Top Remote Working Challenges and How to Overcome Them

Remote teams come with their fair share of remote working challenges. It might sound silly, but managing remote teams is kind of like trying to herd cats. Remote employees are independent and are masters of their own wills. 

But they also tend to get lost in the remote work jungle over time. It will definitely take “out of the box” solutions to keep these digital felines happy. 

We, therefore, attempt to get to the root causes of the remote working solutions through this blog. After addressing the challenges properly, we’ll lay down the solutions. 

We’ll also talk about why remote work is everybody’s cup of tea in spite of the challenges. Finally, we’ll talk about how Remunance contributes to solving remote working challenges. Here, you can expect:

• To relate to your daily fights if you’re a remote worker
• Take this blog as your playbook to fight your daily fights 

Let’s get started! 

What Are the Remote Working Challenges? 

Even with millions of fan followers, remote work couldn’t prove itself to be flawless. With time, both employers and employees started to discover the challenges of remote teams. 

Hence this section is dedicated to the global workforce challenges of remote teams. Let’s first have an overview of the day-to-day remote working challenges. Following which, we’ll discuss each of the factors in detail.

• Lack of Boundaries Between Work and Personal Life
• The Difficulty of Multitasking and Time Management
• Household Interruptions and Distractions
• Feelings of Isolation and Loneliness
• Communication Breakdowns
• Tech Issues and Compatibility Problems
• Health Issues from Poor Work Environments
• Limited Career Growth and Advancement
• Challenges of Cross-Cultural Collaboration
• Increased Cybersecurity Risks

Let’s now examine each of the above factors closely.

Work Never Ends

The constant blurring of boundaries between work and personal life is one of the most common challenges. Remote workers often tend to:

• Have the physical distinction between their work environment and home space
• Struggle to “switch off” and extend work into personal time
• Be available constantly, leading to overwork and burnout
  

The above pointers have been backed by statistical data as well. A Buffer research reported that 27% of remote workers had problems with “unplugging” from work. 

Take, for example, Sarah, a remote marketing personnel working from home in a one-bedroom apartment. 

Another one of the biggest remote working challenges is self-management. What I mean by that is handling multiple tasks and priorities at the same time. 

Without the traditional office setup, organizing tasks according to priority becomes difficult. 

Unexpected interruptions from family, pets, or other distractions are inevitable remote-working challenges. For example, can a graphic designer maintain the same level of creativity when two of his young children demand his constant attention? No right?

FlexJobs once surveyed 1,100 remote-working parents and made a striking realization. They found that 36% of them were facing some sort of distraction during their workday.

How is this impacting the employers?

• Employees often deliver half-hearted output due to their divided attention
• They get thrown off their important schedule while managing global workforce challenges for remote teams 
• Employee reliability decreases even for high-performing but inconsistent employees 

The Solitude Struggle

Now, let’s consider you’ve set up a cozy, comfortable, and secluded workstation for yourself. What does that mean? 

Yes! Working in isolation. The factor that easily takes a lead in the remote working challenges. 

Who gets most affected by this loneliness?

• Employees who thrive in social environments.
• Employees who need regular team collaboration to maintain productivity and job satisfaction.
• Employers who struggle to boost employee morale while managing remote teams.
• Employers who struggle to keep up with the unconventional challenges of managing remote teams. For example, fluctuating mental health of employees, which involves stress and anxiety. 

Here are the current and future trends of remote work for your reference.       

Remote Work’s Silent Killer—Miscommunication

Limited face-to-face interaction is the major cause of miscommunication. This gives birth to another one of the crucial remote working challenges.

Technology in the modern day cannot afford to be anything but perfect. This is especially applicable when it comes to international remote work.

Yet, it proves to be a significant contributor to remote working challenges. How?

• Tech glitches due to slow internet
• Task delays due to incompatible software
• Unavailability of tech support when it’s an emergency  
• Unexpected system crashes leading to loss of work 

Now, assume a software developer fails to track the real-time changes on a code made by his colleagues. The reason? Connectivity issues and frequent outages. Not a very happy scenario. Is it? 

When Comfort Turns Unhealthy

Do you believe in the saying, “Your couch is the devil’s playground”?  If you don’t, start believing. Because this is what happens when you get too comfortable on your couch.

