The advent of Zoom and Google scheduling tools might not have been as flashy as the invention of the steam engine nor feel as poignant as the codification of workers rights, but, make no mistake, these expressions of the ‘remote work’ remodelling of employment are revolutionary.
They have changed the working world’s design in a way that is incredibly exciting. And because remote work can, if considered well and applied to a business appropriately, benefit both the employer and the employee, it seems as if this revolution, at the very least in part, is here to stay.
Is 2024 the year of the remote worker?
According to a Kick Jobs article posted to LinkedIn, 1.2 million Kenyans were working remotely in 2023. Ours is a country with not insignificant internet penetration – presently standing at 32.7 percent of the country –, a strong work ethic and an advantageous position as home to regional headquarters for many of the planet’s biggest institutions (the UN and Google, for example).
With internet penetration projected to grow, and with the regional importance of Nairobi unlikely to fade, employment in general is expected to rise and, according to Business Daily, remote work is projected to form a greater part of this increase of jobs.
It is easy to see why.
Unlike traditional 9-to-5 office jobs, remote work allows individuals to create their own schedules, enabling them to better balance professional and personal commitments. This flexibility is particularly advantageous for working parents, caregivers, and individuals pursuing further education or side projects.
Moreover, remote work eliminates the need for lengthy commutes, which can be both time-consuming and costly. By working from the comfort of their own homes or local co-working spaces, Kenyans can save valuable time and money that may otherwise have been spent on the bustle of a Nairobi or Mombasa commute. This not only contributes to a better work-life balance but also reduces the carbon footprint associated with daily commuting.
The remote work revolution also opens up new opportunities for Kenyan workers to tap into global job markets. As more and more Kenyans get access to the internet, and with global tech firms developing online collaboration tools, individuals can now connect with employers and clients from around the world, transcending geographical barriers. This not only expands a job-seeker’s prospects but also allows them to command competitive salaries that are commensurate with international standards.
So, how do you make the remote work world work for you?
The first piece of advice worth acting on is this: read the text above carefully. Consider it and incorporate it into your plans.
In any of life’s endeavours its always worth your while to comprehensively consider the terrain you’re stepping into. Considering potential pitfalls, limiting boundaries and the accessible victories is key in establishing your priorities and drawing up a strategy as you move into it.
If you’re considering remote work, ask yourself what you want out of it? Freedom, financial reward, better work/life balance and international experience are all on the table but not if you’re unwilling or incapable of appropriately understanding the imposition that self-discipline, your alternative working environment, time management and the isolation will have on you.
This leads on to the second piece of advice for how to best harness the remote work revolution: choose your workspace well. Remote work can, but doesn’t always, mean working from home.
Certain subjective accounts from employees suggest that working from home can bring the best out of them. Giving certain individuals the ability to manage their own time and complete tasks as and when it suits them does work for some people in some instances. But that doesn’t mean that every worker works well under these circumstances all the time.
Each of us knows that we’re variably motivated, that there are certain days in which one thing works and that there are other days when another does. Some days are best beaten by a headphone in, head-down approaches. Others are made a success by collaboration and communication.
Fortunately, Kenya isn’t satisfied with an either/or situation. In recent years, as the embrace of remote work has become more and more obvious, brilliant, forward-thinking firms have sought to satisfy the need for office space that isn’t permanent, is comfortable, isn’t home and is well-equipped for professional Kenyans.
Companies such as Kikao64, a co-working, shared office space equipped with quick internet access, conference rooms, private meeting rooms and individual working booths, is one such example. Built in the rapidly expanding city centre of Eldoret, it is positioned as being perfect for remote workers, commuters and creatives. Providing a space in which each can have the same access to facilities they had in permanent offices, they also provide flexibility.
Spaces such as Kikao64 allow for the same professional, collaborative environments that offices used to. They provide some semblance of the setting that once worked for formal employment; they’re just more modern and better suited to the remote work world.
The third piece of advice for the remote worker is this: create and stick to your own plans.
This piece of advice is intentionally open-ended. The importance of planning as a remote worker has implications on almost all of the aspects of the experience. You need your own plan in the searching for remote work jobs. You need to plan your own days around the must-do tasks. You need to plan for your own professional growth and motivate yourself towards its fulfilment.
Remote work can be and incredibly fulfilling way of interacting with the working world. That doesn’t, however, mean that it is for everyone. You’ll need to be a self-starter and capable of driving your own motivation if you want to get the best out of it.
If you are that type of person, then remote work may be for you. If that’s the case, research the terrain, choose your working space and get those self-sculpted plans ready because a whole host of opportunities awaits you!
