The advent of remote work is well-established and unlikely to wither in the face of continual power outages in many countries across the globe. Partly, this is because remote workers are finding innovative and effective ways to beat outages that threaten their livelihoods and their new-found work-life balance. The impact of power outages is particularly pronounced in the South African context, where more and more professionals work remotely for international companies from the comfort of their homes. In a country with high unemployment levels, finding employment abroad has been a lifesaver for many.
This is how remote workers are taking on the threat posed by continual power outages:
Doing their planning and preparing adequately: start by knowing when the planned outages will likely happen. In South Africa, the planned outage schedules are available on Eskom's app, https://sepush.co.za/. Also, numerous sites provide information about planned and predicted outages. If you anticipate an extended outage and limited connectivity, download the documents you need ahead of time.
Look for alternative worksites: many cafes and restaurants offer free internet connectivity, and some even provide recharge facilities. Some useful applications will help you find the nearest hotspot to your location, such as Remotable (https://www.remotable.info). Also, read more here: https://memeburn.com/gearburn/2022/10/heres-the-load-shedding-solution-for-working-remotely/. If you might need to go more formal or require some privacy, hotdesking or co-working facilities are a good alternative, e.g., https://roam.work
Get backup power: by that power backup device. Great recommendations here: https://www.cdw.com/content/cdw/en/articles/hardware/best-apc-ups-home-small-business.html. It does not have to be expensive, and sometimes a simple portable power charging unit will help you keep your phone and laptop charged. Remember that you can recharge your devices in your car.
Do your research: there are many good articles on the topic, and great advice is on hand, e.g. https://www.liveabout.com/working-from-home-power-internet-outage-3542781
Want to know more about how to secure work abroad working remotely from your home? Read more here: www.outprof.com
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