If you frequently find yourself working from home and face challenges with the internet, it can be quite frustrating, especially when you’re trying to remain productive and efficient. And you wouldn’t be alone; across the country, many individuals have faced challenges with the emphasis on remote work in recent years.
The COVID pandemic has revolutionized America's work economy. According to reports, approximately 44% of Americans spend 5 or more days each week working remotely, compared to only 17% before the pandemic. As working from home becomes the new norm, internet and broadband usage increases further, and we depend more and more on proper connectivity and service to remain productive within the workplace.
Just like regular employees face challenges that may limit their productivity, working from home (WFH) employees face their own unique issues, and internet challenges are arguably at the top of the list. Let’s go over some common issues as well as the best ways to approach them.
When working from home, internet speed is a significant factor in your productivity. Most sources agree that a person working from home should have at least 50 to 100 Mbps in download speeds, and at least 10 Mbps upload speed. According to FreeConference, the minimum download speed for HD video conferencing is about 8 Mbps for download and 1.5 Mbps for uploads.
Without these speeds, you’re likely to run into issues with slow connections and other consequences such as lag, limited connectivity, disconnections, and more. Improving slow speeds is therefore a priority for any individuals working from home and looking to remain productive.
When trying to solve the problem of slow internet speed, the first thing to do is determine the current internet speed in your house. You can do this by using free services like fast.com to get a good estimate. If your internet speed is slower than the recommended amounts, consider contacting your service provider for a solution.
If they’re unable to help, it might be time to switch to a service that provides faster broadband speed such as Rango. As one of the top broadband service providers in Washington, Nevada and Colorado, we offer guaranteed speeds of up to 100Mbps on the basic plan and up to 500Mbps download speed on the Pro plan.
Cyber threats and malware are a challenge for remote workers across the world. Since the period of the global pandemic in 2020, when working from home became popular, cybersecurity threats have been at an all-time high. Internet users are at higher risk of cyberthreats and viruses, which makes it one of the main working from home internet issues.
In a report, ransomware has cost businesses about $20 billion in 2020 alone. Losses of this magnitude have been incurred despite all-time high spending in the USA and around the world on cybersecurity. Many employees are kept safe by the cybersecurity investment made by their workplaces, but it’s a cost that shifts to the employees themselves when switching to remote work.
The best solution to this problem is to follow simple and easy-to-follow cybersecurity guidelines that are considered best practices. Here are 4 basic things you can do to prevent cyberattacks are:
Remote workers are one of the highest users of the internet, as they tend to be on the internet for more than 75% of their day. Across this period, WFH employees often spend much more time in meetings and video conferences, which can rack up a lot of internet data usage.
According to Reviews.org, an average American will spend approximately $61 a month on Internet services, and the price is likely to be higher for a remote worker due to them needing higher speeds and reliability.
Part of the solution includes reducing data usage by disabling automatic downloads and lowering the video quality on YouTube. You might also want to make sure to set a password on your router, and limit the number of devices you connect to your network to save on usage costs.
Most importantly, choose the right internet plan. With Rango's HiFi Internet plans, you’ll have access to the right usage amounts for your budget without compromising on high quality service.
As a remote worker, most interaction with colleagues and employers will be done via video conferencing. Hence, the importance of video quality to a remote worker.
Apart from the video quality, the audio quality is also an essential factor in the virtual meeting. Working from home can be such a pain for employees who live in noisy areas. Some proposed solutions include getting an internet plan that allows for high-quality video streaming.
For example, the Rango HiFi Family and Pro plans allow HD video chat and 4k Video Quality Stream. This makes it easier to transmit video data and ensure proper conferencing quality for when it matters most.
Finding the right browser for work is difficult as they all have different problems. The common browsers, Chrome, Firefox, and Edge, all have issues like slow performance and page loading, too many pop-up ads, random browser crashes, and auto-fill not working correctly. Some of these issues can affect an employee's productivity, and these are some of the steps to take.
These are only some of the more common challenges that WFH employees can face. There may be other issues not covered in this article that may be unique to your situation as well. However, for the most part, ensuring you’re using high-quality service from a trusted Internet provider like Rango can be the best way to ensure high productivity when working remotely.
Contact us if you’re looking to make the switch to some of the best Hi-Fi plans in Nevada, Colorado, and Washington. We’re sure to have a plan that’s right for you!
Rango brings reliable internet to underserved areas. We are growing an internet company that people love — offering affordable, hassle-free, and blazing fast broadband everywhere.