The COVID-19 pandemic has made work from home the new normal of global businesses. To help stop the transmission of the coronavirus, businesses have allowed remote working since the outbreak. Employers have become more resilient in operating their businesses while putting the health and wellbeing of their staff as part of their public health responsibility.
While working from home presents clear and immediate perks to employees, how can employers benefit from giving their staff freedom to work in the comforts of their homes?
Here are several compelling reasons why employers should adopt flexible working practices and how remote working can help boost their business:
More Savings –
Corporate wardrobe, gas, lunches bought, office rentals, utility bills, and parking fees are among the many expenses that you can reduce or eliminate from your spending. Allowing your employees to work remotely from home can benefit you with long-term savings, particularly on overhead costs. It also enables you to have greater control over your budget. With a remote work set-up, you no longer have to worry about your lunch. Instead of eating fast foods, you can quickly whip us something healthy in your kitchen while managing your business and employees in the comforts of your home.
More Efficient Communication –
Project management tools, such as Slack, Zoom, and Hub Staff, helps get everyone on the same page. These useful tools keep all important files, communications, and approvals in an easily accessible place and eliminate time lost sifting email chains, documents, and reports. Additionally, it also helps improve collaboration between different teams (or departments) and project updates in real-time. It also allows you to partner and communicate with your in-house staff and even offshore SEO company in Toronto.
Better Work-Life Balance –
People working from home are more likely to enjoy a better work-life balance. Promoting remote work set-up and flexible schedules gives your staff the freedom to choose when to start and end their day as long as they will accomplish all their tasks on time. Having such control over their work schedule allows both employers and employees to attend to their personal needs, such as running errands, spending time with their families or enriching their management skills by taking online courses, like an OKR certification from a Washingtonagency.
Improved Employee Retention –
Work from home set-up is a highly effective tool for employee retention tool. Small businesses cannot compete with larger companies in terms of benefits and salary. Small business owners cannot afford to lose employees as it can affect their day-to-day operations. The option to work remotely gives them the freedom and flexibility they crave.
Access to Wider Pool of Applicants –
Remote working is one of the key drivers to attracting millennials. Many younger job seekers want workplace flexibility when looking for a new role. Offering this benefit can effectively entice young and highly skilled employees to your company. Also, a remote work set-up enables you to hire outside of your normal commuting distance, widen your net, and work with the most talented individuals regardless of their location.
Make Better Use of Technology –
Today’s advanced technology made it possible to work from home. Mobile devices, fast internet connections, cloud computing, project management software, instant messaging, and VoIP allows you to communicate and collaborate instantaneously with your employees. Hiring a trusted IT companies in Torontoto put all the necessary technology in place gives your remote working arrangement the best chance of success.
Read More: How to Create a Remote Work Setup at Your Home
Increased Productivity –
Employers must trust their employees to let them work from home, but employers who offer remote and flexible working schedules benefit from an increase in productivity. A Canada Life survey shows that remote employees rated their productivity level as 7.7 over 10 compared to 6.5 over 10 for office workers. Remote workers claimed that there are fewer distractions and noise working in their homes. Additionally, a survey from Stanford claims that people working from home are 13% more productive than their in-office counterparts.
Positive Environmental Impact –
A remote work arrangement contributes to various sustainability initiatives. In addition to economic growth, working from home helps lower carbon footprints and greenhouse gas emissions. Pollution, congestion, and traffic have significantly reduced since the pandemic. People have begun using environmental-friendly means of transportation when running errands. Global Workforce Analytics estimates a reduction of 54 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions every year if people continue working out of the office even for only half of the workweek.
Remote work is changing the work setup for many companies today. While this arrangement may not work for every business, it can be mutually beneficial for both business owners and employees.
If you are wary about this work set-up, outlining your expectations, setting productivity goals and conducting regular progress check-ins can help address your work from home concerns and get everybody on the same page.
