The arrival of the pandemic has changed all the parameters of our lives, from the way we relate to even the way we organize our time. Within the workplace, large companies have had to know how to adapt to the health requirements agreed by the different countries on the obligation to keep distance and stay at home and it is, in part, thanks to this situation, how they have ended up establishing a revolutionary and innovative way of carrying out work days. We are talking about smart working, a flexible working day in which teleworking and flexible hours take precedence over all responsibilities.
If this topic interests you and you want to know more, stay to read this new article from OneHOWTO in which we will develop the topic of smart working: what it is, advantages and disadvantages , so that you can be clear about what to expect if you are looking for a new and more productive way to do your work from anywhere and adapting to your pace of life.
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What is smart working
Smart working is a different way of working and organizing working time in which the mobility of workers and their time flexibility are prioritized . It has been shown after the toughest months of the pandemic that most workers have not only increased their levels of productivity and performance, but have considerably improved their quality of life.
This is because smart working brings into play the use of office automation, new technologies and teamwork to be able to carry out work in a more dynamic and attractive way for workers but with the same results.
In this way, workers can better reconcile family life, adapting work to their personal schedules and not having to go to the office in person every day. Better communication between employees and the company has also been developed by having greater mutual trust .
However, this type of work is still in full development and, although many companies have had to take part during the pandemic, smart working is still something new and constantly changing.
Advantages of smart working
Smart working is a type of work in which both the workers themselves and the companies can benefit. Among all the results that have been measured since it has begun to practice, these have been its main advantages:
- Employees are free to choose when, where and how they work , making it much more accessible and compatible with different lifestyles.
- A lot of money can be saved by the company in matters such as office rental, cleaning and infrastructure.
- Employees, for their part, save much more money on transportation and subsistence , being able to work and eat from the tranquility of their home or in other nearby places.
- Employees will be able to carry out their activities simply by having a computer or laptop and access to the network , greatly reducing costs.
- With this work model, a better family conciliation can be achieved , being able to attend to maternity or care for the elderly without lowering productivity.
Disadvantages of smart working
However, we must not forget that smart working is only recently beginning to be implemented and still has some inconveniences and disadvantages for which some companies have not yet wanted to increase it. These are its main disadvantages:
- Smart working initially requires willpower . We are used to having schedules and spaces such as offices and, going from that to the comfort of your own home, can generate some distraction on the part of the workers.
- For employees, it can be difficult at first to be able to separate spaces and, although in the long run it improves the quality of life, in the first few months it can be a mental health challenge.
- When it comes to developing teamwork or meetings, it becomes more complicated to put the points in common since the staff is decentralized . Fortunately, with new technologies and video calls, this problem has a possible solution.
- Smart working is not yet legally formalized in some countries and can cause complications with other companies until there is a regulation that covers this work system.
- The duties and rights of this work model have not yet been agreed before the law , so sometimes there are gaps in some companies in terms of private electricity costs, the counting of working hours or the management of Extra hours.
Smart working is a pioneering work model that is showing how it is no longer necessary to do intensive face-to-face sessions to be productive. There is still a long way to go but this type of system shows that another way of approaching work is possible.
Now that you have better understood what smart working is, its advantages and disadvantages, we recommend you read this other OneHOWTO article on How to start working from home .
