Rise of Remote Work in Nigeria: Pros, Cons and Best Practices

Industries and organizations in Nigeria have seen the light of working from home, known as remote work, since the covid 19 lockdown in 2020. Ever since, this method of working has been employed by a lot of companies and professionals. 

The advancement of technology in modern times has also made remote jobs more prevalent and a productive option in every organization. The rise in remote work in Nigeria comes with its advantages, disadvantages, limitations, best practices, and so on.

You might be considering going for a work-at-home job, which is very fine. But before you go ahead, this article will enlighten you about the prevalence of remote work in Nigeria and its associated issues.

What is Remote Work?

Remote work is a practice that provides flexible working arrangements for employees and professionals to work outside the corporate office. The location of operation could be anywhere outside the office wall, which could be in a different city, state, country, or even continent.

Read Also: A Comprehensive Guide to Searching for International Remote Jobs as a Nigerian

Classifications of Remote Works in Nigeria

Remote works can be classified based on their flexibility and mode of operation.

• Fully remote work
• Part-time remote work
• Hybrid work

In full remote work, all jobs are carried out from outside the workspace without being physically present. All meetings and checking-in are done virtually through virtual meeting platforms like Zoom, Google Meet, Slack, and so on.

Part-time remote work employ workers to work in specific times and parts of the workload. This could be contracted or employed during times of insurgency across the country. This will definitely come to an end at a certain period of time.

In Hybrid work, all work operations are carried out both in the office and out of the office. You get to work in your comfort zone for some days of the week, and the remaining days are spent in the office.

Pros of Remote Work in Nigeria

Definitely remote work in Nigeria has a lot of advantages, some of which will be discussed below:

1. High productivity and efficiency

Productivity is the number of tasks you can complete in a given length of time, whereas efficiency is how well you use your resources (such as time) to complete a task. Studies have shown that workers that work from home tend to be more efficient and productive than those that work in the office environment. This could be due to the presence of a more comfortable workspace and fewer distractions in the personal environment compared to the latter.

Read Also: How to Stay Productive While Working from Home in Nigeria 

2. Improved work-life balance

Working from home allows you to kill two birds with a stone. You are at liberty to spend time with your family and friends and decide the timeframe to use to get your job done.

3. Time Management

Working from the comfort of your home eradicates unnecessary waste of time which could be wasted in traffic, in queues, and so on. This time can be spent on getting beneficial things done, as time is golden.

4. Reduced cost of expenses

One of the benefits of working directly from home is that you will be able to manage your finances and avoid unnecessary spending. Spendings like transport fare, lunch fee.

This is definitely a plus for employers as you will agree with me that the cost of running an onsite workspace can be more expensive than that of a remote one. 

Remote jobs for employers and business owners help them reduce the cost of getting a big office and the amount spent on rent and other utilities. It will also limit employer’s spending on their clients when they work from the office.

5. Flexibility of operation

Working at home allows you to work at your own pace while completing your work on time. This is the right attitude to work that results in high productivity. The flexibility of this job will make it easy for you to combine both your work and personal life.

Working from home helps reduce the burden of workload through the satisfaction of getting work done at your own pace.

6. Healthier lifestyle and less stress

A healthy lifestyle for someone who works out of the home might be a herculean task. The stress that comes with transportation, buying fuel, and withdrawing from the ATM stand in Nigeria are good examples of how stressful onsite jobs can be in Nigeria.

Read Also:  Working From Home? How to Manage the Negative Effects of Technology on Health

7. Enhanced economic growth

Both public and private firms usually employ remote workers during the national insurgency. This gives room for the continuation of work across the nation despite the condition of the country.

The rise in remote jobs in Nigeria could be associated with this factor. 

8. Increased employment opportunities

Youths have also been able to combine different jobs due to the flexibility of remote work. This is definitely important in the improvement of employment opportunities.

You can combine a remote job with your onsite work or two remote jobs as long as you can deliver at both ends.

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Cons of Remote Work in Nigeria

After considering the positive sides of remote work, knowing its disadvantages will enable you to weigh the two sides of the scale.

1. Barrier in communication

There’s this barrier between employers and their employees when working far away from the office. The level of accessibility, communication, and collaboration is usually low.

Communication is no barrier when working in the four corners of the office. You get to ask questions and make clarifications as needed. But with remote work, getting in touch with your colleagues and team members at the right time may not be easy to accomplish.

Read Also: 8 Ways to Develop Effective Business Communication Skills

2. Lack of social interactions

Remote work, in all obviousness, limits your interaction with people, unlike in the office environment, where you get to relate with other colleagues and company members.

Working from home might limit the time you use to socialize.

Challenges Associated with Remote Jobs in Nigeria

Working from your own environment has some pecks alongside some limitations. These limitations include:

1. Lack of motivation

Workers may sometimes find it difficult to keep track of tasks when working alone. This contributes majorly to the limitations companies could encounter with workers working from the comfort of their homes.

Read Also: Easy Ways to Stay Motivated as a Freelancer in Nigeria

2. Poor electricity

An average Nigerian understands what’s meant by poor electricity. This is a major limitation of remote work; if you want to enjoy your work from home, you must have another source of supply of electricity, such as a generator or solar system.

3. Cyber security issue

With the prevalence of internet fraud, companies have some limitations with their internet activities, which serve as a huge limitation to their work online.

Read Also: What is Cybersecurity? How to Protect your Business from Internet Security Threats

Best Practices for Smooth Remote Work in Nigeria

1. Plan your day ahead

One of the cons discussed above was the issue of time management. In order to be productive in all you do, especially at your work as a remote worker, you should always plan your days ahead. This would also make you accountable and make your day a productive one.

2. Design a healthy workspace

A workspace free of distractions will enhance your productivity. In remote work, you can design your workspace to suit your taste. This also entails deciding the time to get some tasks done.

3. Take adequate break

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. A good practice to enhance your work is taking breaks at intervals. You can employ the Pomodoro technique, which is a time management method based on 25-minute stretches of focused work broken by five-minute breaks. Longer breaks, usually 15 to 30 minutes, are taken at the end of four constant work intervals. You can include breaks in between your tasks to be able to get personal things done.

4. Regular check-in with employees

Employers must employ the practice of checking in on employees at regular intervals in order to keep track of their progress and to enhance their efficiency and productivity.

5. Hybrid mode

Going with the hybrid mode of operation, where you make yourself available in the office once or twice a week, will allow you to strike a balance between your personal and office life.

This will help you bridge the gap between social activities and activities.

6. Bridge in communication

Professionals and employers should employ different collaborative tools and other tools applicable to their professions. Tools like Slack, Discord, Zoom, Google Meet, and many more have been implemented to make communication and collaboration efficient between the employer and the employees.

This will definitely help in increasing the company’s productivity.

Conclusion

It’s worth noting that the rise in remote jobs across Nigeria has been of great importance to the country’s development.

The importance of working at home cannot be overemphasized as it contributes more good than harm, as we have discussed above, and the advantages attributed to remote jobs in Nigeria outweigh the challenges encountered.

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Edited by Emmanuel Odebiyi

About Author

Barakat Hammed

Barakat is a professional content writer with competence in academic writing, ebooks, and blog posts. To help you convey your ideas to your audience, she provides articles written in the most appropriate style and tone.

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