What Are The Disadvantages Of Virtual Office?

Change is inevitable, but it's never easy and it's not always expected. If you need to make a change with your company, and a virtual office is an option on the table, then you need the best possible information to make an informed decision. We spent a lot of time discussing the benefits and advantages of a virtual office, but there are also drawbacks. Here are some of the drawbacks, considerations that need to be addressed when a virtual office is a choice for your business or organization.

• The lack of centralization.

If the business is just you, it's not a problem. But if you use vendors or have a few staff, it can be daunting to have a lack of centralization or a single place for everyone to meet and operate on a daily basis. It may not be challenging for you to maintain self-discipline when working with a virtual office, but your workers may not like the lack of structure. Luckily, the virtual office must be organized if necessary, but it still takes more effort on its part than the traditional office space.

• Scheduling the dispute.

With a virtual office, you don't even have a conference room of your own to use if you need it. You also need to take the time to pick up your mail once or twice a week if you don't have to send mail. If either, or both, is the case, then you do need to take the time to arrange the use of the conference room ahead of time or to go to the virtual office to pick up the mail. This may not be a big deal for those who are good at organizing their time, or who are not far from the virtual office, but it makes it difficult to satisfy a client in a short time.

• There is a lack of contact.

This is a drawback that can easily be glossed over or taken for granted, particularly for extroverts who rely on human interaction. With a virtual office, human interaction is difficult to achieve, because people may not be there or maybe there to work rather than socialize. You also don't have the experiences that come with a traditional work environment, such as lunch breaks and talking with your colleagues about the boss or life. When you think this is going to be a matter for you, make sure you find other opportunities for human interaction, such as networking events, volunteering, or getting to know others at the library or at the local coffee shop.

• Decreased productivity.

In a virtual office environment, it can be easy to get distracted by outside stimuli, or to assume that you have all the time in the world to get work done. While taking breaks and working at night (if you're a night owl) may be good for your productivity, don't let yourself be fooled or lazy. Even the most self-disciplined can get out of the way, or have a day to do nothing. There's nothing wrong with taking a break or getting the rest you need, just make sure things don't get in the way of doing your work.

• Communication could be difficult.

Through technology, we now have more ways to communicate than ever before: email, social media, teleconferencing, texting, etc. This makes it much easier to operate from a virtual office, but it can also make it much harder to connect with clients and colleagues. If it's not a face-to-face encounter or even a phone conversation, there's an increased chance of miscommunication or misinterpretation. Perhaps the use of a word was a spelling error, and it didn't mean anything offensive. All the words miss the non-verbal cues and the tone of voice that could make it easier to gauge what the person says and how they feel about certain things. All of this can be easily fixed once you're aware of the problems, but it might take some time to fix it, or at least get used to it.