With the capability to work from anywhere and anytime, remote work has become a global movement. It was taking shape even before the advent of the coronavirus pandemic which forced many people to work from their residence, but it has become truly unstoppable in the last year. Providing employees the flexibility to work from anywhere and at any time has become a commonplace occurrence for companies and industries of various sizes. Several top organisations offer partial or full-time remote working. Working remotely doesn’t have to be from home either: it can be from any place such as a restaurant or a coffee shop. Remote work provides greater autonomy and flexibility for employees.
A Better Work And Life Balance
For several businesses working remotely was a nigh-impossible task till a couple of decades ago. Without having access to the right technology, it was practically mandatory for employees to visit the office for their work. A blurred line between home and work can be a downside of working remotely. Therefore, maintaining a healthy work and life balance is a top priority for most employees. The capability to balance the two worlds is the key to feeling happy and being productive at work. People are saving time on their long commute and earning a better work-life balance.
Greater Freedom For Employees
It is pretty clear that remote work allows employees to be more engaged, happy and fulfilled. According to a recently published report, staff tend to feel more engaged when they spend 3-4 days away from the worksite. If you want to visit your family living in another state or visit your child’s school to watch a football game, a conventional employee will have to take time off to be able to do so while the remote employee can benefit from more flexibility. They can work from home, travel abroad, or be in the office for one day, the remote employees will enjoy the benefits of remote work!
Increased Productivity
Employers these days are struggling with a very common question: if I can’t see my employees working, are they? Whether an employer can trust their team even when it is not working in the office may be the key to driving greater productivity in the remote working world. Data available indicates that when employees can skip the long commute, coffee breaks and other distractions to concentrate on work, productivity is at its highest. There was a two-year-long study conducted by Stanford University which studied 500 employees by dividing them into traditional and remote-working groups. The remote group showed a boost in productivity amounting to a full day’s work. Not only that but there were fewer sick days reported and more than 50% reduction in attrition.
Plus, it is easy to monitor your team’s work and see whether they are getting their tasks done. You can ask them to share documents or grant you access to them. However, there can be an influx of instant messages, emails, videos, etc. and it may be a good idea to zip the files during the transfer. This is done in order to distribute files faster and more securely.
Promotes The Wellbeing Of Employees
As there is no commute involved, no rush for lunch and no long hours away from friends and family, there is scope for improvement in the wellness and health of the employee by decreasing stress and reducing the exposure to possibly sick colleagues. However, the employees must not skip a wellness plan while working remotely such as a company wellness program including going to a gym. It is just as significant as for those with routine office work.
Author: Joseph Canmore
Photo Credits: iStock on Pixabay
