How Companies Benefit When Employees Work Remotely HBS Working Knowledge

Sondra is recognized for her ability to locate authoritative sources, meet tight deadlines, and maintain a distinct voice while matching the tone of a given publication or brand. She is currently a writer and editor at Lauchlan, a marketing agency for the technology sector. Wallins suggests consciously enjoying those temptations in small doses (say 10 to 20 minutes) and without https://remotemode.net/ guilt. She also recommends creating tiny rituals or events to carry you through the days and weeks so your structure doesn’t exclusively come from meetings and deadlines, which can be demotivating. Enjoyable, at-home rituals could be as simple as walking the dog, doing 10 minutes of yoga, or scheduling a lunch every Thursday with a local friend who also works from home.

As trends emerge around work environments, employees and employers are finding new ways to keep productivity levels high. Allowing employees to work remotely can boost their morale while ensuring your company meets – or exceeds – its previous efficiency rates. And with these tips to further increase your remote employees’ productivity, your team can accomplish new goals while enjoying their time at your company. While remote employees report decreased stress levels, workplace stress, pressure and anxiety haven’t dissipated entirely.

You have more opportunities.

Remote workers have the advantage of not coming into contact with other people (which is especially important in the light of Covid-19) and catching unwanted germs from coughs and colds. Moreover, remote work allows for a more diverse and inclusive workforce, as it eliminates geographical limitations that can be a barrier to employment for some people. Additionally, it allows companies to attract top talent from around the world, regardless of location. Oyster is a global employment platform designed to enable visionary HR leaders to find, engage, pay, manage, develop, and take care of a thriving distributed workforce. Oyster lets growing companies give valued international team members the experience they deserve, without the usual headaches and expense. Many of the examiners also benefited financially by bringing their Greater Washington, DC, salaries to less costly regions, effectively increasing their real incomes.

Working remotely gives employees the opportunity to craft a workspace that meets their individual requirements, such as an inviting and tranquil home office. Not only does this result in heightened productivity and satisfaction for them, but it also allows staff members to work in a space where ambiance fits their preferences and disturbances are kept at bay. Another perk of the wider talent pool is that natives in other languages can easily be hired. This is fantastic for businesses requiring translation or customer service to people in all areas of the world. While not true for all positions, many remote workers pay for their own remote working equipment.

More effective communication

For businesses outside of metropolitan areas, finding employees can be difficult. Depending on the size of your business, supporting remote employees could produce significant savings without radically restructuring your company. According to Global Workplace Analytics, employers who allow employees to work from home part-time save about $11,000 per year per employee, a number that would increase for fully remote employees. Skipping the commute and open-plan office gives employees more time to focus on their work and leisure, increasing productivity. However, many remote workers skip the gossiping and posturing of the traditional work environment.

• Employees need to be comfortable operating from home to ensure adequate disaster preparedness, so it’s essential to test that it’s possible.
• In addition to attracting better talent, remote work can help businesses keep the talent they already have.
• To overcome these challenges, employers and managers should establish clear communication channels and protocols, and encourage regular check-ins and virtual meetings.
• In previous years, many employers have expressed concern about hiring remote workers; they fear that they might not get the job done without supervision or be uncontactable when they are needed.
• Businesses must stress the importance of maintaining confidentiality, and consider limiting work in public spaces.
• In fact, 35 percent of employees would change jobs if it meant the ability to work off-site full-time, according to Gallup.

Employees can be more productive when working from home as it’s in their interest to get the job done effectively and not waste time. One of the advantages of remote working means you can set up your office or workspace as you want it. You don’t have to worry about colleagues complaining if you’re untidy. And if you’re the obsessively tidy one in the office you can focus on your own area.

New work: Why remote is here to stay

As well as less time spent traveling, working from home reduces office gossip time, lateness, and time wasted in the coffee shop. They can plan their day to suit both their work and home life, as long as they do the set hours at the right time. Having the flexibility to attend medical appointments, watch the kids’ basketball game, or take elderly parents shopping can lighten the load.

• Whether you prefer working from home or in a co-working space, you can find a setup that suits your needs and helps you be more productive.
• Because remote teams rely heavily on effective communication, remote workers tend to be great communicators, reducing the risk of misunderstandings and politicking.
• Another advantage of written communication is that it can be easily documented and referenced later, which helps to keep track of projects and progress.
• Nevertheless, it is equally important to highlight that, with some careful planning, the benefits of working from home can extend to the businesses employing those remote teams, too.

Some employers even give refreshment or clothing allowances as a benefit. Remote working saves on these expenses, which can add up to a substantial amount. This means more disposable income available for other things, which is always a good thing. The benefits of remote working can be just as advantageous for the employer as the employee. Working out a mutually agreeable situation for both is ideal, as remote working is growing in popularity.

You achieve a better work-life balance.

Because this work necessitates less face-time between employees, structured and regularly scheduled communication is vital for the success of both the individual employee and the business as a whole. Likewise, policies need to be put in place to ensure that workers stay on task and complete the work they are assigned. With an effective remote work policy in place, workers will feel engaged, connected, and energized. Remote work provides clear cost savings for both employers and employees. Employers have dramatically reduced the cost of business travel, while employees avoid commuting costs. More than a mere workplace trend, the concept of working from anywhere at any time is the future state of work.

While working remotely, productivity increased among all examiners and continued to rise with each step toward the full work-from-anywhere policy, the researchers found. Productivity increased 4.4 percent when employees moved from working at home on a limited basis to the location of their choice. Based on a patent’s average value, this productivity gain could add $1.3 billion of value to the US economy each year, the researchers estimate.

If a component on your PC or laptop fails, you have to either drive to or get a technician to fix it, which could leave you out of work for a few days. Many disadvantages dismiss remote working as a viable option for many industries. Contact us or schedule a consultation to see how we can help you handle the process of going remote. Whether it’s a project that needs to https://remotemode.net/blog/how-remote-work-can-benefit-employees-and-companies/ be submitted by the end of the week or a pressing email which needs to be sent by the end of the day, deadlines are inescapable. After global events altered our lives forever, one of the biggest adaptations that has stuck with us is in the way we work. Working from home has become the norm for many of us—despite being a relatively new concept for a lot of industries.

And if facing the morning winter commute is too much, a sick day may happen. Working from home, however, allows the employee to work at their own pace in an environment that’s comfortable to them—if they feel well enough to work. Research found seven out of 10 people worked while feeling ill since the rise of remote working. By 2025, we can expect 36 million of us (22% of the workforce) to be working remotely, with even more employers adopting a hybrid work model. Of course, the pandemic has played a major role in this shift, with the number of at-home workers leaping from 6% in 2019 to 33% by May the following year.

You may experience the bias some remote workers report.

Employees already bring work home after hours, finish presentations over the weekend, or catch up on email while waiting in line. You’ll also make the most of the real-time interaction you have with colleagues. Rather than interrupting them while they’re in flow, you might instead write up a memo outlining your plan then call a meeting to discuss once everyone has read it. Pre-reading before meetings saves time and ensures you don’t waste the time you spend together on context gathering.