The Top Ten Reasons Why You Should Let Your Employees Work From Home
It’s the dream, isn’t it? Working from your study, admiring the view of your garden, and not having to stress about commuting. Working from home is growing in popularity, with more and more employees demanding it from them bosses. People want a more balanced work-life divide: they don’t want to spend their entire time either sat in the office or sat in the car on the way there. While there are difficulties in working from home, such as employee trust, motivation, and distractions, these are easily overcome, especially with technological advances, the support of an employer, and the right processes in place. Working from home is the way to go – and here’s why you should consider letting your employees do so.
- Your employees don’t need to waste time commuting
Think about how long your employees sit in the car or on the bus for on their way to work. Then think about how much more they could do if that time weren’t wasted. Not only could they get more sleep and have a healthier day, but their stress levels will drop. Plus, if they’re used to getting up early in the morning to commute to work, they’ll normally get up at the same time but just start working straight away. This freed up time gives them more of a chance to secure appointments, as well as get to work earlier on.
- They’ll be more productive and work harder
According to recent studies, working from home can boost productivity by around 27 percent. This is a huge increase, considering that the only difference you’re making is letting an employee work from home. The same study also proved that home workers had a lot fewer distractions too. You don’t need this proven in a study though: you know how many distractions you have in the office – everything from people chatting, to the phone always ringing. To help your employees, you can share tips on how to be more productive too. Plus, as people are working from home, they’ll feel a bigger onus to work harder, to prove that the policy is working and isn’t detrimental to work quality.
- You’ll have more loyalty from your employees
Employees will always be more loyal when you give them privileges like this. Not only will they want to prove that the scheme works, but they’ll want to stay as your employee for as long as possible. Plus, they’ll talk positively about the company with friends and family, which not only increases your likelihood of hiring good people, but also growing your customer base.
- You’re not restricted by location when it comes to hiring
One of the best perks of remote working is the bigger talent pool you can choose from. If your office is based in a small town or outside a city, you might struggle to get the best people for a role. So, by having a remote working policy, you can attract even more people as you’re not restricted by nearby locations. You might want to put in a clause such as coming into the office once a week or every few weeks to start, but even this will be a very enticing prospect for most job hunters. If you can open your talent pool up, you’re guaranteed to find the very best people for your company.
- Your company will be an attractive prospect for millennials
As many studies document, millennials are very vocal about not working the standard nine to five. They don’t want the rigid structure of an office environment: they want to work wherever and whenever they want. In fact, 64 percent of millennials would like to work remotely or from home, at least occasionally. Millennials are the future of this country – of the world – so by enticing them into your business, you won’t suddenly face a talent drought when your older employees retire or leave.
- You’ll be able to better work with global customers and partners
When people work from home, they are more willing to start or finish earlier or later. This gives you the chance to work closely with customers in different parts of the world, and in different time zones. You or your employees will be able to alter your day to fit in with any time zone requirements. So, instead of communicating via email, you’ll be able to step your level of care up a notch and speak over the phone or via internet calls. Not only does this show better customer care, but it allows you to forge a better relationship, as you’re both making an effort to engage with them, and you’re doing so in a more personal way.
- You’ll notice fewer absences and sick days
When employees work from home, they’ll take fewer sick days. Namely, this is because they won’t need to take time off to recover. Unless they’re feeling very ill, they’ll just be able to carry on with their day’s work, and not have to inconvenience anyone. Normally, if you’re feeling ill, it’s not the work that you don’t want to do – it’s the commute and sitting in an office for eight hours.
- You’ll be able to cut costs
If your employees aren’t in the office as much, you’ll be able to save money in several ways. You’ll be able to rent smaller offices, as hot desking will become the norm: if you don’t have everyone in every day, you don’t need one desk per person. This in turn saves you money in buying office furniture, and also office supplies.
- It’s easy to set up remote working
With advances in technology, remote working has never been easier to set up. You’ll already have email accounts, so simply adding an IM app like Slack will make communications run perfectly. Likewise, if you don’t have a VPN, you need to invest in one so that people can access your company network securely, wherever they are. Likewise, instilling a few remote working policies will help it run smoothly, including certain hours they need to be available for, and alerting colleagues if they have an appointment or school run to do.
- You’ll be able to do it too!
The best bit of letting employees work from home is the fact you can do it too. Working from home gives you a breather during busy weeks, and lets you focus on tasks that need doing, without constant interruptions.
