COVID-19 made things hard for a lot of companies. Suddenly, there were many without work or shifting their jobs to remote positions. Companies that were able to jump into agile solutions were more likely to have their employees working from home. Remote work options have long been a point of controversy for many companies. There is a tendency to prefer workplace culture with a traditional 9-5 than allowing for remote options.
But, is remote work hurting the company?
While some companies continue to hold out that remote work is not a future solution, others have been faster to jump on board. With coronavirus, many companies were forced to shift to remote work or close shop. Now that things are shifting back to a workplace-centralized environment, companies are wondering if remote work options hurt or help their company.
Do Employees Prefer Remote Work?
The first real question should be: do your employees prefer to work remote?
Before COVID, many in the workplace preferred the remote position or at least the option of working remote. Some offices set up policies that allowed employees to work from home when things came up, like school closings or illness. According to Business Insider:
- Full-time remote workers reported a 22% higher satisfaction rate than workers with no option to be remote.
- Remote employees were more likely to work overtime (beyond 40 hours), but also reported a better work-life balance.
- Companies that offered remote options to employees were more likely to keep them around.
Those were the numbers before coronavirus. After the initial wave of the pandemic, more workers had spent weeks working from home. Business Insider reports:
- 54% of workers want to continue to work from home full-time and 75% said they wanted to work from home in a partial capacity.
- Working from home makes employees happier.
- Having remote employees saves both the company and the employees money.
Does Remote Work Hurt or Improve Office Culture?
There are two main reasons employers push back against remote work. Some are afraid their employees won’t stay focused and productive, while others are determined to build an office culture employees take ownership in.
When it comes to productivity, you might be surprised at the research. Employees spend time commuting every day to and from work, spending time they don’t get back. Allowing employees the option to work from home reduces absenteeism. According to Global Workplace Analytics:
- JD Edwards teleworkers were found to be 20-25% more productive when working from home, while American Express employees were 43% more productive from home.
- Remote workers are more likely to work when they are sick (without infecting anyone), while 78% of employees that call in sick, really aren’t sick at all.
- Sun Microsystems found that employees spent at least 60% of their typical commute time working for the company when home.
- Businesses lose $600 billion a year from lost productivity caused by distractions in the workplace.
And, when it comes to that coveted culture, you have to wonder if it’s working when you are forcing it. If you have to keep employees in the workplace to form your culture, then it isn’t the kind of culture your employees are eager to be a part of. You can downsize the office space and allow employees to come in and connect when needed. That same Global Workplace Analytics report found:
- IBM saved over $50 million on reduced real estate costs.
- Provides inexpensive solutions for ADA compliance.
- Nortel saves an estimated $100,000 per employee hired that they don’t have to relocate.
Reducing Commute Time for Employees
The average national one-way commute is 26 minutes, according to the US Census Bureau. That means more than 50 minutes a day is spent in transit for the average employee. Here in California, that average is 30 minutes per trip, or 5 hours of every week spent in the car. Imagine what your employees could do with those five hours every week.
That isn’t even accounting for employees that make commutes longer than an hour one way!
Over the course of a year, the average employee in Cali spends 250 hours in the car. And while some employees might try to use that time productively (like reading an article or listening to a book), none of those employees are able to get solid work done during that time.
Five hours each week means approximately a full day (24 hours) is spent in transportation every month. This is time your employees are technically not on the clock or productive, but they also can’t pursue the things they care about.
We can help you navigate the ins and outs of enabling your workers with a remote option! Our solutions provide collaborative meeting tools and work from home equipment. We want to make the workplace a brighter place for everyone. Offering the choice for remote in a full-time or partial capacity will give your employees the power to choose what is best for their work-life balance and careers.
