More and more employers are now open to remote work arrangements with their employees, simply because there’s nothing but upside for them and their business. Imagine, you’ll be able to reduce the number of people in the office, so the cost of running the business would be significantly lower. There’s no need to worry about productivity issues because they’re still expected to deliver their tasks even when they’re out of the office. But that’s enough for the benefits of the employers; let’s talk about the benefits employees get from working remotely.
- It can actually increase your productivity. Again, this is not just about the employer. An increase in productivity for an employee can mean a boost in confidence in the work that they do. They get a positive outlook that affects their way of life, including how they interact with friends and family members. In a way, it creates a positive ripple effect that can translate to a better work-life balance. By working remotely, they can reduce distractions like office politics and water cooler gossip, impromptu meetings about useless topics, and boisterous colleagues.
- Remote work lowers stress and significantly boosts morale. In connection with the first item, when you’re not surrounded by possible stressors that you commonly find in the office, your stress level decreases and you can focus on the task at hand. There’s also that certain level of comfort that you can only achieve when you are at home, and this increases the morale of the employees. This makes them less inclined to think of negative thoughts about work in general, and are more likely to remain satisfied with their company, their compensation, and the load of work entrusted to them by their superiors.
- Remote work reduces employee turnover; you’re less likely to quit. In relation to the second item, when employees focus on the negatives like the burden that they’re handling on a daily basis, or feelings of overall dissatisfaction with the company, or simply feeling underpaid and overworked, they’re more likely to quit and search for a better employer. Working remotely enables workers to look on the brighter side of things, or if they’re having negative thoughts about what they’re doing, there are means to distract them, like going out someplace nice for a while, doing the dishes, or even cleaning the house.
- Surprisingly, remote work leads to greater employee engagement. Some people might think that remote work leads to fewer interactions without other people, especially with colleagues and teammates. But that doesn’t seem to be the case; remote workers are more engaged not only with their teammates and colleagues but also with their supervisors. Somehow, talking with them from behind the computer screen and from a remote location empowered them to participate in discussions, voice out their opinions, and even take the initiative to help out in work-related topics. With better employee engagement, supervisors are able to gauge the needs of their people better, and are able to come up with the right approaches to any issues.
- Remote work helps keep older workers working. The hardships of going to and from work can take a toll on the employees’ body. This is specially taxing to older employees, as daily drives to and from work can already be painfully annoying. Older employees want the flexibility of working from home so that they can be with their families more, or attend to more fulfilling duties like hobbies and the like. And since they’re able to achieve all those and still be able to work, then there’s really no point in retiring early.
These are just some of the many stats that support remote work. If you’re thinking about joining the elite “mobile” workforce, it’s best to arm yourself with the right tools to make the most out of it. If your company has a phone system like RingCentral, it is highly likely that you have options to make remote working work for you. You have access to communication and collaboration apps like Glip, or be able to host and join web meetings at the comfort of your own home. If you’re really interested in going remote, ask your supervisor about the possible courses of action that you can take.
Francis Mansueto has been writing for more than a decade now, focusing on Digital Marketing in the last couple of years. He is currently in charge of writing web-optimized content for RingCentral, an industry-leading cloud phone systems provider. Francis is also a voracious reader, spending most of his free time immersed on fictional worlds. You can reach him through Twitter.
