With the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, strict self-quarantine policies and curfews continue to be implemented to keep people indoors at all times. This presented a new problem for businesses all over the world. Not only will this mean little to no customers for brick-and-mortar stores, but businesses across the board are also obligated to have their employees working from home as well. This definitely affects targets and objectives due to the delay in expected deliverables.
Within the last month, we’ve seen businesses who are new to this work-from-home model being forced to adjust.
Working from home does present a big change of setting for both businesses and employees. But aside from a change of location, it actually isn’t that different from working in an office. Save for a couple of additions and subtractions from your usual routines.
Remote work does have its perks, though. So to lighten up the mood we’ve gathered our top 5 plus 2 benefits of remote work for both business owners and employees. Let’s take a look at both sides of the coin here.
Remote Work Benefits for Business Owners
1. Higher Productivity Among Employees
According to a 2-year study by Stanford Professor Nicholas Bloom and Chinese travel company, Ctrip, the difference in higher productivity is tantamount to a whole day’s work—or more! One of the reasons is that people who work from home can work a full shift.
Working from home means avoiding the dregs of commuting to and fro the office daily. Think about it. If you didn’t have to spend the time it takes to go through the morning grind to look presentable and reach the office on time, you’d never be late to your own desk.
2. Higher Employee Retention
What’s the critical factor in building a solid team behind your company? Trust. Some companies may make remote work seem like a piece of cake. But in truth, it involves a lot of trial and error and above all, trust between the management and the employees. More flexibility, freedom, and comfort help improve employee morale and happiness. Flexibility also gives your employees a better work-life balance. You’d be happy too if you could take more breaks, have the time to prepare meals, and be with your family as you keep on ticking off your task list for the week.
In the long run, remote work can be a golden opportunity for you to retain your more experienced employees. But, only if it’s done right. As they say, lead by example! Incorporating a solid company culture into a remote working framework allows the more senior staff to function as promoters.
This eliminates the need for frequent applicant searches and paid training for newcomers. And retaining veteran employees means retaining consistent quality standards for the company. This is because veteran employees already know how your company works inside and out.
3. Higher Employee Independence
Employee autonomy is one of the goals business owners aim for when building their workforce. Your employees working without needing frequent supervision gives you more freedom when working on other matters.
So when your workforce is a home-based one, they can practice higher independence. How they allocate their time, approach their tasks, submit their outputs—your employees will learn how to manage themselves. There are tools and techniques you can implement to keep better track of your workforce when it comes to remote team management.
All your teams need now is a reliable means of communication with each other. Slack does the job well as a centralized medium of communication. You can organize different channels for different teams and even keep notes or give yourself reminders.
This ensures that while you have employees from different regions around the world, they can still easily communicate and coordinate with each other and maintain consistency.
4. Wider Pool of Applicants
Your talent pool expands significantly when you aren’t tied to geography.
—Joshua Chin
Like with many things, going online means making the rest of the world more accessible than before. This is especially true when hunting for talent or waiting for applicants to find you. And it’s more than just increasing the number of potential applicants you have access to. You’ll also see a wider range in the quality of talents you’re looking for.
Who knows, maybe the right person for the job is halfway across the world. He or she could even be looking for a job as we speak. So increase your online presence and make sure that the potential employee of the year finds you first!
5. Lesser Costs
Home-based work means no need for a central office. This means no more monthly rent if you’re renting an office space. Do you own your own office space? Then you get to focus less on paying the office utility bills and more on your own house bills.
Investing in a stable internet connection and a reliable computer or laptop is more cost-efficient than spending on monthly office dues.
Do you have meetings or appointments you need to attend to? Rather than burning money on transportation to different venues, why not use a video communication app like Zoom? Do away with travel time, transport expenses, and time constraints by hosting a meeting within the comforts of your own home.
Bonus! Employees Love Remote Working Too, and With Good Reason!
1. Flexible Schedule and a Higher Sense of Freedom
Employees with more flexible schedules feel more in control of their work style. As we mentioned earlier, this gives them a better work/life balance. In turn, this also encourages more independence among your employees.
This ties in with your potential increase in employee retention. Happy and comfortable employees are more productive and are more willing to stay with you as your loyal employees.
2. More Time Spent with Loved Ones and No More Crowds and Traffic
With the coronavirus still at large, employees working away from home are only plagued with worry for their families and their own safety. Aside from aligning with quarantine procedures, working from home puts your employees at ease.
They won’t have to brave through commutes and public areas where they’re at risk of infection. So working from home keeps your employees safe and worry-free. This, in turn, means more productivity at work.
The spread of the coronavirus or Covid-19 has affected both the offline and online world. More specifically, online businesses that rely on transportation and deliveries of products. So while online work won’t guarantee 100% safety from the pandemic, it is the safest move for any business owner and their employees.
And with the many perks working from home has to offer, we won’t be surprised if many employers AND employees might find it difficult returning to their offices for work.
Are you having trouble increasing your online presence with email marketing? Or are you kind of new to the online scene and are looking for online alternatives to your marketing efforts? Don’t hesitate to schedule a free 30-minute strategy session with us. Our email marketing experts will be happy to help!
Or are you looking for an online job? We just so happen to be open to remote applicants! Here’s our list of remote job openings.
