As modern technology and worker trends collide, they create intensive changes in our working environment. Office professionals seek new tools to boost their work experience. Professionals are exploring new work environment styles. Likewise, companies, braced with sudden market disruptions over the last few years, are finding new ways to save overhead costs in their team structures, from making the team headquarters requirement less restrictive than in previous decades to scaling business system technology.
What is Remote Work?
The United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM) defines remote work as “a flexible work arrangement” allowing employees to work at an alternative worksite. Gartner took remote work even further by describing it as the type of work structure enabling workers to conduct business functions “outside of corporate offices,” an important distinction.
What is Telework?
Similar to remote work, telework is defined by the US OPM as a work arrangement where the worker is allowed to work from an approved worksite other than the standard established worksite. This differs slightly from remote work because the entity must approve the worker’s location. The worker conducts their responsibilities using telecom tools like hosted phone systems.
Remote Work vs. Telework
Continuing its definition of work structures, the OPM noted a distinctive difference between remote work and telework. Telework is defined as different from remote work primarily due to conditions where the employee must report to a headquarters primary worksite and an alternative location. However, remote workers typically have a more accessible work structure that allows them to work from an area of choice, which makes remote working arrangements ideal for many employees.
In 2023, Zippia, a workforce educational resource, stated that “68 percent of Americans” prefer to be fully remote employees. At present, at least 66 percent of Americans work remotely, “at least part-time,” Zippia writes. Additionally, 50 percent of employers believe that remote work reduces organizational absenteeism.
Both remote work and telework have some advantages unique to the work arrangement. However, when comparing remote vs. telework, an entity needs to review the benefits of the working arrangement in their company.
Over the years, some benefits of remote and teleworking have remained constant. In recent history, Forbes wrote that remote work has decreased some commuter expenses that employees must pay and expanded the range of employers can hire.
In 2022, Indeed.com, a widespread workforce solutions site, noted that telecommunication work, or “telework,” has lasting benefits for teams, including influencing better work performance outcomes, ensuring that the workforce has environmentally friendly work location sites, increasing career outlooks, boosting company morale, and reducing overall corporate costs.
The Benefits of Remote Work vs. Telework
To recap, the benefits of remote work vs. telework depend on the type of company and the scope of work. While telework options may empower a construction site to sync with IOT or AI-enabled tools helpful for building projects, working remotely would not make sense for builders who need to be on site. Likewise, a team of remote programmers does not need to be physically at the scene of a construction project to be able to help scale apps that are used to coordinate with innovative architecture projects.
Why Choose Magic Apple
Magic Apple makes it the entire team’s mission to save good people from lousy phone systems. Whether the team chooses to work from a remote work or a telework work organization, Magic Apple has a phone system solution that integrates and scales to the nuanced needs of the team’s structural and organizational growth. Contact Magic Apple today to learn more about how you can improve your remote work or teleworking experience with state-of-the-art phone systems crafted with small-to-mid-sized businesses’ needs in mind.
