If you’re about to embark on the wonderful world of remote work and thought to yourself that the internet you use at home is good enough, think again. If your tasks require a ton of bandwidth to get completed, a fast internet speed will determine if working remotely would be feasible or not.
Here are just a few reasons why it’s time you have your internet plan upgraded for your remote work:
1. Improve productivity.
The biggest reason to upgrade or boost your internet speed is to improve productivity. This doesn’t matter what kind of work you’re involved in. For example:
- Teachers conducting online sessions would be able to teach more effectively if their internet doesn’t lag every so often.
- Live chat operators will be able to answer inquiries continuously throughout their shift.
- Web designers could download all elements of a project with ease.
- Bookkeepers could update spreadsheets and books online for clients.
You get the idea, right? If you have slow internet, it could affect your remote work one way or the other.
2. Access the cloud.
The cloud is your personal storage that you can use to save files from home, then download from another computer even if you’re thousands of miles away from home. Google Drive (which is free for everyone with a Google account) and iCloud (which comes with every Apple device) are two examples of the cloud.
The ability to access the cloud is one thing, but downloading files can be a pain if you have slow internet. And if your job relies on uploading or downloading files on a shared cloud (so other teammates who are also working remotely could access them), this can be a problem unless you face your internet speed issues head-on and try to boost it.
3. Communicate hassle-free.
When you begin to work remotely, this doesn’t mean you won’t have to talk to another human ever again. It just means you won’t be following the traditional office-based shift you used to have. For some people, work would be on the field. For others, working remotely meant they can divide their time on the beach and at home.
But no matter what set-up you chose for your remote work, one thing is guaranteed: you’ll need stable internet to communicate with your boss, teammates, clients, and other people.
Many apps like Zoom, Skype, Google Meet require fast internet, so you could participate in the meeting properly. If you have bad internet, either you’ll miss most of what is discussed in the meeting, or the other people wouldn’t understand what you’re trying to say.
4. Working with other people remotely.
Meetings are not the only thing that will change once you work remotely. You’ll still have to collaborate with other people to complete various tasks. For example:
- Submitting paperwork. HR requires you to send paperwork so that your benefits will be credited to your next payday.
- Sharing documents with your superior. If your manager wants to see progress from a book you’re assigned to edit, you might set up Google Docs or other document-sharing apps so your manager could send you notes regularly.
- Recording important information. Your work is just the first phase of a multi-phase project, so it is necessary to record information for phase two to be completed by another person or team.
These are just a few examples of how your internet connection could affect how you collaborate with other people.
5. Provide excellent customer service.
If your work is in the customer service industry, your internet speed is necessary to do your job properly. Unfortunately, there’s no going around this.
To answer customer calls and messages, you’ll have to be connected to your platform (this is usually provided by your company), or be available on the company skype, messenger, and other messaging platforms.
You won’t be able to provide excellent customer service if you’re not online, so improving internet speed guarantees you’re available throughout your shift.
6. Decreased stress.
Laggy, slow, choppy, or dead internet connections are just stressful. It is double stressful if you need it for your work when these internet issues occur.
Improving your internet connection BEFORE any issue happens is one proactive task you won’t regret.
If you’re lucky, you wouldn’t need to buy anything to boost your internet speed. You can follow techniques like:
- Restarting your computer
- Moving your router to a spot with less obstruction
- Changing settings of your router or modem
- Adding wi-fi extender or booster to your home office
- Switching to wired internet
You need dependable, fast internet for hassle-free web browsing, streaming, downloading media, video-conferencing and performing other tasks. As such, if none of the quick-fixes work, you may have to talk to your internet provider about upgrading to a plan with better internet speed.
