3 Factors to Consider When Assigning Your Employees as Remote Workers

Are many of your employees working from home this year? Or perhaps you’re considering hiring remote workers from now on? You’re not alone.

More business owners are choosing to have their employees work from home. In many cases, it has lowered costs and made for happier employees. 

But is it really that easy? 

There are plenty of benefits to shifting to remote work. Yet, what do you need to keep in mind when your employees are working from home and how can you ensure they stay productive?

Keep reading for three factors to keep in mind when you have remote workers on your staff.

1. Communication will be different for remote workers.

How are you going to communicate with your remote workers? How are they going to communicate with each other?

You’ll want your employees to be able to talk to each other as if they were in the office. To accomplish this, some employers choose to hold mandatory meetings over video chat. Not all remote employees are happy with this. However, if they’re brief and laser-focused, they can foster great communication. 

Remote workers with unreliable video equipment, who live with children coming in and out of their home office spaces, may be better off with phone meetings or a text-based chat platform.

2. Compensation for remote workers.

Not all businesses are going to have to worry about this, but anyone who hires outside of their local area needs to keep compensation in mind.

Paying remote workers who live around the world isn’t the same as paying ones who live in your city. 

You’re going to have to take into consideration the minimum wage of the areas where your employees work as well as the cost of living.

Employees who work full-time should be able to survive on your wages, but an employee in Kansas will have a very different experience from an employee in New York. Adjust accordingly.

3. Ensure your remote workers have a proper, ergonomic home office setup.

Happy employees are more productive employees. Your remote worker’s home office setup will play a key role in their happiness and work productivity. For example, working from your bed with a laptop won’t yield the same results as working at a desk with a proper home office setup.

A proper home office setup should be designed with ergonomics in mind. This includes ergonomic furniture like the desk and chair, as well as ergonomic gadgets like the mouse, keyboard, and monitor. It may take a small financial investment from the employer or employee, but we suggest an ergonomics assessment to assist your company in setting up a home office for your remote workers.

Right now, companies like Solutions Northwest Inc. are offering virtual ergonomic assessments specially designed for remote workers. During an ergonomics assessment, an ergonomics consultant will help you design the ideal home office setup for comfort, injury prevention, and work productivity.

Just because your employees are working remotely doesn’t mean you can stop catering to their needs.

Using remote workers can give your business a huge boost. Make sure you consider several factors before assigning your employees to remote work. Consider everything that comes along with remote workers and prepare yourself for your new venture. 

If you’d like some assistance on the perfect home office setup for your remote workers,  contact our ergonomics experts at Solutions Northwest Inc. and inquire about their affordable virtual ergonomics assessment.

Looking for more tips on how to create an ergonomic workspace? Contact us at SolutionsNW.com, we will be happy to help you!

At SolutionsNW.com we value the importance of a positive workplace culture. Part of a positive workplace is a safe workplace, Contact Us to schedule an ergonomics consultation or ergonomics assessment for your office today.

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