For a while, remote work was trendy. Then it became a necessity. Now, it’s here to stay—and for good reason. Allowing employees to work remotely improves business and creates happy, satisfied employees. It’s a win-win for everyone involved. Let’s discuss the benefits of the remote working lifestyle.
Saves Money
The financial benefits of remote employees are two-fold. First, they help the company in the following ways:
- Low to no overhead cost
- Lowered operation cost
- Lowered building mortgage or rent as downsizing continues
Second, they improve the employees’ circumstances by eliminating the following costs:
- Lunches at restaurants
- Professional wardrobe
- Gas for commutes
- Public transportation
- Parking
- Childcare
Improves Work-Life Balance
One of the greatest benefits of allowing employees to work remotely is an improved work-life balance.
Life is hectic for us all, and remotely working helps us get some of that busyness under control, rather than making it worse.
Without a commute, employees who work from home already benefit from the extra time they gain. Many companies allow flexible hours, meaning an employee can start and end their workdays whenever they want, as long as they complete their tasks.
This method significantly frees up schedules, especially for employees with children. They might begin work after dropping off their kids at school. Alternatively, they could finish the bulk of their duties before their kids even wake up.
We’ve all had those days where we needed to wait around for the repairman to arrive so we could get to work. As a remote employee, a person can continue to work at home easily, even when they’re expecting such appointments.
Eliminates Stressful Commutes
Sadly, many commutes cause employees great stress. There’s the hurry to get out the door on time, then the uncontrollable delays in traffic, and finally, the inevitable need to explain why they’ve arrived late.
A stressful commute is actually proven to cause health issues, such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol. It’s nothing to take lightly.
The disappearance of a commute has incredible benefits for the remote employee.
Not only that, the lack of a commute is the responsible choice for our environment, as it limits car emissions. This gives employees and employers a feeling that they’re positively contributing toward a better environment.
Makes Work More Inclusive
Sometimes, getting to an office that’s away from home isn’t possible for workers. They may have a physical disability, an inability to afford a commute, or they may live so far away that commuting is impractical.
With remote working opportunities, those situations are no longer an issue. The option of working from home allows more people from a wider range of backgrounds to apply to and secure jobs.
Increases Productivity
The question all employers want to know the answer to is, “Will my employees be productive at home?” From what we are seeing, yes. Here’s why:
Decreased Distractions
An office is a fun place but also a distracting one. It’s tough not to take a longer rest than you should when a great conversation is happening in the break room. For those who perform better in a quiet atmosphere, having little control over the noises in an office can be frustrating.
Besides noise, other people’s actions can create difficulty in instances when it’s time to get in the zone and really focus on a task.
The Reality of Performance
Maybe at the office, “Early Earl” arrives an hour ahead of others every day and leaves an hour later to show everyone how hard he’s working.
Meanwhile, “Just-in-Time Judy” clocks in at a normal time and leaves exactly eight hours later.
It’s natural for the entire office, including management, to think Earl is a workaholic and probably benefitting the company drastically. But in reality, he may just feel bored and lonely and may do no more work than Judy.
Remote employees show their true colors when their employer only looks at what they produce while working from home. A helpful tool for remote employees and their employers is simple employee time tracking software.
Time tracking software allows remote employees to accurately record their hours worked. Often, remote workers are granted flexible scheduling that fits their at-home lifestyle. This may mean starting earlier than they normally would or working later at night, as long as their work gets completed on time.
It also provides many other benefits, such as automatic paid holidays and PTO (Paid Time Off) management.
The Comforts of Home
It’s tough to beat the comforts of home. Now, working is comfortable too.
While remotely working, employees have opportunities to create an office space that works for them, stay in comfortable clothing all day, and sip coffee from their favorite mug. Those things sound like insignificant details, but in reality, comfort leads to increased productivity.
Increases Loyalty
Because the benefits of working remotely are so great, the chance of increased loyalty from employees toward their company gets higher.
Why would an employee leave a company that trusts its staff to work from home, especially when that business has set up a system to make sure that it recognizes remote employees for their efforts?
Frees up Working Locations
Many companies allow remote employees to work from literally anywhere. As a result, if your employer is in Chicago, but you’d like to work from Florida for a month, you can (depending on your company’s rules, of course).
The ability to work from just about anywhere frees employees’ minds from concerns about a lack of mobility. They can freely live where they want to live or travel where they’d like to travel.
That relaxed atmosphere is one of the ways allowing employees to work remotely improves business.
Boosts Overall Happiness
Don’t underestimate the power of overall happiness in employees.
All in all, people working from home rather than coming into an office generally feel happy. This is because of the comforts of home, the lowered stress, the ease of beginning each day without a commute, and the respect that employees feel for remote working opportunities.
In conclusion, the implementation of remote work improves business because it leads to greater productivity and saves money for the company. If you’re considering this for your company, give it a shot and see how positive the response is.
TimeTrakGO understands the unique needs of remote employees and their employers. That’s why we offer our trusted time tracking software to make the transition to remote work easier. Contact us to discuss how TimeTrakGO can help you manage your remote workforce.
