While clearly not every job is a good candidate for remote work, there are millions of jobs that are. This fact contributes to the ever-growing percentage of the workforce (now estimated to be around 40%) that work virtually in some capacity. Some employers remain wary of allowing remote work, while others embrace it fully. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits for employers of allowing remote work:
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- Employees working remotely may be more productive. They have fewer distractions like people walking by their desk or office, and there is probably less noise, too. There are fewer nonwork conversations to use up the workday. Some employees even work more hours when working from home, in particular because they’re not spending time commuting.
- Retention rates may improve. Employees who feel trusted and empowered to control their own workday are more likely to be satisfied with their job. They also have cost-saving benefits like reduced commuting expenses (and less commuting time and stress), that can contribute to overall satisfaction levels. There’s also less chance of interpersonal conflicts when there are fewer interpersonal interactions. Workplace flexibility is being cited more and more often as an expected benefit in today’s working environment.
- Employers and employees alike have cost savings. We just mentioned some of the potential cost savings for employees, including reduced or eliminated commuting costs. But that’s just one example. Employees may also save on the purchase of additional clothes for work or dry cleaning as well as reduced maintenance and possibly even reduced insurance costs for their vehicle. Employers can also reap big financial benefits if enough jobs are done remotely so that smaller office spaces can be leased and less electricity used. If the organization routinely pays for employee relocation costs, that can be another saved expense. Additionally, employees working from home may be able to work on some days when they would have called in sick otherwise, thus reducing the costs of absenteeism.
- Communication may improve. While many organizations fear allowing telecommuting because they assume that the employee will be difficult to reach and the team will be out of the loop on where projects stand, the opposite can be true. For telecommuting to be successful, the right infrastructure and culture will foster more communication, not less. Be sure to think through the implications and provide good tools and training so that team members in all locations can stay in touch and allow this to happen.
- Geographic scope for recruiting grows exponentially. If a job can be completed from anywhere, you can recruit from anywhere, meaning you’ll have a better likelihood of finding a candidate who’s a good fit since you’ll be able to cast a wider net.
These are just a few examples of the benefits of telecommuting, and the good news is that many employers can take advantage of these benefits even if only a fraction of their jobs can be done remotely.
That said, there are also potential drawbacks to having a dispersed workforce, such as the need to invest in training and technology and possibly the need to create a cultural shift to accommodate remote workers effectively. Remote working can also mean fewer interpersonal interactions, such that employers need to be proactive to make up for that without losing team cohesiveness.
Many employers are opting to implement flexibility into their work schedules by allowing employees to work remotely part of the time while still working in a shared workspace the rest of the time, thus getting more “face time” with the rest of the team. Other employers are opting to find other ways to mitigate any downsides while embracing this trend fully, such as planning in-person meetings on a regular basis to facilitate cohesive teamwork skills.
What has been your experience? Does your organization promote remote work?