Remote vs. Onsite Jobs: A Balanced Comparison of Benefits and Drawbacks

In our bid to make ends meet, we humans delve into various jobs to earn money so we can meet our needs and have a good life. Among the types of jobs people delve into are working remotely or working onsite. Both types of jobs have their benefits and drawbacks, and in this article I'll explore them and thereafter state which I prefer most.

To start with, working remotely can be exciting, and I can relate to why many people love and even prefer it to working on-site; it seems exciting and would save people a lot of stress, so talking about its benefits, one of which is flexibility and autonomy, one of the beauties of working remotely is the fact that you can literally work from anywhere you like, be it at home, in a restaurant, or wherever the job demands your attention, and you'll be able to meet up with deadlines and deliver the job on time.

It's also a good way of reducing commuting time and expenses. Consider the situation of things presently with the increase in the price of petrol; we now pay almost three times the initial amount we used to pay, which isn't a problem for those who work remotely, as they can always work from the comfort of their home. It also seems like a good work environment because the normal office space distractions won't be a thing at all.

But then, despite how great it is and seems, remote jobs have their disadvantages, and one of them is social isolation. Working remotely can consume so much of those in such a situation that they miss out on in-person interactions, social connections, and several other things. It also faces challenges such as technical issues, because it depends on the internet and technology, and when they're faulty, it'll lead to disconnection from your task and could even lead to delays or warrant you having to bring a total stranger to your house to help get the situation sorted.

And last but not least, on the downside of remote jobs is blurred boundaries; working remotely usually bridges our work and life together, causing a lot of conflict between both, and people working remotely usually find it difficult to separate work from their personal life.

On the other hand, working onsite can be fun and exciting too because of some of the things associated with it, and some of the benefits are the opportunity to build stronger relationships with colleagues and superiors via face-to-face interactions that happen thanks to working onsite; it's also easier to clarify misunderstandings and doubts when one occurs than it is for remote workers.

Working onsite also gives workers access to the company resources, such as equipment, training, and the like, which will go on to aid our job delivery, and last but not least is the structured work environment working onsite offers; you won't face conflict between your work and your personal life like it tends to happen with working remotely.

Then for its downside, one of which I dislike is the commuting time and expenses; working onsite requires you to leave home on time so as to meet up with your resume time, and it is also expensive to go to work daily, either via your personal car or public transport. Working onsite also presents us with office distractions from our colleagues; for one, I don't buy the ideal of noise, and that's one thing that happens regularly at the office.

To be fair, I love working remotely. Being an introvert, it would be awesome for me and suit my personality traits, but I'm teaching, and it's something I'm passionate about, and the only available way to teach effectively presently in my country is onsite teaching, so I'll stick with it, but if we can all adopt technology and all students can have it, then e-teaching and e-learning would definitely be my choice.

All photos are mine.