Gone are the days when remote working used to be unconventional. With the advent of technology, now more and more businesses are allowing their employees to work remotely.
In fact, in the current ongoing crisis, most businesses have voluntarily or mandatorily allowed their employees to work remotely. And considering the benefits of remote working, 57% of businesses believe that remote working is going to stay after the pandemic. What about you? Is your business leveraging the remote working model to grow?
In today’s article, I’m going to discuss five reasons why you should consider adopting the remote work model.
Let’s discuss:
1- Boost Employees’ Productivity
Remote working allows employees to choose their suitable setups and tools to be more productive. According to a study, 79% of managers see increased productivity when their teams work remotely.
Some employees are comfortable working in a tidy setting, on an office desk, listening to slow instrumentals. But other employees might feel more productive on a sofa, with electronic dance music (EDM) on a high volume.
Having control of the work environment improves the productivity of employees. Something as simple as creating a dynamic QR Code that contains the daily To-Do can go a long way. And remote working allows them to pick their options and concentrate on their work in a corner where they’re entirely comfortable. Working remotely also helps employees have fewer distractions.
An arrangement of flexible working hours, too, boosts employees’ productivity. While some would like working during the regular hours, others might prefer being active late at night. And the remote work model often enables them to work when they feel the most productive.
What’s more, the lack of commute stress also factors in, to increase the productivity levels.
2- Increase Employee Satisfaction
Remote employees tend to take lesser off-days, compared to their in-office counterparts.
According to a survey, remote employees worked 1.4 more days every month than the in-office workers. And remote workers also reported a lesser time being distracted during the working hours.
By working from home or other places of their choice, the remote employees can manage their time better and get more things done.
The flexible working hours contribute towards reducing the overall rate of absence too. Remote employees can go to their dentists in the morning, and make up the lost hours by working in the evening. They can attend a wedding ceremony during the day, and log in to their work late at night.
And the benefits like getting time for workouts or to make their breakfasts, or spending more time with family, also adds to employee satisfaction.
Satisfied employees are what a company needs to grow. They give a significant boost to your day-to-day business. So, you must give the remote work model a thought.
3- Better Work-life Balance
Remote workers can fit their daily chores and hobbies into the workday better than the office-goers. And the flexibility and control over schedule is an invaluable factor in turning to a remote work model.
You, and your remote team, can choose a flexible working schedule – when one wants to begin the day, and when to end as long as the work schedule doesn’t affect business operations.
Whether they want to attend parent-teacher meetings in schools, follow-up with the doctor, or spend more time on getting fit, they can often do it when working from home. And as long as everyone meets the work requirements, keeping a watch on employees doesn’t make much sense.
A remote work model doesn’t only lead to a healthy work-life balance, but it also keeps stress levels at a minimum.
Instead of stressing over work, employees can take short breaks and spend some time with their family. They can cook lunch with their partners, listen to a podcast, read a book or tend the garden with kids. And remote working also allows time for varied personal errands as long as the work is not affected.
4- Reduced Operating Costs
Yes, remote work can reduce the operating costs incurred in your business.
By going remote, you’ll spend less on onsite business operations. These include the costs of office maintenance, equipment usage and repairs, and overhead expenses like office supplies and stationeries. You just have to invest in good remote team communication tools.
Electricity charges would be reduced too. And you can even save on reimbursements for food or travel if any.
In fact, as per an estimate by Global Workplace Analytics, a company in the US can save $11,000 per remote worker annually. And what’s more, they arrived at that figure, assuming the workers would telecommute for only 50% of their time.
So, the more time your team spends working remotely, the higher would be the savings.
5- Better Employee Retention
The flexibility and freedom offered by remote working improve employee retention too.
By reducing the amount of micro-management and constant surveillance, you show you trust them. And in return, your employees shower you with their loyalty.
Even a survey revealed that more than one-third of US workers would prioritize remote working over getting a prestigious role.
When employees aren’t micro-managed, they’re more enthusiastic about their work. The flexibility in schedule allows them to finish work at their pace and pursue their hobbies and interests. They can use the rest of the time to improve their knowledge or even learn new skills.
The freedom to work from anywhere also enables your employees to take part in activities they care about.
By allowing your employees ample time to take care of themselves and attend to family responsibilities without affecting the work, you can achieve a better employee satisfaction ratio.
Such an arrangement improves work-life balance, which also results in better employee retention.
You may be wondering about employees feeling lonely and getting bored when working remotely. To overcome this, there are many low-cost virtual team building activities that help build a cohesive team and make employees feel connected.
You can consider looking at virtual team building activities like:
Final thoughts
The remote working trend is catching up fast, and many reputed remote working statistics confirm it.
The above-mentioned benefits of remote working are real and move the needle fast. By adopting the remote working model, you will not only be able to reduce operating costs but also make your employees happier. And happy employees means higher productivity and lower employee attrition rate.
What about you? Do you want to share any benefits of remote working? Please leave it in the comment section. I’d love to know about them.
Andrej Fedek is the creator and the one-person owner of two blogs: InterCool Studio and CareersMomentum. As an experienced marketer, he is driven by turning leads into customers with White Hat SEO techniques. Besides being a boss, he is a real team player with a great sense of equality.
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