The sudden Coronavirus pandemic has not only affected the health of millions worldwide but also companies and how they operate. These past few months have been challenging for businesses and corporate organizations as coronavirus continues to bite hard on a global scale. Government authorities are enforcing strict measures like social distancing, remote working, and work from home methods to curtail the spread of the virus and so companies are now opting for other alternatives like remote working to keep their business competitive.
In this article, we will look at some of the benefits of working from home and why so many companies are shifting to this flexible workplace revolution.
Advantages of Remote Working
1. Your Employees Spend Less Time Commuting
Stressful and unpleasant commutes can be eliminated resulting in both the employer and employee benefiting. It gives the business a boost as everyone on remote work can focus on more important things rather than jumping into a bus or spending long hours in traffic. Your productivity depends on the health and wellbeing of your workforce.
2. Improved Retention of Employees
All businesses go through the headache of losing employees, but this can affect small businesses more as they can’t compete with larger organizations who can generally offer higher salaries and benefits for workers. Therefore, small businesses can make the most of the advantages they have by adopting remote working.
Outdated workplace practices and endless meetings may keep workers in more substantial organizations tied to their desks. However remote working gives employees of small businesses the freedom they desire. Parents with childcare responsibilities who work from home can have the freedom they need, as well as providing an excellent balance between life and work.
3. Wider Pool of Applicants
The reason why there is a high rise in remote working is something called the “millennial effect.” The younger generation can now communicate effectively and cheaply, and they do so from any part of the world. They also expect the same in the workplace environment.
Younger employees consider workplace flexibility as a critical factor when seeking for new roles or new jobs. A lot of surveys have shown that this is what the younger generation wants and expects. Offering this benefit will attract young employees who are willing to work with you.
4. Makes Your Employees Autonomous
Working from home gives your employees the freedom to operate in ways that suit them. Humans are very particular about how and when they like to work. In an office setting, all employees must use the same approach and adapt to a lot of things.
Remote working allows your workers to have more control over their time, resource, and productivity. This doesn’t mean you can’t put specific rules in place. With platforms like Microsoft virtual office, you can monitor employee productivity. Your standards should be within guidelines where your team will have the freedom to form an environment and schedule that suits them best to allow them to give their best.
5. Reduces Cost
Remote working reduces cost. It is quite expensive to rent office space, which is generally one of the highest fixed costs your business will have. But with remote work, your workers enjoy the freedom to work from home while helping you save the cost of renting an office.
6. Reduced Salaries
We are not suggesting that you should reduce your worker’s pay. But surveys have shown that 36% of people will choose the ability to work from home over a pay rise. This is an advantage for employers, meaning that instead of increasing their pay, you can reward them with the flexibility of working from home. Consequently, improving the level of cash flow in your business and helping you to keep your wage bill down.
7. Increased Productivity
Business owners who trust their employees to let them work from home benefit a lot from the increase in productivity that follows. A Canada Life survey ranked the productivity of working from home as 7.7/10 and working from an office as 6.5/10. People working from home are not distracted by fellow workers or a loud environment. This makes them 13% more productive than their office counterparts, according to a Standford survey.
8. Improved Inclusivity
If you hire remote workers, your business will have workers from different geographical, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds with different perspectives on life and work. This is generally not possible for big organizations whose recruitment is restricted to a certain location. This diversity boosts business as these people bring in their ideas and help push the company forward.
9. Positive Impact on the Environment
The more people working from home, the fewer greenhouse gasses will be released by cars and other means of transport. In the US, 3.9 million people worked from home, and this took 600,000 cars off the road in one year. This, therefore, helped to reduce the number of greenhouse gasses.
10. Prevents Office Politics
Many people don’t like the politics and games that go on in offices, and these types won’t give a second thought when offered a job with a remote role. Idle chatting and hanging out unnecessarily around the break room is also eliminated and there is less chance for gossips and other happenings in traditional work settings.