Remote working has become the staple for the new generation of employees, especially those who work in digital or social media. Companies save costs by either not hosting a workplace or occasionally occupying of a co-working space, and employees get the freedom to focus and work from any location.
But the debate rages on: does this make employees lazier and less accountable? Are employees wasting time with emails to keep connected to co-workers instead of focused on the task at hand? Are companies ultimately losing money with remote employees charging for more time? Do remote employees lose that special something by not being in physical contact with their counterparts?
Data shows that a traditional workforce actually works well beyond the 9-5 structure, with 1 in 5 people checking their work email before 7am, and 60% checking it after 6:30pm. With before and after-hours worry about work, the average person can stay in work mode for 12 hours per day.
A remote workforce might be a solution for this. Self-directed work and set hours can delineate how and when work is done. Remote work can make employees happier and happy employees are often good employees.
A recent survey from ConnectSolutions shows data that supports a remote workforce. From a company standpoint, it looks good: 52% of remote employees are less likely to take time off, and 23% are willing to work longer hours from home. For employees, it also looks good: about a third are saving more than $5,000 per year on expenses associated with traditional working and the same amount are reporting exercising more. Nearly half are eating and sleeping better.
In case you need to make the case for remote working, highlights from the survey were put into infographic form by Kevin Gulley of theUCbuyer, below:
EMPLOYER BENEFITS
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS