Common Challenges of Remote Work

I’ve spoken to 5,000+ companies about Distributed & Remote Work Here are the 20 biggest problems they struggle with most: 1. ⏰ Timezones: Coordinating can cause delays and complicate scheduling, making spontaneous communication harder. 2. 💻 Equipment: Ensuring every remote employee has access to high-quality, reliable equipment is a logistical and financial nightmare. 3. 🌍 Offsites: Organizing offsites requires careful planning to accommodate different locations, time zones, and schedules. 4. ❤️ Community: Creating a sense of community and belonging in a distributed team requires intentional effort. 5. 🗣️ Cadence: Establishing a regular communication cadence that keeps everyone informed and engaged without overhead is a balance. 6. 🛡️ Cybersecurity: Increased points of access in a distributed network can pose significant cybersecurity risks. 7. 🧠 Documentation: Remote doesn’t work without, up-to-date documentation, that everyone feels responsible to create. 8. 🌐 Compliance: Navigating legal and compliance requirements across different regions is incredibly hard for small companies. 9. 💼 Career Development: Providing clear pathways for career advancement in a distributed model can be less straightforward. 10. 🏢 Office Space: Most spaces aren’t being used as often as expected, and having the flexibility to scale up or down isn't there yet. 11. 🎧 Distraction: Remote work may expose employees to home-based distractions, while others might miss the structured environment of an office. 12. 🕰️ Async/Sync: Many companies are not even close to the right balance between sync and async communication to drive momentum and progress. 13. 🛋️ Ergonomics: Ensuring that remote employees have ergonomically sound work setups to prevent health is overlooked but vital for long-term well-being. 14. 🔐 Security: With a distributed workforce, ensuring that all employees are well-versed in security best practices is crucial to safeguarding company data. 15. ❓Transparency: People don’t know what you work on unless you tell them. People don’t know you need help if you ask. 16. 🧍Isolation: Without the right balance of in-person time, especially for people without strong communities around them, loneliness is a problem 17. 🚨 Overworking: People didn't trust remote pre-covid because they didn’t know if people do their work. The bigger problem is overworking & burnout 18. 🛠️ Skill Shortage: Remote work alleviates geo-restrictions, yet the competition for top talent is fierce, reflecting a larger global skill shortage issues 19. 👁️ Employee Monitoring: Companies want to understand productivity, but the dystopian world of monitoring keyboard clicks in peoples homes is never it. 20. 📡 Technology Hiccups: The reliance on tech can lead to disruptions when there are internet outages or hardware malfunctions What is the biggest problem you think still has to be solved?

Since going remote 11 years ago, I’ve: - Walked my kids to school nearly every day - Moved every 2 years (LA, NYC, Dublin) - Worked at companies like I Will Teach, Reforge, Noom & Persefoni Remote work has been a game-changer for my career. But too often, the remote work conversation is all cheerleading and celebration. Yes, flexibility is incredible. But let’s be real—remote work isn’t a magic fix. It has hidden costs. Here are six 𝗽𝗵𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀 of remote work that rarely get discussed: 1️⃣ 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿-𝘁𝗵𝗲-𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 I learned the MOST by watching top performers handle deals, calls, and high-pressure moments. That kind of organic learning is harder to replicate remotely. 👉 𝗗𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀: Seek out high performers. Ask for feedback. Shadow colleagues via recorded calls. 2️⃣ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗙𝗛 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗽 You sit down to work. Then you see laundry. Then dishes. Then a quick errand. Before you know it, 30 minutes of deep work are gone. 👉 𝗗𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀: Use Do Not Disturb mode. Batch household tasks into breaks. Block distractions. 3️⃣ 𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸’𝘀 𝗚𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗖𝗲𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 A client once told me: “𝘐 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦.” Without casual office conversations, it’s easy to get overlooked for promotions. 👉 𝗗𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀: Speak up in meetings. Over-communicate your wins. Build visibility intentionally. 4️⃣ 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗲𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗙𝗮𝗱𝗲𝘀 A friend landed a remote job in 2022. Loved the flexibility. But when layoffs hit, he realized: 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗴𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗲. 👉 𝗗𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀: Reconnect with old colleagues. Set up networking calls. Proactively reach out to people. 5️⃣ 𝗔 𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲𝘀 When I worked remotely in Ireland for a US company, my workday stretched across 𝟭𝟱 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀. No clear off-switch. 👉 𝗗𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀: Set non-work hours. Plan personal activities in advance. Create a shutdown routine. 6️⃣ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗧𝗮𝘅 I remember pacing around Brooklyn, stuck on a project, feeling completely isolated. No feedback loop. No one to bounce ideas off. Just me in my own head. 👉 𝗗𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀: Build a small circle of trusted peers. Be intentional about offscreen socializing. Remote work is amazing—but 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁. The key is being intentional about managing these hidden costs so you can build a remote life that works for you. - My name is Chris Ming. Follow for tips to land a remote job, go remote, and how to move your family abroad. #remotework #remoteworking #futureofwork

