What does remote work mean? The basics you need to know

by Susan Mullin

Unrecognizable woman sitting at desk working on laptop.

After pandemic-era layoffs and a general shift in workplace culture, many more of us are working from home. Many had no choice but to transfer to online working, in order to minimize contact risk at on-site locations. The term “remote work” is everywhere, but what exactly does it mean?

Put simply, it refers to a job that does not require you to commute to a physical office. This is often used interchangeably with the term “work from home.” In reality, remote work allows you to log onto your job from anywhere you want. It is a larger term that encompasses working from home. It can also refer to working from another space, whether that’s a shared workspace, from across the world, a local coffee shop, etc. The beauty of it is the flexibility. Workers who may not be in the same 100 miles radius can still work together.

What it is

Technological advancements grant us the opportunity to work at jobs that are not on-site. Meetings, team management, and presentations can all be done through online platforms such as Zoom, Slack, CiscoWebex, etc. More companies are transferring to a remote work style each year as more tools are developed. A job can be fully remote meaning the employee works full time (around 40 hours) remotely or you can also be remote on designated days of the week. Companies are constantly experimenting with different organizational work structures to find a flexible practice that works best for everyone. 

Remote work, whether from the home or any other space of choice, has been gaining traction for quite a few years and shows no signs of slowing down. Statistics on attitudes towards WFH practices and productivity promise encouraging results showing us that remote work is the future.

Check out our other blogs related to remote work and its trends. 


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Posted in , Remote Work