Remote work graced the headlines of almost every news outlet during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. At that time remote work was embraced out of necessity. It allowed businesses to continue operations without putting their employees and customers at risk of exposure. Today remote work is more of a choice, as vaccines have helped people fight the virus and go back to meeting in-person. However, remote work still offers unique benefits worth considering.
It’s easy to think of reasons why an employee might like working from home. It’s more comfortable, there’s no traffic, and they’re close to the kitchen. However, there are considerable benefits for the company as well. This article will list some of the main benefits your company can enjoy by embracing remote work. Whether it’s partially through a hybrid work schedule or the complete shift to a home office, these are some of the perks you can expect:
1. Enables Your Company to Expand
When starting a business, you’re usually constrained to your local community at first. You need employees who live close by and can come into your workspace to help out in the office. However, all of that changes when you start to adopt remote practices.
Remote employees can come from quite literally anywhere. You can hire a web developer from Japan, a sales representative from Ohio, and a social media manager from Mexico City. The difference in cultures and backgrounds can really add a lot to your team and company too.
To ensure a smooth expansion process, many companies work with an employer of record or a professional employer organization when looking to hire overseas. To understand if you need an EOR vs. PEO, you need to decide if you want to have a physical location in other countries. If you don’t, an EOR would employ workers in other countries on your company’s behalf, and they would handle any local legal requirements. If you do want to open an office abroad, you’d work with a PEO instead.
2. Reduces Operating Costs
Perhaps the most obvious benefit of remote work is the reduction in operation costs. When you have employees working from home, you don’t have to pay for extensive office space. And the savings in rent and utilities alone can be significant.
The other savings you’ll find may be small individually but considerable when added all together. You no longer have to furnish an office break room or supply everyone with an abundance of office equipment. You can even save money on the water cooler that is a pain to restock anyway.
Employees will also be able to save money. For starters, not having to commute every morning can save them a ton on gas and car maintenance. This by itself can be one of the many trophies of employee satisfaction when working from home.
3. Improves Employee Satisfaction
There are many workers who are simply happier when working from home. This could be due to increased flexibility to run errands or take a break. Or maybe they enjoy being able to spend more time with family.
Whatever their reason is, happy employees have been proven to work harder and more effectively. If you decide to implement remote work for your company, lean into the employee benefits. If you really want to investigate what your worker’s value, ask them.
You could send your team a poll to see what they like most about working from home. And you could ask how they would feel about not having that option. Try to keep offering the benefits they enjoy. If they mention any things that aren’t working, look for ways to improve. This might include sending home office upgrades to those who need it or changing the time of a meeting.
4. Simpler Team Management
Some people thrive in a social office setting. And others simply can’t wait to clock out and get home. Office personalities can be interesting to manage, especially if there are any employees who don’t get along. Office politics are no fun. From a management perspective, there’s less drama to deal with when everyone is remote.
While there can still be disagreements, no one is going to be mad at Julie for microwaving leftover tilapia. You won’t need to manage cliques, harassment, bullying, or other unfortunate circumstances that occur in office spaces as often.
With everyone working in peace from their home office, there are fewer opportunities for silly arguments to take place and derail productivity. You just have to monitor digital interactions, which you may have had to do anyway when everyone was meeting in-person.
Test It Out
If you don’t want to fully commit to remote work just yet, try going hybrid for a couple of months. You could consider having employees work one or two days at home each week as a trial run. If that involves coordinating too many schedules, just set a specific day where you keep the office doors closed.
Have everyone spend their Fridays at home instead of commuting to the office. Then, take note of the differences you see in productivity and attitude. If you see drastic improvements, it might be time to make the full switch.