With the percentage of remote workers doubling in recent years, it is an understatement to say that there have been some changes in the workplace model.
Surveys show that the hybrid work model is more popular now than ever. In this light, it is crucial to examine the advantages of this work mode and delve deeper into the remote working tools that make it possible.
Top Advantages of Work From Home Workplace Model
- Reduced Expenses
For the average office worker, remote work means less money spent on travel, food, and clothes. While for the employer, it means being able to cut down on expenses like office space, inventory, parking fees, maintenance bills, and more.
For both parties, the accumulation of these expenses could have led up to a significant sum within a year. By enforcing the work-from-home model, Companies can reroute this amount into more appropriate channels like bonuses, health packages, system updates, marketing, and more.
- Lesser Distractions-More Productivity
Without the constant interruptions of coffee breaks and conversations with colleagues, remote workers are more focused, thus, more efficient. By choosing a setting and time that is theirs, they can focus and produce more output in the specified time.
A survey shows that despite taking more breaks throughout the day, only 39% of remote workers tended to be distracted during work hours compared to 56% of in-office employees.
- Environmental Benefits
In cities worldwide, buses, taxis, subways, and personal vehicles carry people back and forth from work each day. The daily commute of millions of office workers contributes to the release of massive amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Without the to-and-fro of the job rush, the carbon footprint in the US alone would be down by 50 million tons. Not only is a work-from-home model cost-saving, but it is also more environmentally sustainable in the long run.
- Time-Saving
The daily commute adds to a major portion of an in-office worker’s routine. Between the daily work-home commute, their time gets wasted between the home and the workplace.
Without time spent on getting ready and traveling, they have more time on their hands to dedicate to their personal and family life. Remote working helps solve this by eliminating unnecessary travel. A better work-life balance also leads to a more productive workflow.
- Innovation in Workplace Technology
A marked innovation in workplace technology has been precipitated in recent years by increased remote working jobs.
As employees and companies adapt to a changing workspace, technology has been the answer to most of the problems they face. From improvements in video calling technology to finding new ways to improve employer-employee interaction, remote workplace technology has seen some major improvements.
Remote work software these days aims not only to bridge the distance gap but also work to optimize workflow. In many ways, these technologies are as much an advantage for the worker as it is for the businesses as they are continuously innovating themselves to help maximize their output.
While it may seem daunting to use at first, most remote working software is easy enough to pick up.
7 Best Remote Working Tools to Improve Your Work From Home Experience
Most of the remote working tools on this list are surprisingly user-friendly. Even the less familiar ones like Movavi Screen Recorder and Krisp are sure to be useful even outside work. People have been using some of these tools for some time now.
The former shows you how to record your screen in high-resolution audio and video. Krisp, on the other hand, is a calling tool that will ensure that the quality of your next video call with your parents will be top-notch.
Some of the best remote working platforms are the ubiquitous Zoom Video Calling and Google Drive. Their ability to host and disseminate a large amount of information to a remote audience makes them invaluable in a work-from-home setting.
Tools meet the technological necessity for quick data transfer and large-scale hosting and are crucial for the new kind of workplace that even Forbes predicts is here to stay.
But equally important are platforms like WooBoard that aim to bridge the human gap still to be crossed in remote working. These tools bring the collaborative, positive, and mutually appreciative spirit of employer-employee relationships back into these settings. Looking for ways to improve your communication online with your employees, check for some free team collaboration tool that you can use easily.
In that spirit, here are 7 of the best remote working tools to help make your remote work better.
- Krisp
Scratchy, unstable background noise is a thing of the past with Krisp. This tool removes unwanted noise from both ends of the conference call by offering high-quality audio with AI-based noise cancellation.
Krisp also offers HD voice calling and room/acoustic echo removal to ensure a flawless sound. Alongside high-quality calling, users get full support on any headset, microphone, or speaker with this tool. Krisp also allows recording and sharing calls, making it more convenient.
Pros
- Krisp gets easily integrated with other remote working apps like Zoom, Drive, Slack, Discord, and more. This feature makes it extra easy to share information with teams across various platforms.
- The noise-cancellation features on Krisp are top-notch and offer the option to switch to lower power mode for minimal CPU usage.
- Virtual backgrounds are available on Krisp for both Mac and Windows, adding to its high usability.
- Zoom
Zoom is one of the best remote working tools for a reason. Offering generously large audience support with multiple communication tools, Zoom has become synonymous with video conferencing.
Zoom’s event hosting feature is well-developed and easily one of its strongest USPs. It provides flawless video and clear audio and supports multiple tools like dial-in calling and chats.
Zoom App Marketplace is another ingenious feature that lets businesses integrate CRM into the platform.
Pros
- Zoom is a huge help in holding team meetings as it lets hosts invite up to 100 participants for free.
- With mobile applications available on Android and Ios, Zoom is easily accessible via mobile phones.
- Even as a free app, it provides several useful remote work features like audio/video conferencing, timed digital rooms, and screen-sharing.
