It seems the working day is starting earlier and earlier – if you check your emails as soon as you wake up, the working day kicks off before you’ve even stepped out of bed. But, if you regularly check your work emails before you clock on, whether at home or on the way to work, should this count towards your working day?
Tag: work/life balance
There are loads of positives to freelancing and working remotely, not least that you can fit your work schedule around other priorities in life – doing away with the nine-to-five means freelancing can be particularly good for parents, who have to factor school runs and childcare into the working day.
A study from Kalido, a professional networking app, has found that as many as half (50%) of all workers are expected to turn freelance in the next two years. It also found that almost two-thirds (64%) of UK-based businesses currently rely on freelance workers in some capacity; and over a third (39%) of business owners predict that their use of freelancers will grow faster than their number of permanent hires in the next five years.
On the face of it, this is great for everyone’s life/work balance, but there’s evidence to suggest that a growth in remote working could lead to an increase in mental health issues, particularly for those who work alone at home.
If you’re a new parent, or you’ve ever had to juggle a job with a baby or a toddler, you’ll know just how much of a hassle it can be.
If you’ve ever worked freelance, had last-minute jobs land on your lap and chase clients for payments, you’ll know how much hassle that can be too.
If you’ve ever done both, it may have surprised you to learn that both can work perfectly together.
Around the world, we spend a combined 7.5 billion hours online every day, which adds up to 856,164 years spent browsing – that’s long enough to travel from Earth to Mars and back again.
1,426 times!
So, how exactly are we spending so much time connected to the internet? And are we wasting too much time online?
Could you manage a remote team? It’s one thing managing staff on site, but being in charge of a team you can’t physically catch up with requires a whole new skill set – not to mention a great deal of trust.
If you’re thinking of taking on remote workers, or encouraging existing staff to work from home, here’s how to effectively manage a remote workforce.