Remote work isn’t a trend anymore. It’s now the foundation for all kinds of productive workplace policies. The reason? When done right, everyone wins. Employees enjoy greater flexibility and better work-life balance while businesses reap rewards like reduced overhead costs and increased efficiency.
And that’s all just for starters. The real story of remote work goes much deeper, with options for transforming how your organization operates and grows. Let’s explore what remote work delivers for both your team and your bottom line.
Understanding the shift to remote work
Once upon a time, spending eight hours in a formal office space was the norm across most industries. Working from home was a rare perk. Now the future of remote work trends in the opposite direction, where full-time remote work sets the standard. The number of people who work from home rose a staggering 159% in 12 years, and researchers say 73% of all business departments now include remote workers.
The biggest drivers of this shift include:
- Talent shortages
- Increased use of technology
- Rising global business demands
- The COVID-19 pandemic and a desire to prepare for other health and natural disasters
Still, these key drivers only tell part of the story when it comes to remote jobs and the benefits flexible work offers.
What are the benefits of remote work for employees?
Working remotely provides several benefits for employees, from improved personal life to higher workplace productivity.
1. Greater flexibility
Employees who work remotely appreciate the increased agility it affords them. Remote workers structure their schedules around personal commitments, from at-home chores like laundry and cleaning to daily childcare obligations.
Those seemingly small shifts make a big impact. Research shows flexible schedules reduce the likelihood of work stress by 20% and improve job satisfaction by 62%. And that leads to more loyalty. An astounding 80% of surveyed employees say flexible working arrangements increase their commitment to their companies.
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2. Better employee health
Remote work positively impacts employee health. Why? Because employees who work remotely save 72 minutes a day, on average, that would otherwise go to commuting. This frees them to invest in physical and mental well-being, and to balance home life with work needs. It also removes some of the biggest stressors of traditional office life such as office politics and rigid schedules.
Think of it this way: Remote workers have more time to engage in health-promoting activities like exercise and mental preparation. It’s easier to schedule regular visits to the doctor or mental health professionals. Additionally, remote work helps employees improve work-life balance because they’re better able to accommodate personal obligations through flexible scheduling.
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3. More time for work
Employees who don’t need to commute to work get time back to their work days. And that’s not a small benefit. When it comes to impacting job satisfaction, each additional 20 minutes of commuting is equivalent to taking a 19% pay cut. But free teams from rush hour and gridlock, and they’ll put 40% of that saved time back into their work.
Remote employees also avoid moving from meeting room to meeting room throughout the day — a habit most are eager to break. One survey showed 40% of employees waste half an hour trying to find a space to meet in an office, while the average employee spends nine minutes prepping for each meeting. Video conferencing and other digital communication services give that time back to remote employees.
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4. Cost savings
Remote workers save money in many ways. They spend less on transportation costs like gas, car maintenance, and public transportation. They eat out less, visit fewer coffee shops and spend less on business attire. It all adds up to big savings, with estimates averaging $4,000 a year just for working from home part-time.
Many remote employees stretch their dollars even further by choosing to live in a lower-cost area that’s further from a major city. Depending on the dress code or expectations of your workplace, they may save even more money by reducing the costs they spend on office-appropriate clothing.
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5. Limited distractions
Distractions are a top issue in most workplaces. Whether it’s other team members stopping by to chit-chat, ambient noise from other workers or non-stop meetings, employees face significant interruptions when working at the office. With each one, it takes people over 23 minutes to regain focus.
While remote employees face their own distractions at home, it’s not as high as the ones faced by their in-office counterparts. In fact, remote workers regain nearly 62 hours of work annually compared to their in-office colleagues thanks to a lack of daily distractions.
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6. A more personalized work environment
Remote workers have more control over their work environments including lighting, decor, sound and equipment. Allowing employees to tailor workspaces based on personal preferences directly impacts motivation and performance.
For example, some employees may work better with background music while others do better in silence. Even small personalizations like the choice of artwork and greenery or use of ergonomic desk equipment helps some employees feel more comfortable and productive in their workspace.
What are the benefits of remote work for employers?
Employers who provide remote work opportunities for employees see many benefits, from individual employee well-being to organizational improvements.
1. Improved employee productivity
According to the latest research, people with remote jobs are 35-40% more productive than those who work in a traditional office. They also make 40% fewer mistakes. Numerous studies also show a strong correlation between remote working and increased efficiency. From greater control over work schedules to better mental health and well-being, the many benefits of remote work translate into higher employee productivity for the business at large.
In fact, organizations with remote workers often report higher output and improved efficiency thanks to greater employee autonomy. The reason is simple. Remote work empowers employees to plan work schedules around personal obligations, reducing stress or allowing them to work during peak productivity hours. And with personalized work environments tailored to individual preferences, it’s easy to produce high-quality work.
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2. Enhanced talent acquisition
Allowing employees to work from home opens your organization to a much broader talent field. After all, less than 10% of workers want to spend all their days in the office. And 35% of workers with remote-capable jobs already work from home permanently. Advertising remote positions makes it easy to attract these high-quality candidates.
Furthermore, allowing employees to work from anywhere opens you to a broader range of applicants. When your recruiting efforts aren’t tied to office geography, you can hire from (almost) anywhere. This helps you diversify perspectives and skills when making strategic decisions. It also allows new hires to start their jobs much sooner, and saves you from relocation costs.
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3. Better employee retention
Studies show remote workers are more satisfied, more empowered and less stressed than their in-office counterparts. They also feel more trusted by their managers. This boost in employee satisfaction means remote workers are less likely to leave. And because team members can work productively from anywhere, you won’t lose valuable talent if an employee decides to move.
