Wi-Fi access in order to make it easier to do their jobs without getting disconnected. 

No IT Support:

For companies that have in-house IT support, getting support to employees when they need it remotely can be a challenge. Often, IT support staff are only used to working within the office environment and if they are also working from home, the standards of support might become nowhere close to what employees are used to. It is advisable for companies who are considering going fully remote after the events of 2020 to consider working with an outsourced IT company with experience handling remote workers alongside their own IT professionals. 

Before 2020, remote working wasn't all too common, but now it's become the norm for the majority of office workers. Many companies are considering continuing remote work for its many benefits, but it's wise to be ready for overcoming these common tech challenges.