Skill

Over 43 million people in this works have taken the advantage of working remotely from their homes or other locations. 21st century has seen a revolution in remote working which many people thought was impossible. Of course technological development has contributed in a great way to this revolution but mainly it has been because of the many advantages or benefits that it has.

What is working remotely?

You will be working remotely if you are working away from your employers business place. Even if you are in the next block it is still working remotely. Working remotely largely happens over computers and internet.

Working remotely should not be confused with freelancing though. You are freelancing when you are not working for a particular employer but choosing the projects you want to work on whereas in working remotely you can be working for a particular employer or freelancing.

There are many reasons on why working remote is fast gaining popularity. Let us take a look at the most popular benefits of working remotely:

More family time: Around 51% of people who were working remotely have confirmed that they get more family time. The flexible working hours and the time saved in commuting gives them more time to concentrate on their children, spouses and relatives and be more involved in family activities. A better work and life balance is good for your own well being too.

Better productivity: Both the employers and the employees will confirm the fact that the ability to work remotely gives better productivity. This has also enables the employers to post a better retention. Also working remotely you can concentrate more on the job because there are no unnecessary distractions, not surprise meetings and no cooler talks. One more factor that contributes to increased productivity is the need of remote works to prove them because they are not present in office.

Less Stress: When you work remotely, you are subjected to less stress than the regular office environment. There are a number of factors that contribute to this; the first once is the reduction of commuting stress, secondly there is a reduction of stress from peers and thirdly there is a reduction of stress caused due to extra activities.

More earnings: This may sound a little strange to you but working remotely does save you a lot of money. You get to work in the environment that you are comfortable in and therefore you work more, which means more earnings. You save money on commuting and other small expenses that you may incur during traveling to and fro from office.

Remote working also benefits the employers because they do not have to invest in office space, heating costs, security, transports etc.

Better for the environment: Working remotely decreases the net CO2 emission. Telepresence, paper less working, less emissions from the building all contribute to reducing the CO2 emission in the environment. Therefore, by working in the remote office you are contributing to making the world a better place to live in.

Flexibility: The most popular benefit of working remotely is the amount of flexibility that you get when working. Most employers are not concerned with the timings you keep as long as you turn in your work in time and do it correctly. You can set up your own work timings. This also helps cuts down on absent employees in the organization. Flexible working hours also mean that leave planning becomes easier.

Working remotely is a win-win situation for both the parties and it definitely makes more sense than opening a new office in the world of today. All you need a laptop, the adequate skills and the willingness to try something new to make a success of it.

K Saravana Kumar

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20 Must Have Skills As A Freelancer

There has been a rise in the number of people who are opting to work as a freelancer. One of the biggest advantages that many people see is the flexibility in working that they can avail. Freelancing basically means that that you work independently on short and long-term projects for a fixed payment. However, with so many people opting for the freelancing jobs the competition has increased an in order to make sure that you stay on the top you have to have the extra edge over others.

Here is a list of the top must have skills as a freelancer that you need to keep in mind and implement:

1. Learn the tricks of the trade: Nobody wants to hire a freelancer who does not know the tricks of his/her trade. If you are a freelance salesperson then you must know all about the product you are selling. You must also develop your skill as a salesperson i.e. develops the interpersonal skills.

2. Be adaptive: As a freelancer, you must learn to be adaptive. You will have to mold your work according to client requirements. You might even have to adjust your timings and workdays according to the client’s need.

3. Be patient: Another important skill that a freelancer must possess is to be patient at all times. When you are working with somebody on a contractual basis, you have to be very patient in understanding the needs. Also patience is a virtue, which will come in handy when you are applying for jobs.

4. Be confident: As a freelancer one of your biggest assets is your confidence. You will need to be confident when you are interacting with new clients so that they believe in your work.

5. Learn the importance of time: The most important skill that every freelancer must cultivate and follow is the art of being punctual. If you cannot deliver the right product on time then you will easily lose the client trust and mar your reputation forever.

6. Be competitive: The key to being successful in freelancing is that you remain competitive at all times. If you are competitive you will remain in limelight always and clients will pay attention to you.

7. Be firm: Most of the freelancers lose their credibility when they are not firm with the conditions of the job. If you have agreed to paint a mural on a particular wall then make sure that that is the wall, you work on and give it your best.

8. Learn to Observe: A good freelancer learns how to observe thing around them and take inspiration from them. This skill helps them keep up with the latest things and further their career as a successful freelancer.

9. Self-Motivation: Another important skill that you must develop is self-motivation. In a regular office there will be somebody standing on your head to get the work done. But as a freelancer you have to be self-motivated to deliver your work.

10. Reliability: To convince a client that you are worthy of more jobs from them you have to prove that you are reliable at all times. Being reliable is one of the skills, which is a combination of self-motivation and respect for timing.

11. Discipline: Maintaining discipline at all time is not an easy task but being disciplined at all times is a skill, which you would need to stick to at all, times.

12. Organization: A freelancer should have excellent organizational skills. This will help keep track of work, get new work and balance the payments. It will also help you save a lot of time.

13. Communication: As a freelancer you will be working independently and therefore your communication skill (both written and verbal) should be top notch. This skill will not only help you land new jobs but also convince your clients that you are on the job.

14. Willing to learn new skills: The list of skills is never ending and in order to broaden your horizons you should be willing to learn new skills at all the times. This will show the clients that you are committed to the job.

15. Recognize the flaws: Be prepared to admit and recognize your flaws. This will help you in avoiding mistakes and pitfalls and help increase your strengths.

16. Learn to handle failure and criticism: Being thorough with your work and applying many jobs does not mean that you will get every job you apply for and every job that you submit will turn out to be perfect. Therefore, learn how to handle failure and criticism so that you can recover quickly and move on.

17. Idea generation: Another skill, which is an asset to a freelancer, is idea generation. New ideas regarding the ways of doing work or increasing efficiency will be always welcome with everybody.

18. Open to try new things: A freelancer should be open to try new things at all times because no two jobs are ever the same.

19. Email skills: Keeping up with simple technological skills such as writing engaging emails is a skill that will come in handy to every freelancer. The world is fast moving to a paperless office and you need to keep pace with it.

20. Versatility: Versatility is a skill that many freelancers tend to ignore. But in fact it is a skill, which will help you a lot if you are looking for a long-term career as a freelancer. As the famous saying goes ‘Don’t put all your money at a single place’, it goes true for freelancing jobs. For example as a freelance writer don’t limit yourself to blog writing only but also try out website content, article writing etc.