“Is there anything without risk?” This is an obvious question, whose answer, is not far fetched.
Whatever we engage ourselves in, at one point or another, has a likelihood of a negative outcome, which may sometimes, be or not be, controlled. One such activity is, working remotely.
Remote work is, constantly on the rise and it is, fast becoming a trend, especially, with more than half of the world, currently, on partial, or total lockdown, due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus that has been threatening human existence.
Now, more than ever before, many organisations are having a taste of the goodness of remote work and some might be wondering, why the method had not been employed, before now.
Truth is, we do not know the strength we possess, until we are pushed and having to give, more than is, usually, required, of us.
While working from home has its benefits, there are, also, challenges and risks that, come with it.
These risks must be taken into cognizance, with proper preventive measures, put in place.
“Shall we receive good at the hand of God and not receive evil?”, Job asked, in the Bible. Shall we, then, only reap the joys of remote work and not consider, that there are risks involved?
Risk, could be, on the part of the organisation, or the remote worker. While some of these risks are hidden, others could be as glaring as daylight.
Some of the adverse effects that should be watched out for, while working from home are highlighted below:
Indiscipline on the part of the staff
It would interest you to know that, having the “ability to work, with or without, supervision”, on many CV’s, could be, just a fallacy, after all. Many have stated this, as a strength, on their CV, but cannot do this, in the real sense of it.
The moment they are left on their own, they tend to slow down on their work and delve into other activities, like surfing the net and engaging friends on social media.
This could lead to low productivity, of the remote worker. Working from home, therefore, requires a high level of discipline by the staff, so, distractions will be put at bay.
Disruption to utility requirements at homes
A lot of other factors, such as, epileptic power supply, can make results from remote work to be delayed, putting the remote worker, at the risk of not meeting targets and deadlines.
Come very important appointments or contracts to be terminated, due to delays in delivery by ta staff working from home.
In a chat, with a friend, about two weeks ago, he mentioned that, he has never been so scared of losing his job, until remote work was introduced, by his company.
He bitterly complained about how some tasks were withdrawn from him and given to others, because he could not meet targets, due to power outage.
The company kept complaining about his low productivity and he got tired of explaining the situation of things.
At this point, it seems that, his appointment at the company is, at risk. Remote work, could, thus, pose a risk to job security.
Exposure to cybercrime using unsecured internet data source
Most transactions, from communication to sharing of contents, or data are, usually, done via the internet and these could expose the firm and clients, to risk of cybercrime, cyber impersonation and fraud.
Important data and information of value, may be lost in the process.
The moment a company is hacked, it stands the risk, of losing its client’s information, as well as the company’s information, which the hackers can use as bargaining chips, in blackmail.
There is a limit to what can be achieved working remotely
In most instances, it may not be possible, for the staff of manufacturing concerns, to work from home.
This is because, the machinery that are used, in the production processes, are too heavy to move about.
This, therefore, leads to, either redundancy, or, gross inefficiency and resulting in customer dissatisfaction, or loss, since targets are not met.
Compromising rules and procedures
Working remotely might warrant compromising steps, or procedures, like waiving authentication, or standard authorization.
Normal procedures, requiring authorization from one head of unit to another, might be compromised, during remote work, as connection with some key personnel may be lost.
When this happens, a choice between waiving such rules and procedures, so that work can go on, or wait until connection is achieved before proceeding.
Choosing any of these two options can, either compromise rules and procedures, or cause delays in delivery of tasks.
Susceptible to being robbed of devices and gadgets
A remote worker, could be at risk of theft, especially, at these times, when there are cases of robbery.
As we know, remote work cannot be effective, without working gadgets, e.g., iPad, Laptop, or smartphone, at the least and the loss of any of these important gadgets, will adversely affect a remote worker, nothing can be achieved without having access to these devices and gadgets.
Risks of working remotely, though, may not be avoidable, but these can be managed, hence, it is important, to preach discipline to your workers if they will have to work from home.
Go beyond the limit, to protect your network against cyber crime. You might need to employ the use of end-to-end encryption and any other necessary measures.
While putting in mind that, risks can be managed, do not forget that, prevention is better than cure, so, we should all continue to observe social distancing, regular hand washing, use of hand sanitizers, use of face mask and the use of hand gloves, when necessary, as well as avoiding crowded places, during this coronavirus pandemic.
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