• You become prone to chronic back and neck pain without proper ergonomic setups.
• Sitting in a poor posture for a long time can lead to physical strain and musculoskeletal issues.
• Lack of mobility can cause mental block alongside physical health concerns among remote teams.

Remote Work Can Feel Like a Career Stalemate

What does remote work have to do with career progression? Let’s see

• Lack of visibility due to virtual interactions
• Limited internal or external networking opportunities
• Fewer chances for spontaneous collaborations with the organization’s leadership team
• Plateaued and inconsistent feedback or mentorship from senior leaders

Now do you see how remote working challenges contribute to a stalled career?

How does it affect the employers?

• Drifting employees focus on work
• Increased employee turnover 
• Recurring hiring costs of replacing old candidates and training the new ones

Cultural Collaboration That Is Lost in Translation

Cultural frictions are real in international remote work. Multiple factors play the root cause of this friction.

• Language barriers
• Different cultural work styles
• Diverse communication styles

For example, Japanese people prefer being present in a meeting before time. Additionally, they prefer very detailed communication, which sometimes involves emotional quotient as well. This completely misaligns from the U.S. working culture.

They prefer quick, high-level discussions. Even joining a meeting a few minutes late is no big deal for the US employees. This is the exact kind of behaviour that is totally unacceptable in Japanese culture.

All these factors cumulatively add up to remote working challenges.  

The “Click, Hack, Attack” Risks of Remote Work

What I am talking about here is cybersecurity. It’s one of the pressing concerns when it comes to remote working challenges. What causes data breaches in international remote work?

• Phishing scams and social engineering attacks due to insecure Wi-Fi networks
• Complex data security policies across various jurisdictions  
• Lack of VPNs, multi-factor authentication, and employee cybersecurity training

In fact, Cyberwarfare In The C-Suite released a special report during the pandemic. Do you know what was in the report? It predicted that costs from cybercrime damages would go up to USD 6 trillion globally. It further predicted that the numbers would rise by 15% over the next 5 years. Scary, isn’t it?

We’ve come to the end of the remote working challenges section. I hope the content helped you precisely with global workforce challenges in remote teams. If you still find this information to be inadequate, you can read our comprehensive guide for remote working.

How to Overcome Remote Working Challenges?

Now, only establishing the remote working challenges won’t do any good to you. Would it? We’ll have to come up with plausible solutions to redirect you to the right path. 

Let’s see how we can make international remote work easy for both employers and employees.

Set Limits & Balance Work and Life Like a Pro

• Define work hours to set clear boundaries 
• Create dedicated workspaces
• Be clear on expected deadlines 
• Map your workflow to avoid going off schedule 

Employers need to be stricter on task completion while maintaining flexibility on working hours. This will reduce the challenges of managing remote teams drastically.  

Stay on Track & Create a Distraction-Free Zone

• Use tools like Google Calendar or Time Buddy to track your work
• Minimize interruptions by setting clear expectations with family members or roommates
• Turn off or mute notifications from irrelevant apps to further avoid distractions

Employers can enforce a no-commotion policy for remote teams to minimize distractions. This will help in managing remote teams better.

Automate Repetitive Tasks

• Avoid getting on repetitive calls constantly to follow up on the same tasks
• Implement tools like Trello or Asana to track tasks and deadlines automatically
• Save time by automating important notifications and setting timely reminders for remote teams   

This way, you can end up with organized international remote work

Stay Social & Build Connections Beyond the Screen

• Schedule virtual coffee breaks or team-building activities
• Have regular interactions beyond work with your colleagues  
• Share your hobbies and preferences to build a sense of community within your remote team  
• Some companies assign a SPOC (usually a psychologist) for employees’ mental well-being  

These actions take care of the social barriers that come with remote working challenges.   

Stay in Sync & Make Communication Crystal Clear

• Establish clear channels and communication protocols to avoid misunderstandings  
• Implement tools like Slack or email for regular check-ins 
• Participate in events like virtual happy hours, interest-based clubs, or online game sessions with your remote team. This will further boost communication. 

An open and two-way communication between the employer and the employees reduces remote working challenges significantly.    

 

Stay Prepared & Tech-Proof Your Workflow

This is for the remote employees:

• Make sure you have a reliable and strong internet connection
• Install the right software tools and keep your backups in place  
• Take help from the IT team in terms of securing your devices or troubleshooting

Employers should ensure that remote teams are technically equipped to avoid any global workforce challenges. 

