Commuting is a complete waste of time. Remote working is the way to go.
In a world where most office workers can do the day-to-day from the comfort of their own home, it makes no sense for them to waste hours of their valuable time travelling to work – at least not every day anyway.
So if your business isn’t offering employees the chance to work remotely, here are four irrefutable reasons why that has to change…
What is remote working?
Remote working is simply working from a location that isn’t the traditional office.
Also known as telecommuting, coffee shops and the home are two of the more common remote working locations.
How many UK employees work remotely?
Figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) Labour Force Survey indicate the number of people working remotely has increased to almost one-in-seven over the last decade – that’s over four million employees (or 13.7% of the workforce).
It also estimates that a further 1.8 million people would work from home if they were given the opportunity.
And here’s why your business shouldn’t get left behind in the work-from-home revolution…
Cuts overheads and saves money
When an employee works from home, they’re not using your office space and energy, which cuts your overheads and saves money.
In some cases, they may not even be using company equipment, but if you’re business handles sensitive data it’s best to provide equipment with secure servers and VPN connections.
And if you’re just starting out, you could write off potentially expensive office rental costs by working remotely until you’re more established.
Increase morale
Giving staff the option to work remotely can genuinely improve morale and lead to a higher staff retention – not only does it demonstrate to employees that you’re flexible and willing to put your trust in them, it can help staff with children or other commitments on a practical level too.
All of which means you’re staff are more likely to remain loyal to you.
Productivity rises
As well as increasing staff retention rates, offering remote working can actually increase productivity – so forget the usual complaints that home-workers will sit watching telly all day while answering emails, there’s evidence to suggest it could be a great way to squeeze a little more out of your staff.
Back in September last year, we reported on how a survey of 2,600 employees by Flexjobs outlined the top five reasons why staff are more productive when they work from home:
- Fewer interruptions from colleagues (76%)
- Fewer distractions (74%)
- Minimal office politics (71%)
- Reduced stress from commuting (68%)
- More comfortable office environment (65%)
Get the best talent
As remote working becomes more popular, so more of us expect it as the norm when it comes to taking a job – and so your business has a better chance of bagging the best talent if it offers some form of flexible working.
If you’re working from home, make sure you hook up with ConferenceCall.co.uk to make sure you don’t miss a minute of any business meetings.
Have you found offering remote working works for your business? Or have you a work-from-home horror story? Let us know…
So could this signal the death-knell for the nine-to-five? Let us know your thoughts…
