Being a virtual assistant, one has to be constantly online. As a VA, you will need to be virtually—no pun intended, really—present so as to allow room for communications and proper coordination with your clients. You have to be ready to receive updates on your task, make changes where necessary, and be able to communicate with your client as needed.
With that said, working online is in the nature of every virtual assistant, most of which consider the World Wide Web as their natural habitat, at least while they still don the label. As such, they know exactly what to expect when working online, having savored the best and the worst things that could happen when working online. Us at Bahagia Staff are no different, and in this blog, we are going to list down and detail the good and the bad of working on the Internet.
- You can work anywhere. Working on the Internet means that the only factor that you need to think about when choosing a place to work in is whether or not it has an Internet connection. You won\’t need to work in a fancy office in this matter. So long as your work venue allows you to connect to the World Wide Web, you are good to go.
- You can work freelance. When you work on the Internet, you have the option of offering your services to a single person or business, or simply be a freelancer and work for anyone who can afford your rates. Working online easily allows for the latter; it helps that there are sites that facilitate the employment of freelancers and allow them to market their services.
- You can dress up any way you want. Not being in a formal office, people who work on the Internet can practically dress up in whatever way they want, and still be able to work properly. Folks who work online, be it virtual assistants or remote employees, are bound by their own workplace rules since they are the ones overseeing themselves. The only thing that matters is that they work and deliver the services they are paid for, outfit be damned.
- No real time supervision = less stress. We all know how bad it feels knowing that you are being watched as you work. It can easily help build up some stress, and may even hamper productivity for some people. If you work online, however, you are pretty much your own supervisor and your client can only do so much to monitor you. As online supervision ranges from negligible to non-existent, it\’s easy not to feel so anxious over the fact that you are being watched.
- You have access to a massive library of information, in case you have no idea what to do. Oh Google, what would we do without you? If in doubt, or if there\’s anything that you need to know about your job that your client don\’t have answers to, it\’s easy to simply google up your issues and get answers in a matter of seconds. This perk is not exclusive to professionals working online, mind you, but to folks who have access to the Internet and know how to use it.
- It\’s easier to balance work and life. Working online allows you to freelance and work anywhere you please, and that would mean the possibility of working from home and setting your own work schedule. This will allow you to be constantly around your family, and be there in moments they need you the most. Furthermore, this gives you the freedom to give as much time to yourself as you needed.
Working online has its perks, but these too are balanced by some inevitable consequences. We will explore just what are the downsides of working on the Internet in the next article, so be sure to stay tuned.