Over the last 4 years, I've read 100+ articles on remote work. Truth is, there are 6 indisputable downsides we can all agree upon that most sales leaders don't know how to solve for. Here they are (and I'll even cite my sources): 1. Higher Rates of Depression "Fully remote [is] associated with an increased likelihood of anxiety and depression symptoms compared to in-person work, according to an analysis by the Integrated Benefits Institute" 2. Hard Time Disconnecting from Work 2023 Buffer study found that while 98% of those surveyed wanted to continue some form of remote, 22% reported having difficulty unplugging from work—with 81% checking email outside of work hours. 3. Perception of Lower Productivity A Stanford report found workers thought productivity was higher at home (~7% higher) while managers thought it was lower (~3.5% lower). Regardless of the reality, you may be 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙙 as being less productive. 4. Increased Chance of Being Laid Off A recent report from the Society for Human Resource Managers (SHRM) showed that remote workers are 35% more likely to face layoffs than their office-based peers.” Out of office, out of mind. 5. Bias against those not in the office UC Davis study found that the amount of time you’re 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙣 in office can affect your boss's perception of you. Not in the office & others are? Some bosses may be intentionally/unintentionally biased against you. 6. Some can't afford a killer home workspace No research here, just my own experience. Working from the kitchen table sucks. When we went to remote in March 2020, many sales reps just didn't have the right home work space because they couldn't afford it. Am I opposed to remote/hybrid work? Absolutely not. I think it's the future of work. But that doesn't mean we've perfected it yet and I think we can agree on these downsides and that we have a lot of work to do to make remote work as great as it could be. Have any of you seen work environments that have solved for all 6 of these? PS: if you want me to send you the link to the research on any of these, just ask me in the comments. Happy to share.

Remote work seems free, but what's the true cost? 1/ Infrastructure Costs Shift to Employees Imagine paying out of pocket for every pen and piece of paper you use. Suddenly, your electricity bill skyrockets because your home is your office. Employers save money while you shoulder the burden—how fair is that? 2/ Work-Life Balance Blurs Picture never truly being 'off the clock,' with work invading your sanctuary. Family dinners interrupted by urgent emails—sound familiar? Flexibility quickly morphs into the nightmare of always being available. 3/ Career Advancement and Visibility Feeling invisible at work because you're not in the office? You're not alone. Watching colleagues climb the ladder while you remain stagnant—frustrating, right? Building a career network from behind a screen feels impossible. 4/ Isolation and Mental Health Remote work can feel like solitary confinement—lonely and isolating. Missing the camaraderie of office banter can be deeply depressing. Team spirit and your own mental health take a hit without real interactions. 5/ Productivity Paradoxes Ever feel guilty for taking a break at home, fearing you're slacking off? Distractions at home can be overwhelming—kids, pets, chores. Struggling to prove your productivity without a manager's watchful eye. 6/ Diversity and Inclusion Setbacks Balancing work with caregiving can feel like an impossible juggling act. Not everyone has a quiet, comfortable place to work—inequality hits home. Tech issues at home can leave you feeling left out and frustrated. 7/ Long-Term Career Impacts Missing out on mentorship feels like a career sentence. Limited opportunities for skill development can stunt your growth. Your career trajectory feels uncertain without those vital in-person moments. What do you think? Do you agree with Elon Musk? Video Credits: Business Myopia