Digital Workplace Group states that 2008, the number of people working remotely has seen a 115% rise, and they have predicted that 38% of the population of full-time employees will be doing their work remotely in the next decade. Remote could indeed be the workplace of the future.
So why is remote work so popular? Its appeals for employees are obvious. Perks include:
But you might be asking how working from home saves companies money, or even if remote working is even feasible for your workplace.
In previous years, many employers have expressed concern about hiring remote workers; they fear that they might not get the job done without supervision or be uncontactable when they are needed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8O1hAAprTk
In reality, it has never been easier to organise a remote workforce. Applications like Trello and Slack help to keep remote workforces organised and hardware like interactive displays ensure that teams can still interact, even if they are not all in the same place.
Plus, there are some amazing advantages of remote working for employers. They range from saving money on office space to giving employees a feeling of freedom. We’ll look into the top 19 in this blog post!
Despite many employers being concerned about the potential lack of productivity in work-at-home environments, many actually find the contrary to be true. Workers can set up a place at home where they are comfy and void of distractions. Here is likely to be a much more productive environment than the average office.
Some professions, in particular in the tech industry, require employees to work in ‘blocks’; they may need to focus for many hours at a time. Having space where nobody will interrupt is very important for this-this is why remote work is so popular in these industries.
While not true for all positions, many remote workers pay for their own remote working equipment. This is particularly true for freelancers, who are self-employed and only work as required.
Freelancers typically purchase their own computers and other devices and claim it under their own business expenses – so this is one less thing that the employer has to worry about!
Hiring remotely allows employers to choose ‘the best of the best’. Some businesses are able to hire people from anywhere in the world, whilst others require someone to be in a particular location or time zone.
But either way, there will almost certainly be a larger selection of people than if the role was advertised as an in-office position.
Hiring remote workers means that you’ll have access to a lot of employees who already have the necessary skill set required for the advertised job.
As you will be less likely to have to sacrifice on the location of the person, you’ll be able to focus on people who already have training for the required position. This cuts training costs out completely.
Absenteeism in the workplace is a big problem for workers and employees alike. Illnesses and appointments are often unavoidable (although remote working helps with them, too!), but absenteeism due to commuting time can be curbed by hiring a remote team.
Generally, employees hate commuting – many claiming delays are as bad as having a pay cut.
Employers might find that remote workers are more inclined to even start their day early due to lack of commuting – and as they won’t be rushing to make a train at the end of the day, they may well be happy to stay an extra five minutes to finish off any tasks.
You might not think it, but there are some great advantages for hiring remote workers when it comes to the employee retention rate. This is due to a few reasons:
These factors will help you keep trained staff in the job for longer.
Remote workers and employees alike can both enjoy the financial benefits of working from home. Because remote workers aren’t shelling out for commuting costs and often save money on lunches and coffees, they often do not mind a slight reduction in wages.
Expenses that the worker does have from working at home – like the cost of laptops and other equipment – are often thought to be their responsibility, as they will likely be using the gear for leisure as well.
One of the more obvious benefits of remote working for employers is that they will have to spend less – or nothing – on office space. It’s pricey to rent or buy office space, but that’s not the only expense when it comes to having an in-house office.
Electricity and water bills must be taken into account, as well as the costs of Wi-Fi. This means that the savings on office space can be astronomical; and every expense cut is, of course, in addition to a business’ profits!
Hiring remote teams – or a number of freelancers – means that employers have less of an obligation to provide perks. Freelancers are likely to organise their own health insurance etc. and the companies that they work for are not indebted to providing pension schemes.
Put shortly, cutting the costs of perks for employees means that the companies hiring them can make big savings.
Around 82% of telecommuters have lower stress levels than in-house workers. Stress is a big contributor to mental health problems like anxiety and depression; so cutting this is obviously crucial to a productive workforce.
Stress in the workplace is clearly negative for both workplace productivity and office communications and helps people on an individual and community level. So anything that curbs workplace stress is useful for offices!
As well as less stressed, employees who work remotely tend to have more gratitude. They’re likely to be thankful for the chance to spend more time at home with loved ones and to have a flexible working day.
The result? Many employees feel more inclined to do employers a favour. Whether that being saying yes to a little more work, being responsive to emails about different tasks or even going to appointments and meetings (if the remote worker lives close by); they will gladly do this if they feel like their needs are being met.
One of the huge benefits of hiring remote teams is that work can be done around the clock – and not just during office hours at the location where your team is based.
This is great for businesses with a large customer service base that needs to be online all the time. Having correspondents in major time zones means that someone will always be around to answer any queries and solve any problems.
Another perk of the wider talent pool is that natives in other languages can easily be hired. This is fantastic for businesses requiring translation or customer service to people in all areas of the world.
Hiring native speakers in a language again help customer service needs to be met; increasing customer satisfaction and brand loyalty.
While remote working typically has a reputation for being unsocial, virtual connections can be made with people all over the world.
Having an international team helps people from different cultures learn from each other and share ideas that can be adopted across the board. And while the virtual workplace is a place to work, friendships can still be fostered here, increasing job satisfaction and in turn, productivity.
While office parties are often exciting social events, they can be a financial burden for employers. They’re not always an obligation for remote teams or companies that hire freelancers, especially if the team is spread out.
All Business states that “the improvement remote working has on employee morale is almost a given”, going on to point out that remote workers typically have a much higher work satisfaction than in-house employees.
Higher morale is understandably great for employers; a driven team is much more likely to work as required than an unmotivated one! Having positive staff members does wonder for a company and subsequently, their profits.
It’s always good to be seen as a business that cares about the environment. Having employees working from home has several environmental benefits, including:
Being in control of factors that can damage the environment (such as office supplies and the use of lights).
Remote work doesn’t just have benefits for mental health; there are great physical health benefits of working remotely from home as well.
Employees working remotely can see the doctor more easily, eat healthier and take care of ailments better; which means that they have the ability to work more efficiently and have less time off than if they were in an office.
Many hirers’ reasons to not use remote employees is because they are worried about the intricacy of it all (how to pay remote employees, how to scrutinise their work, etc.), and are concerned that they won’t be able to maintain their high level of business collaboration.
However, many people believe that remote work is the way of the future and that it is a trend well worth embracing. And it’s never been so easy; with software like Trello (that keeps teams organised) and modern technology like interactive displays (that connect with employee’s devices to ensure that everyone stays focused), remote work is a definite possibility for many teams.
Remote working is a trend that a lot of companies are going to adopt in the next few years – and many have already taken the plunge. If you feel like the benefits of remote working for employers benefits you, then why not add some remote workers to your team? It could be the best way forward for your company!
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