Why Remote Working is Going to Be Here for A Long Time
Once, remote working was just a dream for many people, who would fantasize about working at home in their pajamas. Not having to get dressed and commute to work every day sounds appealing. For most of us, it is an unreachable dream to avoid the irritation caused by a boss watching you very closely and checking everything you do while you’re trying to finish the job before the deadline. This is something only “the lucky ones” get to be in.
It’s been a long time since those days. Nowadays, remote working is more than a possibility for people: more and more people are starting to enjoy the flexibility and freedom of remote working. Are you having trouble believing us? If so, stop by a coffee shop during the day and see how many people are using their laptops. We assume that you will come across many people who wish not to have a 9-to-5 job in an office.
Recently, there has been a spike in remote working. An increasing number of people across the world are given the opportunity to work remotely. Many businesses, small or large, are looking forward to creating and supporting remote working positions.
A great number of firms have already remote working employees. Indeed, some of these firms have only remote workers, so, they no longer need a physical work environment, which is a profitable decision for companies that wish to reduce their expenses.
Why are employees keen on remote working?
Studies suggest that more than 75% of employees would be glad to replace their office-based positions with a remote position. That is a powerful result in favor of remote working.
The idea of working without being stuck behind a desk is quite tempting. The development and adoption of remote working policies would be an ideal step for business managers who want to remain competitive, up-to-date, and successful in the labor market. Furthermore, if these practices are already present within a corporation, it would be wise to increase their availability.
In the US alone, more than 95% of workers expressed their eagerness for remote working (this figure is even greater across the globe). It has also been reported that approximately 70% of these people stated that they’d be willing to resign from their current companies for a remote working position in a competing company.
For companies, remote working has become a factor that provides an advantage when trying to attract new talents. Remote working opportunities are alluring not only for hiring talented employees but also for employers who wish to cut their physical workplace expenses.
Currently, more than 28% of American workers do not work remotely as they are not given the opportunity. Despite their desire, they cannot work remotely because of their employers’ old-fashioned working practices that cannot keep up with the times and meet employees’ needs. At first, employers may refuse to take notice of their employees’ such desires. And yes, employers may find it easy to ignore their employees’ desire to work remotely in the short term, assuming that they will, after a while, lose their excitement and get back to work.
Most employers adopt such an attitude as they often take for granted that their employees have no other choice but to work for them. Is that so?
Not at all. In the current climate of employment, employees have a broad array of opportunities. With the rising number of corporations hiring remote staff and the growing number of firms with no physical office space and relying on remote workers, it is highly likely that these closed-minded employers will lose their employees to their forward-thinking competitors offering remote working opportunities.
After all, more than 25% of employees have been reported to have quit a job due to the lack of remote working opportunities or flexible working hours. All over the world, employers are becoming increasingly overwhelmed with their employees’ demands for remote working, a desire for which they will do anything to achieve.
Though remote working may be considered an advantage or something extra, more and more employees desire it. Almost half of the employees have been reported to state that the option to work remotely is one of the perks they wish to get the most. In other words, for employees, remote working was more important than usual benefits such as longer lunch breaks, getting paid for lunch, flexible working hours, more vacation days, and even workplace recreational activities, such as ping pong or video game time.
Currently, the distribution of remote workers is as follows:
- 43% are Millennials
- 32% are Gen X
- 25% are Baby Boomers
Why Remote Working is Becoming More Popular
Let’s examine in more detail the reasons why more people are keen on remote working:
- Saves money (48%)
- Provides the freedom to work anywhere (47%)
- Leads to more time with family and friends (44%)
- Increases productivity (35%)
- Promotes mental health (29%)
- It is an environmentally sustainable working model (23%)
- Leads to more time with pets (18%)
- Provides affordable relocation options (16%)
- A great option when starting a family (16%)
- Provides the ability to take care of elderly parents (16%)
Saves Money
Not only employers but also employees can save money by remote working. Through remote working, businesses can reduce their physical workplace expenses such as equipment and electricity costs. Some firms that have adopted 100% remote working can even avoid costs related to renting office spaces.
