According to a survey done by the New York Times, there are 43% of Americans doing remote work. It shows that an increased number of people prefer to work remotely in the United States. Given the high number of remote workers, it’s regretful to see that only a few companies are embracing the remote work concept.
Allowing your employees to work from home gives them the flexibility of timing. Despite the benefits of remote work, some companies are still hesitant to move in that direction. Most managers still have misconceptions about remote work. If you are still hesitant whether your company needs to go the remote work route, here we bust the 5 common myths of remote work.
1. Remote developers are less productive
Research done by Stanford University shows that there is an increase in productivity in people who work from home. Working from the comfort of a home office means that employees don’t deal with the distractions from others in the office. Remote employees can have complete attention to their work.
2. The remote employees will not integrate with the other employees
A remote worker is a professional who is aware of your skepticism. As such the remote worker will do their level best to get your trust and respect. If you reciprocate the same, you’ll have a team player and a worker who will be committed to your organization’s overall success.
3. It’s hard to find qualified remote employees
You’ll not have a problem getting qualified workers when you know where to look. Remote developers fall into the following categories:
- Offshore body shops — they make up the majority of the workers out there. They are also the ones that contribute to the negative stereotypes. They will promise inexpensive services only to fail when it comes to delivery. You should avoid remote workers in this category by all means.
- Independent consultants — The quality you get from the workers in this category varies widely. There are inferior ones who you can detect easily due to their lack of communication. There are also premier ones who are not easy to find. If you find a premier independent consultant, they will be an asset to your organization.
- International freelance networking sites — there is an increase in the number of remote networking sites whose main aim is to connect companies with remote employees. You can find workers who offer top-notch work.
4. There will be language, culture, and time zone challenges
It’s true that when hiring a remote worker, there is potential for language, culture, and time zone challenges. Finding the right hire will help you avoid such challenges. Here are the challenges in detail.
- Culture — the cultural challenge you’ll find is in terms of moral and ethical standards. You can avoid the challenge by asking hypothetical questions to gauge the ethical and moral compass of the candidate.
- Language — it is essential to communicate with colleagues. Small misunderstandings can arise when there is a misinterpretation in language. Therefore, you should evaluate the candidate’s communication skills during the interview.
- Time zone — if the time zone is within 5 or 6 hours from yours, you’ll no doubt have some hours overlapping each day.
5. Remote employees are not as skilled as in-house employees
It is a widespread myth that remote workers are not skilled like their in-house counterparts. People have different reasons for working from home, and it does not mean they are not qualified. Quality is not determined by geographic location. Remote employees are qualified because they spend their time staying up to date with the technology and are committed to technical excellence.
Remote work is not about to go extinct and will likely stay forever. As time passes by, more and more companies will embrace the idea of remote work. If you have decided it’s time to hire remote developers, look no further than DevReady. You are guaranteed of on-Demand developers who are ready to work. Make a discovery call now.
