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As we’ve discussed previously, remote workers and work-from-home arrangements are becoming the norm for many businesses these days, and although some employers are still skeptical about the efficiency of having people work outside of the traditional office, remote workers are here to stay. Due to the fact that you can easily hire a specialist remote worker at a fraction of the cost of hiring a full-time in-house employee, as well as hiring remote freelancers on a need-to-need basis, more employers are taking the plunge. If you’re new to hiring remote workers, Mikogo has you covered. Follow our tips below to find out how businesses are managing and keeping remote workers productive and focused.
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There is so much to consider when you start your own business such as, where do you base yourself? Hiring private office space for a new start up or freelancer is likely to break the budget. The solution: coworking spaces. A coworking space is an office environment used by multiple businesses and freelancers who rent and share desk space. Co-workers benefit by gaining an official office location and sharing office resources (e.g. Internet).

However while there is a clear economic benefit, there are even greater business opportunities within these collaborative spaces. An office environment filled by professionals with different areas of expertise means knowledge is shared between businesses and freelancers. This advantage is felt firstly by the co-workers but most importantly this passes on to any client.

Once you scratch the surface, you discover strong communities within coworking spaces who have teamed together to offer greater services to their clients. We recently spoke to three coworking spaces in Europe to gain insight into the motivation which led to many people building and joining such spaces and the value created today.
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In a recent article on SMH, Bellinda Kontominas spoke about how more employees wish to work from home, while employers are fearful about the fact that they may do less work. Of course, there is merit to her statement that some employers are cautious, but the latest figures from Global Workplace Analytics are undeniable: More people are telecommuting than ever, with an increase of more than 62% in government employees working from home, and an increase of 70% of for-profit employees. The number of state government employees working from home increased by over 122%.
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Last month I spent a couple of weeks in Barcelona. The initial reason was to have a holiday there, but I decided to go there for longer and work a full week there remotely. With easy access to strong Internet connections, web-based services for my work via my laptop, and online collaboration tools such as Mikogo at my disposal, I decided it would not be a problem to work there. And as it significantly increased the time I got to spend in Barcelona, why not do it?

I wrote about my preparation for setting myself up to work remotely in Barcelona last month. Now I have a few learnings to share which should hopefully assist anyone who plans to do the same in any city abroad.
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Like any regular Thursday, I’m working away on the day’s tasks at Mikogo. But this week I’m abroad in Barcelona, Spain, using online meetings and the Web to work remotely. Instead of going to Barcelona for just a few days of holiday, I arrived in Barcelona a week before my actual holiday begins. By preparing myself to work abroad I have increased my time in Spain but can still easily collaborate with my colleagues and get the job done. During the workday, I’m here at my laptop. Later I’m exploring the streets of Barcelona.
These days just about anyone can do the same with a small bit of preparation. Here are my tips on how you can set yourself up to work remotely abroad.
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