The Impact of Remote Work on Workload Management and Resource Allocation
In the last four years, we have seen a tremendous shift in how many businesses operate. Work is no longer tied to an office desk inside a tall corporate office building, which was the norm before. Now, you can work anywhere you want as long as you have a laptop and reliable internet connectivity—the age of remote work has arrived. per
Remote workers can work in coffee shops, public libraries, or even in front of the beach. They are no longer confined to the four walls of an office building in a business district. In other words, remote work offers flexibility as a perk.
You can attribute the rise of remote work to the arrival of new digital technologies and better internet connections. You can complete your tasks without the need to report to work physically. You discovered that people can still perform their jobs well without being tied to office spaces.
However, like any other work setup, remote work has advantages and challenges. This article explores the impact of remote work on managing workloads and allocating resources.
1. Managing productivity
One of the biggest concerns managers face when teams transition to remote work is productivity. Many managers worried that it could adversely affect worker productivity. However, a study showed the opposite. It listed increased workers’ productivity as an impact of remote work. The study added that another impact of remote work is fewer non-essential meetings. It allowed people to focus more on doing their tasks rather than spending many hours in meetings.
Meanwhile, teams are also confronted with challenges in doing work remotely in the long term, such as lack of supervision, time management, and distractions, all of which could hurt maintaining productivity.
Meanwhile, teams are also confronted with challenges in doing work remotely in the long term, such as lack of supervision, time management, and distractions, all of which could hurt maintaining productivity.
For example, whenever your team members break a milestone in their projects, you could congratulate them for a well-done job. If you see them working hard in the past few weeks to meet the deadlines, you could send them a note saying, “Keep up the good work!” These might be simple gestures, but they have a huge psychological impact on your team members.
2. Prioritizing tasks
Sometimes, teams may become inundated with work, with each member dealing with many tasks. If you only send them what needs to be done without discussing the specifics of the tasks, it might become more challenging for them to accomplish multiple tasks. As a result, they might become overwhelmed with how to complete multiple tasks simultaneously.
First, you discuss with your team members what tasks fall under your team’s jurisdiction. Also, explain to them the amount of work required to accomplish each task. You can emphasize the task which should be the team’s priority. Usually, there are identified deadlines for each task so you can prioritize tasks with the earliest deadlines.
Second, you group the tasks according to the type of workload. Generally, you can classify a workload as primary or secondary. What tasks are considered to be primary? These are the most significant tasks that your team needs to finish because they play a crucial role in attaining and achieving the organization’s goals.
Usually, these tasks are part of your team’s core functions. Remember that the primary workload should be your priority. These tasks are typically time-sensitive and have a greater impact on your organization.
Workloads that fall under secondary, on the other hand, are tasks your team needs to finish that are not time-sensitive. Consider secondary workload because sometimes employees can be too preoccupied with doing many secondary tasks. It is essential to strike a balance between the two types of workloads. Do not allow your team to focus on secondary tasks so they have little time for primary workloads.
It is highly recommended that you tap workload management tools so everyone in your team has a shared understanding of primary and secondary tasks and becomes aware of the tasks that need to be first on their lists.
A good task management tool you could use is the Eisenhower Matrix. The tool can help you prioritize tasks based on urgency and importance. With this tool, you will group your tasks into four:
- Tasks that you need to do first
- Tasks that you can schedule later
- Tasks that you can delegate to someone else
- Tasks that you can delete.
If you find it difficult to manage people and distribute tasks, you may opt to take classes or enroll in an MBA program to learn new ways of managing a team. There are quite a lot of schools offering online MBA programs. You might ask, “Is an online MBA worth it?” An online MBA program is ideal for busy working professionals like you because it offers flexibility similar to a remote work setup, which allows you to learn without being out of work. So, you could try enrolling in the program and broaden your knowledge of managing people, workload, and tasks.
3. Balancing work-life balance
Several managers tend to assign tasks to team members without considering the even distribution of tasks. As a result, only a handful of team members carry most of the tasks while others are doing less.
You can have a list of tasks with corresponding assigned individuals to give you a holistic view of task distribution. If only a few individuals carry most of the team’s workload, those individuals might get burned out quickly.
You must check each team member’s workload before assigning a new task. If an assignment requires a specific skill set and you can only assign it to a particular individual, you could transfer the tasks that the specific individual is already doing to another team member before giving them the new task.
Please consider the individual capacity of your team members. How many tasks can they accomplish in a given time? How many hours did they devote to completing a task? This information will guide you in distributing the workload equally to everyone on the team.
You can also set up a virtual meeting to ask how they feel about their current work assignments and who wishes to have less or more on their plate.
4. The workload of each member
Some managers tend to assign tasks to team members without considering the even distribution of tasks. As a result, some team members carry most of the tasks while others have the fewest.
You should have a list of tasks, and to whom they were assigned so you have a holistic view of the task distribution. If only a few individuals carry most of the team’s workload, those individuals might get burned out quickly.
You must check each team member’s workload before assigning a task. If that assignment fits a particular team member, you could transfer the tasks they are doing before giving them the new task.
You can consider how much an individual can accomplish in a given time and the number of hours that individual devotes to complete the task. It will serve as a guide on whom you will assign a task and not overload any team members.
You could also talk to them in a virtual meeting to ask how they feel about their current work assignments and who wishes to have less or more on their plate.
5. Coordinating tasks
Another impact of remote work among teams is facing challenges in coordinating projects and tasks. Unlike in a synchronous setup, if you want an update on a task, you visit the person’s desk and ask them for an update. Getting updates can be more challenging in a remote setup, primarily when no system exists.
Things get more complicated if your team members reside in different time zones. You must design a system for efficient tasks and project coordination to meet your client’s needs. Various workload management systems are available that could improve team coordination and collaboration.
An excellent approach to initiating a project is a meeting with your team. You could use it to explain the project’s scope and goals. Having a common understanding of the project among team members is crucial to get it done. Explaining everything while the project is already halfway done would be counterproductive.
Next, communicate regularly to get updates on the project and let team members discuss concerns they encountered along the way. If things need clarification, you can hop on a call with them to answer their queries. Tools such as WhatsApp, Zoom, Google Meet, and Discord can help you stay in touch with your team.
The team’s workload and capacity are crucial to remote work
Remote work is the new normal, and experts believe it will continue to persist soon. The impact of remote work on workload management and resource allocation has led to adopting a new work model suited for a virtual setup. Although remote work positively affects workload management, teams face challenges working remotely.
Redesigning your management strategy to be adaptable to working remotely significantly makes your team productive. Look into the key areas and tips to effectively manage your workload remotely.
