Opinion: When Working Remotely, Tasks Need Equitable Distribution
Jamila: I think one of the biggest problems remote teams face is the proper distribution of tasks. Uh, when you’re meeting at an office, it’s a lot easier to make sure that everyone has enough work, but not too much work, by just simply walking around and talking with them.
Jamila: But when you, uh, work online, you- you sort of need to, uh, talk it out a bit more. Make sure that everyone’s being honest about how much work they’ve got in front of them on any given day.
Jamila: So one really helpful way to find that out is just by having a quick team meeting. You know, every workday start off with a five, 10, 15-minute meeting, nothing too long,
Jamila: where everyone’s, uh, exchanging information and talking about what they are going to do that specific day, any roadblocks they’re facing.
Jamila: Um, and that way you can make sure that nobody is just gonna be sitting around all day twiddling their thumbs while another teammate is completely swamped, you know, can’t handle their workload.
Jamila: So you can distribute tasks according to, you know, that team member’s capability and their- their schedule for that day, and I think it’s just a really beneficial way of making sure that everyone’s on the right track and- and not overwhelmed.
Vocabulary:
remote teams – groups of employees who work together from different geographical locations, usually from home, using digital tools, “Our company transitioned to remote teams, allowing employees to work from any city they choose.”
distribution of tasks – the act of dividing up and assigning pieces of work to different people in a group, “A fair distribution of tasks ensures that no single project member is doing all the heavy lifting.”
simply – just, easily, or in a straightforward manner without complexity, “If you want to turn off the alarm, simply press the large red button.”
talk it out – to discuss a problem, plan, or situation thoroughly in order to resolve a misunderstanding or find a solution, “Instead of staying angry at each other, the two colleagues decided to sit down and talk it out.”
on any given day – on any random, ordinary, or specific day depending on the circumstances, “On any given day, you can find at least fifty people reading at the local library.”
exchanging information – the act of sharing or swapping facts, ideas, or data back and forth between people, “The detectives spent hours exchanging information about the recent case.”
roadblocks – obstacles, problems, or challenges that slow down or prevent progress on a project or goal, “The development team ran into a few technical roadblocks that delayed the app launch.”
twiddling their thumbs – an idiom meaning to sit idle with absolutely nothing to do, often resulting in boredom, “The restaurant was so quiet this afternoon that the servers were just standing around twiddling their thumbs.”
swamped – an informal term meaning overwhelmingly busy, or having way too much of something (like work) to handle at once, “I would love to go to lunch with you, but I am completely swamped with paperwork today.”
workload – the total amount of work or tasks assigned to a specific person or period of time, “She spoke to her manager about reducing her workload because she was working late every night.”
capability – the practical ability, skill, or power required to do something successfully, “The new software has the capability to process thousands of transactions per second.”
on the right track – an idiom meaning to proceed, progress, or behave in a way that is likely to lead to success or the correct result, “The teacher looked over my essay draft and confirmed I was on the right track.”
overwhelmed – feeling completely stressed out, crushed, or unable to cope because an amount of work or emotion is too great, “He felt overwhelmed by the number of unread emails waiting for him after his holiday.”