Moreover, employees working remotely find the opportunity to cut a lot of expenses, such as commuting costs, car maintenance costs, and even clothing costs, as they will not have to purchase new clothes to look good at work.
Both employees and employers benefit a great deal from working remotely.
Provides the Freedom to Work Anywhere
Remote workers may work anywhere they want. Location independence is the most obvious benefit for those working remotely. Anywhere with an internet connection can be your workplace. Employers do not care whether their employees are working at a coffee shop, or a park, or a beach, or at home as long as the work is done.
This form of independence increases the morale of employees as they feel less stressed. This, in turn, improves employees’ productivity at work.
Offering remote working opportunities not only increases productivity for a company but also increases the number of talented employees willing to work for the company. In the past, companies were able to hire only employees who could be physically present at the office. However, today, they can hire talented employees from all around the world, which can result in an increase in the skill level of the company by enabling local employees to work alongside (if not physically) and learn from colleagues around the world. Ultimately, this will lead to a more skilled workforce and better work outcomes for the company.
Leads to More Time with Family and Friends
Remote working provides employees with more time to spend with their family and friends. This may, at first, sound like something relaxing. However, there is more to it than that.
Spending more time with family and friends boosts one’s mood, leading to better mental health and a strengthened immune system. Employees tend to be more productive if they are in a better mood. Similarly, boosting your immune system makes you healthier. Employers will definitely benefit in the long term from having more productive and healthier employees.
Increases Productivity
Concerning our previous point, productivity has been shown to increase sharply with remote working. This reason alone should be enough for employers to adopt remote working.
Promotes Mental Health
A mentally-healthy, positive, and strong workforce is similar to a fit, skilled, and ready-to-fight army.
It’s known that better mental health on the employee side leads to more productivity.
In fact, remote workers have been shown to be twice more productive than their counterparts working within offices.
It is an Environmentally Sustainable Working Model
Remote working is good, no, it is great for nature. Remote working leads to a decrease in the number of people commuting to work by their cars, leading to a reduction of exhaust emissions and easing the strain on the environment. Moreover, the greater the number of employees working from home, the less traffic congestion and less need for taxis and busses.
This all leads to a cleaner atmosphere with lower levels of carbon monoxide and allows us to absorb a deep breath of fresh air without worrying about harmful chemicals.
Leads to More Time with Pets
By working remotely, employees can enjoy more time with their pets. As is known, owning and spending time with a pet supports mental health, which, in turn, increases productivity.
Provides Affordable Relocation Options
Since remote workers are not restricted to a single place, they have many relocation options.
A Great Option When Starting a Family
Remote workers can easily overcome the mental stress associated with starting a family as they can be available to fulfill certain tasks related to the new family. By having more family time, you can strengthen your family bonds.
Provides the Ability to Take Care of Elderly Parents
Aging causes an increase in physical health problems/conditions, which, in turn, leads to more stress. It would be quite irrational to expect an employee with parents with health problems to come to work and not worry about their parents.
The best way to deal with this problem is to allow employees to work from home.
Thus, while working from home, they can see that their parents are fine and that they do not have to worry about them.
Remote Workers are Extremely Productive
According to most employees, they are most productive when they work remotely. Yes, this sounds like an extraordinary pretext for being able to work from home lying in bed. Is it really so? When we take a close look at the productivity statistics, we can see that the remote work experiment upped productivity significantly among employees.
Let’s analyze these stats in more detail:
Four out of every ten workers report that they feel more productive when not in the office. On the other hand, the percentage of those who feel more productive in the office reduces by 10–30% in total.
Those who report that they are more productive in a coworking space constitute only 9% of all employees.
Compared with employees working in the office, those working remotely get tasks more effectively done. This implies, rather than just time, the quality of time spent while fulfilling a job. Anyone can spend time working at a desk for eight hours, but how productively do they work in those eight hours? Remote employees have been shown to be both quicker and more efficient.
Summary
Remote working is becoming more widespread. More and more employees are voicing their demands for remote work. In fact, when we look from the perspectives of both employees and employers, remote working seems like a perfect option.
The real issue is whether businesses are far-sighted enough to replace their outdated working habits, such as office working, with new practices, such as remote working.