- Google Drive
This tool uses the concept of a central network dedicated to sharing data. Not only can multiple users access data files from the platform, but they can also make changes to these documents. Its ease of use makes google drive one of the best remote working platforms.
Teams can use Google Drive to collaborate on presentations and pitches. Since all members get granted access to the same files, they can easily share, edit and make document changes.
Pros
- Google Drive seamlessly integrates with several document-based applications like Adobe and Office. It is a tool that converts your files into the recommended format without a single hitch.
- The customizable privacy option is a huge bonus because it lets team leads regulate access to sensitive information by offering different access levels to different members.
- Google Drive offers a seamless and fuss-free model of collaboration. On this platform, users can access files from the centralized framework as easily from their phones as from their personal computers.
- Google Drive offers 15 GB of storage free of cost. It is possible to share/store la, granted the connectivity is stable enough.
- The information on Google Drive is connected to a single account, helping prevent data loss.
- Movavi
Movavi ranks high among remote working tools because of its high video capturing technology.
You get to capture everything you see on your PC or laptop screen. And that includes both audio and video.
This screen recording software is a perfect fit for team meetings and large discussions because it lets users create screencasts while providing options to show keystrokes and mouse movements.
Movavi is also ideal for personal use and can help you record gaming sessions, or record that tutorial you want to create for YouTube.
Small but thoughtful features like this come in handy when training new employees remotely or introducing them to a software update. Movavi, for instance, lets users draw on videos during the recording to make these tutorials more comprehensive.
Aside from video capture, this remote working software also has high-quality audio-only recordings. A timed video recording with high-resolution graphics is also possible via Movavi, and in an output format of your choice.
Pros
- Movavi boasts an intuitive, user-friendly interface that even new users can navigate easily. If learning to record your screen has been an issue, it is the tool for you.
- The software lets users customize their recordings. They can choose to record only specific screen portions and even integrate their webcam feeds into the recorded clips.
- Users can also access more advanced tools like video stabilization and chroma key for green screen editing.
- WooBoard
Remote working has its fair share of disadvantages for all its time and fund-saving benefits. One of these cons is that working from home decreases the chances of the employer-employee forming that bond of mutual familiarity.
WooBoard is a one-of-a-kind remote working software that aims to tackle the humane aspect of remote working. It seeks to reinvigorate the work-from-home workplace model by introducing a merit-based system for employees.
This tool lets employers visibly express their appreciation. The employees get awarded points via a badge system redeemable for real-life gift items.
Introducing this incentive encourages them to work harder and feel more appreciated. Even in remote working situations, WooBoard is one of the best remote working software because it can help create a positive and intimate workplace where employees feel appreciated.
Pros
- Improves employee loyalty as they feel more their work is visibility appreciated.
- Helps create a vibrant, healthy workplace with a spirit of conductive competition.
- Quality work is rightly appreciated, helping employees feel more confident in the work they produce.
- Time Doctor
The idea behind it is simply this- not to let time go to waste.
Time Doctor works as a remote working tool because of the simplicity of this concept. This remote working platform is a great fit for workplaces where employees work according to a per-hour rate.
This tool helps employers optimize efficiency in remote teams by logging work hours and tracking employees’ virtual movement. Such surveillance makes sure that the workers are not distracted and remain fully focused on their work.
But Time Doctor provides features beyond simple time optimization. It can also report on the work patterns and statistics of each employee that logs in. The tool also drops timely alerts to them to encourage them to work timely.
Pros
- It helps maximize employee efficiency by reducing distractions.
- Provides detailed statistics of employees’ work patterns and activity levels.
- Alerts and time tracking encourage employee workflow.
- Perfect for managing employees who work by the hour.
- Well-developed features for budget and project reporting.
- Trello
Multiple projects and teams are doubly stressful to manage when working remotely. Projects can also get scattered over different platforms and formats, leading to reduced efficiency.
Trello is a lifesaver in situations like these because all tasks, teams, and projects are under a single, easy-to-manage platform. Team leads can assign individual tasks and check on project developments by creating highly customizable Kanban-style boards. Members can have to-do lists created for them to help them streamline their work process.
The best thing about Trello is its customizability, making it a great fit for emerging and established businesses.
Pros
- Trello’s board and list system are highly effective in maximizing efficiency in the collaborative process. By assigning customized task lists and boards to specific groups, leads help to optimize the workflow for their teams and themselves.
- Trello is easily integrable with other tools making it easy to gather all projects and tasks onto a single platform.
- Trello also lets users track their workflow in real-time. This way, team members and leaders are updated about each others’ live progress and motivated to do more.
- Trello’s Kanban-based system is very user-friendly and well-suited for start-ups.
Which is Your Go-to Remote Work Tool?
These technological innovations are a sign that the remote work model is here to stay. As people try to find footing in a changing world, this way of working represents a viable, sustainable method of maintaining time for the self while still being employed.
