Year 2020 witnessed a big shift in remote work, and more and more companies adopted the remote work policy to save their business. Earlier working from home sas allowed usually on special request for specific cases. However, the pandemic has made remote working more popular than ever. Employees from various career fields like programmers, developers, bankers, teachers, writers, call center operators, admin officers, lawyers and many others started working from home at a fast pace.
Working from home allowed employees to enjoy various flexibility which was not possible earlier. While still employees are working 40hours a week, or more, the traditional 9-5 working hours concept is no longer mandatory. Remote workers enjoy flexible working schedules which gives them a better work-life balance, reduced stress and overall positive improvements in their personal lives. Working remotely is also time saving, as employees don’t have to travel to the office every day to do their job. Remote work today is becoming more common, and there are many reasons for this. Lets learn why are employees and employers are appreciating to this remote work trend and why they want to continue it:
1. Flexibility: Today’s dynamic workforce demands flexibility. Working from home has actually made it come true for them, where they have the option to tailor their working hours in accordance with their professional and personal needs. Millennials want the flexibility to work and also to have time for other activities.
2. Location Independence: Remote work allows companies to hire talents from any geographic location. This is a great opportunity for job seekers living in small towns to get a job where there may not be many available local positions. It allows people to enjoy a meaningful career and live as digital nomads.
3. No or less commute stress: Daily commuting to office is time taking, exhausting and costly. Daily commuting is associated with increased levels of stress and anxiety which causes various health issues. Ditching the daily commute lets you support your physical and mental health. You can use those extra saved hours for your personal task like making breakfast, do some workout or just sleep extra for mindfulness.
4. Saves money: Going to office is associated with many other costs, which includes gas, car maintenance or transportation cost, parking fees, wardrobe cost and other costs. All these costs can be eliminated from your spending list entirely while working from home. These savings put more money back into your pocket.
Not only employees, companies also see significant long-term cost savings when they allow their employees to work from home. Any typical company can save around thousands of dollars per year for every employee who works from home at least some of the time. As per report, uuring the COVID-19 pandemic, employers in the U.S. saved over $30 billion per day by allowing remote work.
5. Better Work-Life Balance: Remote work offers flexible scheduling, which means that employees can start and end their day as they choose, normally organizations also don’t put any objection as long as employees work productively and lead to strong outcomes. The control over work schedule is invaluable for every employee when it comes to attending to the needs of their personal life. This allows them to work productively and taking short breaks during working hours keeps them refreshed all day long. Staying around family gives them the greatest comfort as they can take care of their kids or parents and work at the same time. It is easier to balance family and work when you work from home.
6. Increased Productivity and Performance: Working from home usually leads to increased productivity and efficiency, with no office politics and less distraction. When done right, remote work allows businesses to focus on what really matters— performance. Many companies use employee monitoring software to monitor and time track their remote employees in real time. The software shows how employees work, how long they work and measures productivity metrics of employees based on their work activities. Which helps an employer to understand about work activities of their distributed employees and thus makes it easier for them to manage remote teams.
Because of these advanced technology and internet access,remote work has become an accepted practice in many organizations. The modern workforce is increasingly mobile and when it comes to staying connected with work, they can achieve all of it without going to the office. As a business owner, you need to understand the latest working trend and support your remote workers.
While the popularity of working remotely increases every year among the millennial workforce, businesses are also adopting remote-friendly policies. If your company is concerned about performance and productivity issues we recommend trying out employee monitoring software for both management and employees. This way remote employees are aware of expectations, and their work activities can be monitored. Overall remote work has given employees and employers a win-win situation and it is the new way forward.
