Top 5 Applications that will further Root Work from Home Culture

Magazine

By: Samrat Pradhan (Correspondent) | Friday, 24 July 2020

The new generation of workers always needed a new way to work, and hence, there are today's next generation tech tools helping both the employers as well as the employees to get a remote connection to take the digital business and WRH culture to the next level.

Though this lockdown has had an adverse affect on every business and personal lives today, it has also helped in the transition towards the work at home business models. Today, many businesses are shifting towards this WFH culture due to all the benefits that it has to offer.

Marty Fukuda, N2's chief operations officer has said, "The notion of 'I'm working out with somebody else' keeps them accountable in a way that they wouldn't be if we just emailed them the workout of the day."

Supporting various platforms which are ideal for sharing photos, video, and links among different groups of people, founder of Snapchat Whitney Wolfe had highlighted, "A Snapchat can be really big for changing the mood when you're not in the same place."

Snapchat has about 300 freelance ambassadors, and everyone communicates the same app to communicate remotely with each other seamlessly. "It's huge on college campuses, where a lot of our ambassadors are," said Wolfe.

While 38 percent of U.S. employers allow their employees to work remotely on a regular basis, about 80 to 90 percent of the U.S. workforce prefers working from home, at least for part time, reports one interesting survey. Also, three percent of U.S. workers work from home these days, which is growing if compared with 1.5 percent in 2005. Furthermore, 50 percent of the workers’ jobs in 2014 were compatible with some remote working.

Here are some of the apps which are on a mission to make the work from home model a successful and a beneficial step towards a digital business:

Zoom (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android & web)
Offering a full suite of video conferencing and communication tools for businesses, Zoom can be one of the most beneficial apps for today’s remote workers.

There are some key features such as Video meetings where teams can initiate one-to-one video calls remotely and run video meetings. There are also features such as webinars where one can use ZOOM to host webinars, voice calls, messaging and file sharing.

There is a free version of ZOOM app which can be efficiently used by larger chunks of smaller teams. There is also a paid version where hosts are required to pay a monthly fee rather than everyone who attends meetings. About 100 participants can join the meeting and only the companies which need more than 40 minutes of meetings can opt for paid versions, else it's completely free.

Slack (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android & web)
Slack is a messaging app which has a free as well as a paid version, where the paid version option starts from £5.25/mo per user.

Teams which require an ideal communication tool, this application is perfect. It has been especially designed and developed for remote working where users can instantly create topics where team members can join and leave based upon the priority of that particular topic. Besides, the team members can also chat outside the main topic message for a particular project in separate channels.

If we talk about the key features, there are facilities such as instant messaging which offers seamless collaboration during live communication across every team member. Also there are statuses which can help workers to focus on individual tasks as needed. Furthermore, there are file sharing, voice and video calls, and also screen sharing options.

Serene (Mac)
This application is free but for only Mac users. It helps users in bringing the needed productivity in one’s work; This app will best befit the remote workers who want to make the best out of the time that they have at hand. It helps in building the users’ capabilities by setting a single day goal so as to stay focused on achieving that particular task of the day. Secondly, this app also plays a vital role in blocking access to distracting apps and websites during the formulation of projects. As said, there are multiple features such as website blocker, app blocker, distraction free sessions, session timer, to-do lists, day planner, focus music, and a phone silencer.

Chrome Remote Desktop (iOS, Android, Chrome extension)
Chrome Remote Desktop is also a free app which allows its users to access P.C securely from any other devices - tablet, computer, and smartphones. Hence, now anyone can access their machine from anywhere without worrying about any security issues. One can just type-in an access URL into a web browser or even download the app. Also, there is also a Chrome extension available which can provide the users with their office/home computer from portable devices. There are features such as remote access, remote support, and a screen share.

Toggl (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Chrome, Firefox)
Toggl is a paid application, which starts from $9/month per user which is a time tracking app. It shows how much one user is spending on tasks. This software is especially designed for remote workers and had began with the idea of aiding freelancers by calculating the exact pay according to the time spent on that project. It has some very helpful features such as time tracking, boost profits (extra-time payment), reports, and cross-platform (app can operate across any operating system). This app can boost productivity by pinpointing tasks which are taking longer than they should.