For many organisations, the last few months has meant employees working remotely, often from home in isolation. So should this become the new normal? This article shares ten great reasons you should consider remote work for the long term.
When the pandemic hit us, what WHO suggested containing the virus was to go under lockdown to limit its spread and to keep things under control until a more reasonable solution comes along.
That is exactly what we did! Governments went under lockdown, schools got closed, we limited ourselves to just ourselves, social distancing became the new norm and the start to a new era began.
As we are all well aware, once this pandemic has been controlled if not completely taken care of, no matter what we do, our lives are never going to be the same again. A virus that is so contagious is hard to get rid of but we cannot just sit at home and do nothing.
Once the lockdown began, many companies worldwide suggested that instead of going under a complete shutdown of work, what seemed better to do was to authorise their employees to work from home. Remote work for big tech organisations might have worked, but it wasn’t the answer for production companies selling products such as printed mailer boxes.
For the longest time, remote working has been the only work mode that freelancers have been known to do but now, everyone seems to be working from home due to obvious reasons which seems somewhat beneficial, not just for the employee but for the company as well.
So, given everything that has happened in the last few months, shouldn’t we consider if remote work is a far better option for organisations? It does seem to have its perks and offers way more flexibility than a 9-5 job.
We have enlisted top 10 reasons why should an organisation consider remote work for the long term, let’s check them out below,
Less time and money spent on fuel
When someone works in an office, he has to take a daily commute, no matter where he lives. The commute can either be a fun ride or a miserable journey, something that may stress the employee out. Another disadvantage of having to commute daily to your office also means you need to keep money aside just so you can get to your office.
Well, all of this hassle and the extra cost is minimised, actually eradicated if an employee works from home. He can wake up whenever time he wants to without dreading the journey ahead while saving more than ever before.
An enhanced work-life balance
Juggling your life and your work is an art. Those who do 12-hour desk jobs know exactly how difficult it is to juggle their work routine with their family. Most of the time, these people do not get enough time to spend with their loved ones which in return causes them to resent their work.
When it comes to finding a motivating working environment, having flexible hours and zeal to move forward can truly help. With remote working, your employees get the benefit of managing their life and overall work productivity in a much better way.
When they don’t have to worry about spending time with their kids because they are always home, they will pay far more attention to their work and be more creative with their results. Being glued to a desk 9-5 can truly take away your freedom to be who you want to be which they get by remote employment.
You get a wide array of applicants willing to work
One reason why you should consider going for remote work in long terms will also mean you get to have a wide array of applicants from different areas to be on your team.
When you struck off the need to be in a commutable distance with your office, you open the doors for people to come to you from around the country may be the entire world even. Our younger generation, people who we can millennials have a passion to show themselves to the world.
They’re creative and have ideas that you can’t possibly imagine. If you combine their talent with your resources, your company’s performance will be unmatched.
With remote working opportunities, you get the benefit of hiring the best of the best even from all around the world. You bring diversity in your team, something that will surely pay you off in the long term.
Low costs
Now we all know that office space is expensive. You need to rent a flat or a designated office that is spacious enough to not only accommodate your entire team but also should have a decent location, parking and so on, all of this comes at a lot of expense.
Along with all of that, you need to pay your monthly bills for gas connection and electricity, you need internet facility, you need to invest in furniture, you need computer systems because no organisation can work without that, you need a kitchen and you need grocery, the list just doesn’t end and all of which you can minimise if you allow your employees to work remotely.
A remote working environment cuts on a lot of additional costs and instead of paying these rents, you can provide your employees with better remuneration.
Increased productivity
When your employee gets a working environment he is comfortable in, his productivity automatically increases because he gets to work in an office where he doesn’t have to stay glued to his seat. He can manage his working hours and provide you with the results you have wanted to have all along.
But this also depends on business owners. For the whole work from home thing to work, an employer must have full faith in his employee and if he does, he will get maximum results from them.
We are not saying to completely go off the grid and adopt the work from the home environment but you can always come up with a flexible routine between working from home and coming to offices, every once in a while.
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Employees will be able to avoid office politics
As much as we might not want to admit it, office politics has been a norm since the advent of time itself. Leg pulling and talking behind a colleague’s back is not only disrespectful but also makes the individual lose his morale.
By shutting out the possibility of going to the office and comparing an individual’s performance with another and about that promotion baggage, employees get to have their liberties without having to deal with someone keen on bringing them down. It helps them in staying focus on their work and to come out better every day for the organisation.
More vacancies
Before we talked about reduced costs as you don’t have to pay for office rent anymore but another benefit that an organisation can get from allowing their employees to work remotely is that they can decrease their salaries while accommodating more employees, expanding their vacancies.
When an employee cuts short on all the money he had to spend days while coming on office, he won’t have any problem on cutting off on salary as well if it means getting to have flexible hours. This can help the organisation bring in more people to the table, expand their horizons and provide more vacancies to the people who deserve it.
More profit
Minimising the space cost and hiring more brains to be on your team is bound to make your success rate go higher than ever before.
You need to consider the fact that when several mindful people come along together to work on a common goal, they get 200% better results. With the help of additional people you have hired, you can expand your services and get in touch with more people who can get benefit from the work that your organisation does.
By doing this, you not only enhance your office’s overall efficiency and make new connection fast but you will also get the opportunity of doubling up your profit.
Office of one’s choice
This may seem not as beneficial but trust us when we say, having an office that you like to go inside can enhance your overall productivity to 90%.
By working from home, your employees get the opportunity of choosing their own home office and coming up with a workspace that they thoroughly enjoy. Whether they would like to set up a work table in their living room or go up to their room’s balcony and work in the comfort of nature, all of it indirectly improves their focus so they end up providing the organisation with better results.
A better understanding of one another
We may think that when people are in proximity of each other, they understand one another better but that might not be the case where office employees are concerned.
When you know you can talk to your colleague right outside of your cubicle, you may not listen to them as intently as you are well when you’re on a video call or you’re typing an email in response. People who know they have limited time to get their answers from a concerned person; they will make sure to get all the answers they need in the best way possible.
When composing an email to your colleague, the person will go through the entire write up over and over again just to make sure that he wrote all the points down thoroughly and hasn’t missed any point. This not only develops a better understanding between two employees but they also work closely to meet their common goal.
In Summary
So, as you have read everything by now, pandemic or not, going for remote working options for the long term is a wise choice for organisations if they want to do better in the far off future.
Remote working has many benefits which include lowering their costs and doubling up the profit. It also enables the organisation to hire more people to join their team which is going to be essential in the time that is coming.
About the Author
Usman Akram is a passionate blogger who writes on various subjects. However, packaging being something he operates in regularly fascinates him the most. He’s operating a packaging blog, PackagingWin where you can find inspiration about various products packaging and unique design.