Because remote work improves job satisfaction, it’s no surprise offering flexibility and remote opportunities also increases employee retention. Nearly half of surveyed workers will consider a job change if ordered back to the office. But offer hybrid options, and you gain an instant competitive advantage — especially if you give people a say in the type of schedules you adopt.
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4. Cost savings
Office space is a major expense for most businesses, with research indicating the average cost of an employee workstation ranges from $1,000-$1,500 per month. The costs of maintaining a traditional office go beyond rent or mortgage to include utilities, furniture, equipment, security, maintenance and more.
This is where the benefits of working remotely pay off big time for business leaders. For starters, a fully remote workforce means your employees cover the costs of their utilities, rent, Wi-Fi and more. Of course, many organizations provide a stipend or increased pay to make up for this cost. But allowing employees to work remotely cuts costs for the organization overall. For example, one study found U.S. employers save $11,000 per year on average by allowing employees to work from home just 50% of the time.
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5. Reduced company carbon footprint
Lower costs isn’t the only benefit of cutting out an in-person work environment from your company’s list of assets. One study found those who work remotely reduce their carbon emissions by 54%. A lot of this is due to less time on the road, but other factors contribute as well. Eliminating office space lowers the need to heat, cool and power workstations, cutting down significantly on your organization’s carbon footprint.
Reducing your impact on climate change is also good for your company’s reputation and recruiting. For instance, 55% of Gen Z candidates (and 54% of millennials) say they look into an organization’s environmental impact and policies before accepting job offers.
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6. Improved customer relations
Employers who allow employees to work remotely also see bumps in customer satisfaction, which in turn increases profits. This occurs for numerous reasons. First, remote service agents offer support in more time zones, providing customers with greater access on their terms. Second, remote workers are more likely to be satisfied with their jobs and organizations, which translates into more positive customer service interactions.
Remote workers also have more time to focus on work thanks to less time commuting and fewer office distractions, freeing agents to concentrate on customer needs. Finally, many remote companies reinvest cost savings into customer experience upgrades such as better websites or apps, additional customer service agents and more personalized marketing.
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7. Extra time from employees
One of the most attractive features of a remote workforce for organizations is how much more time remote employees spend on work than in-office workers. As mentioned earlier, employees give 40% of the time they’d otherwise spend commuting back to employers in the form of additional effort — giving you two more hours per remote employee each week.
Other studies show remote workers tend to stay logged in longer than their in-office colleagues, with companies like Microsoft reporting remote work increased weekly work hours by 10% across their workforce.
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The challenges of remote work
While remote work offers numerous benefits, working from home isn’t always perfect. It’s important for managers, team leaders and executives to keep several potential drawbacks in mind:
- Focus challenges: While some employees thrive in a remote work environment, others face more distractions at home than in the office. For this reason, it’s a good idea to use workforce analytics software to analyze peak productivity and understand when remote teams are most productive. Better yet, give employees access to the data so they can take charge of their own productivity and make changes to stay focused.
- Communication breakdowns: Sometimes, having to rely on Slack or other messaging apps to speak with coworkers is more challenging than having a quick conversation in the office. Video calls go a long way here, and scheduling periodic check-ins with your team helps keep the lines of communication open.
- Overwork and burnout: These are big issues in any workspace, but some employees are more inclined to work past standard business hours while working from home. Use employee productivity data to determine which teams are under or overutilized and rebalance workloads accordingly. In addition, let your employees know you’re committed to helping them create healthy boundaries between personal and professional time. If someone is feeling overworked, encourage them to reach out as soon as possible.
- Cybersecurity risks: When remote employees work outside the corporate network, you face an increased risk of unsecure Wi-Fi connections. Whether it’s in a coffee shop or home office, this introduces extra cybersecurity risks for a company. For this reason, many organizations use employee monitoring solutions to detect suspicious activity and protect company data. Plus, you can stay informed about potential compliance risks within your enterprise via customized alerts and notifications.
The good news? Every one of these challenges has a fix — and most of them also help you unlock the upside of remote work. Build open forums that encourage direct conversations and lean on tools like Zoom to replicate the quick exchanges people expect in the office. Use workforce analytics to keep workloads balanced and prevent burnout before it starts. And strengthen your defenses with smart safeguards — VPNs, multi-factor authentication, email scanning and more — so employees stay protected no matter where they work.
How to get more value from your remote workforce
Remote work comes with real challenges — but the benefits far outweigh them. The key is knowing how to reduce pain points so employees stay productive, engaged and supported. These two practical approaches make the biggest impact:
- Make remote work policies a priority: When remote work first took off, many teams were left without structure. Now it’s time to set guidelines that create stability. A strong remote work policy sets expectations, outlines available perks and explains any productivity monitoring you plan to engage in. Clarity reduces confusion and helps employees feel confident about what’s expected of them.
- Use workforce analytics to guide decisions: First, focus on gathering real-time insights for greater visibility into how teams work. This allows you to easily spot performance gaps, workflow bottlenecks and unbalanced workloads that drive burnout. Then use this data to make proactive adjustments and improve productivity. Share your findings openly and empower employees to use the data to improve their own work habits.
Get the full benefits of a remote workforce with ActivTrak
Flexible working arrangements are the future of work, which is why ActivTrak creates products to help managers better support teams. Our workforce analytics solutions provide the insights you need to unlock a wide range of remote work benefits — both for the organization and your employees.
Ready to get started? Our remote workforce management platform provides insight into how, when and where employees work best, plus data on processes or technologies likely holding you back. Request a demo today to see how ActivTrak helps your organization make the most of every remote work opportunity.
