The advantages of working from home are countless, and as the knowledge of these benefits increases, so is the popularity of remote work. After all, every employer would wish to take advantage of such benefits. Similarly, most workers prefer working remotely as an alternative to everyday office life.
Because remote work is a fairly new incident, most employees working from home and their employers haven’t fully understood the benefits. In this post, you’ll learn about the five main benefits of working from home in 2022.
1. Enhanced Productivity
According to statistics by Global Workplace Analytics, employees working from home are 20% to 25% more productive compared to those working from an office. This is because there are minimal social distractions compared to an office workplace.
The other key productivity benefit of remote work is associated with sickness. Usually, if a worker reports to a physical workplace with an illness, chances are it’ll spread, leading to multiple absentees simultaneously. On the contrary, working from home doesn’t allow the illness to spread; thus, other workers remain productive as the sick one recovers.
Additionally, remote work offers workers more opportunities to take necessary breaks if the need arises, an aspect that boosts their creativity, performance, and motivation. In turn, all these aspects contribute towards enhanced productivity.
2. Broadened Talent Pools
With remote working opportunities, companies can no longer be limited to recruiting local talent. Therefore, organizations have a better likelihood of hiring an individual with the right expertise, personality, and experience who fits perfectly within the company. Ultimately, organizations can now hire a mixture of talents with different cultural, geographical, and social backgrounds to create an all-rounded team of professionals.
3. Low Equipment Costs
Often, the equipment for busy physical workplaces is expensive to acquire. You’ll need to buy photocopiers, ergonomic chairs, computers, paper, and other items. These costs can be considerably decreased or entirely avoided if remote working is adopted. For example, your business should invest in an employee time tracking app so that you as an employee are able to record your work hours right from your phone and so that your company does not have to spend extra money on outdated tools such as time cards or punches.
Most enterprises that have adopted remote work allow workers to use their laptops and smartphones, decreasing associated costs. Other equipment costs that your enterprise is likely to save on include buying chairs and desks. Ultimately, working from home is beneficial to your business as you will incur less on purchasing equipment.
4. Better Employee Health and Wellness
Through remote working, you can develop a robust work-life balance for your workforce. Working from home allows workers to customize their workspaces to match their individual preferences and get comfortable wearing their favorite attire. Besides, this workspace allows them to take control of their physical and emotional needs with ease.
Whilst first-time remote workers might encounter some challenges; you should ensure you assist them in having a smooth transition to working remotely. You can do this by setting clear boundaries and expectations for meetings, work hours, and projects that permit them to relax.
Also, ensure you create an elaborate work from home policy and share it with all employees. Finally, come up with a mutually acceptable plan for the daily, weekly, and monthly check-ins to eradicate micromanaging of remote workers. By doing so, you’ll enhance your employees’ health and wellness, leading to improved performance.
5. Better Work Flexibility
An adaptable work plan is one of the notable benefits of working from home for workers. Work flexibility not only concerns where workers perform their daily duties but also the time they begin and complete their working day. In certain instances, workers may also have the flexibility of working extra hours on one day to work fewer hours another day.
However, as a business owner, you’ll have to manage flexibility among your remote workforce carefully. Failure to manage flexibility can compromise productivity and quality of work. As a result, you should always encourage your staff to maintain a consistent work schedule to ensure they remain productive and effective.
Wrapping Up
Adopting a remote workplace model can be advantageous for both businesses and workers in the long run. That’s why employers and workers need to consider the potential benefits of remote work in 2022 and find ways to take advantage of them. Specifically, enhanced work flexibility and work-life balance can greatly benefit employees. Likewise, low equipment cost, broadened talents pools, and enhanced productivity can greatly benefit employers.