Invest in Training and Development

This is exclusively for employers: 

• Offer online courses, webinars, or workshops to your remote team
• Leverage video tutorials, documentation, and mentoring systems during the onboarding process
• Provide regular feedback and focus on the performance metrics of your remote teams 

This will help your remote employees know your company culture better. Additionally, it will help the team with constant skill development. 

This will increase their productivity and help you reap the most out of international remote work.

Virtual Highways to Advance Your Career Remotely

These pointers are dedicated to the employees:

• Leverage virtual conferences and online networking platforms as much as possible 
• Schedule regular meetings with the leadership team of your company and get their insights
• Build a results-oriented work environment (ROWE) to stay focused 

The thing is, you’ve limited access to in-person mentorship or to connecting with industry leaders. Hence, these are your chances to grow professionally and avoid career-related remote working challenges.

Turn “One Team, Many Cultures” into a Remote Work Superpower

This is for the employers:

• Be respectful and acknowledge different cultures and communication styles within your remote teams
• Educate yourself and your remote teams about cultural diversity 
• Encourage your remote team members to share their unique perspectives
• Convert this diversity as a tool for creativity rather than an obstacle

You’ll see that global remote work becomes a lot more fun and innovative if you follow these practices.   

Smart Solutions for Remote Work Security

• Follow company-wide security protocols like encrypted communication channels and secure password management
• Share files only through trusted cloud-based platforms like Google Drive, Dropbox, or Microsoft OneDrive 
• Have rigid guidelines to protect confidential data and sensitive information to avoid costly breaches

The said solutions in this section will provide you with realistic ways to cope with remote working challenges. Honestly, following such an exhaustive guideline might feel a little intimidating at times. 

That’s why we have come to our next section. Here we explain why it’s worth it to fight the remote working challenges.   

Here’s a glimpse of how we address your concerns about remote working challenges.  

Remote Work– Challenging, But Worth It 

Even with the visible remote working challenges, it still remains a common favorite in corporates. Why? Because neither employers nor employees can deny that they scoop a significant portion of perks out of international remote work.

What are those perks? Let’s see.    

• You, as an employee do enjoy the freedom of no commute, no dress code, and a comfortable workspace. You’re totally in for the pajama productivity!   
• As an employer, you get to hunt talent across the globe. Even better, you don’t have to pay any hefty office rent. So, more brains, fewer bills.
• Happy employees stick around. With all the flexibility, they do try to avoid any shift.
• With the right tools, remote teams talk, plan, and execute like they’re in the same room. Also, you don’t have to deal with any office drama.
• A global team brings fresh ideas and bold thinking. Innovation doesn’t need a zip code.
• When life throws curveballs, international remote work keeps business rolling. No office? No problem.
• Need to grow fast? Remote teams scale up without breaking a sweat or your budget.
• Lastly, live guilt-free. Fewer cars, less pollution, and a happier planet. Remote work is good for business plus the Earth. Isn’t that a win-win?  

Overcome the Challenges of Managing Remote Employees with Remunance 

Managing remote teams takes a lot more effort than just getting on a call. Also, you must be well aware of the remote working challenges by now. 

So, after such a hectic read, here’s the good news: Remunance has spent 21 years turning remote working challenges into highly functional remote teams.

Now the question is, why Remunance? Because we’ve seen it all

• We have experience that speaks volumes: With 1,123+ employees and 7 offices across India, we know international remote work inside out.
• Global Know-How: Having a client base across 22+ countries, we understand the quirks of working across borders.
• Custom Solutions: We don’t do short-cuts in offering solutions. We fine-tune our services to match client expectations.

How We Make Remote Work…Work  

• One expert team, zero chaos: We have a dedicated team to manage everything from payroll to compliance for your remote teams. No running around here.
• We’re coherent with compliance: We ensure that your remote team is compliant with local labor regulations.
• We onboard like a Pro: Our employee relations team has a record of onboarding 17 employees on a single day. Yes, you read that right!
• Engagement that Sticks: No more disengaged teams. We help you create a work culture that thrives, even remotely.

With Remunance, remote work doesn’t have to come with its common challenges. Let’s build a remote team that’s truly fun to work with. 

And don’t just take my word for it. Here’s multiple of our clients speaking the same thing! See for yourself.        

Want a team free of remote work challenges? 

Get on a call with us now!