Working from home was seen as an ideal arrangement for a large number of office workers in the last few years – many saw it as a means of achieving a more flexible schedule, improving work-life balance, an opportunity to spend more time in a familiar and friendly environment, away from the stress of the day-to-day office life. And last year, working from home has suddenly become a necessity. Companies around the world were forced to transition to a location-independent form of work – and now, one year later, it seems to have worked, for the companies and workers alike.
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Benefits of working from home
Companies benefit from their employees working from home, even if keeping the tabs on them may prove harder – but there are clear benefits that trump them. But more on those later.
A large portion of workers is also enjoying some of the benefits of working from home – and rightly so. A poll conducted early this year has shown that more than 75% of employees who are offered the possibility to work from home considered staying with their current employer – and the possibility of remote work was one of the main reasons why.
Workers appreciate the flexible schedule of the home office. It’s way easier to take a break, have a cup of coffee, maybe play a few hands of blackjack at their favourite casino online in between two boring and tiresome tasks. A quick game of chance is the perfect way to break out of the routine for a while, without the risk of getting too involved and turning a few minutes of gaming into a few hours of procrastination.
Add this to the fact that remote workers can save a lot of time (previously spent on public transport or driving to and from work) and money (on tickets, gas, snacks, coffee-to-go) so, at the end of the day, they end up with more disposable income in their pockets.
Companies benefit, too
We have already mentioned employee retention above – statistics show that companies that allow remote work are seeing a 25% lower turnover of their employees in the long run. Employees who can work from home are less likely to leave their current employer due to issues with childcare, for example.
At the same time, companies that allow remote work have access to a larger pool of applicants. If the work is location-independent, businesses can expand their search for talent without considering geographical limits, which makes skills a priority over the location.
Then, there’s the money companies can save on remote workers. The savings can be as large as the rent paid for office space or as small as the cost of complimentary coffee and snacks – all this can add up to a considerable amount in the long run.
Finally, let’s not forget the benefits of the employees that trickle-down – an employee who is happier and has a better work-life balance tends to be more productive in the long run, further improving the companies bottom line.
How COVID changed the way we work
Even before the pandemic hit, location-independent work and telecommuting were on an ascending trend – the lockdowns and other measures merely accelerated its adoption. Remote work is here to stay – and its spread shows no sign of slowing down.
The pandemic has broken barriers and habits that prevented remote work in the past – now even companies that were completely against the idea are considering it as an alternative. For an important percentage of employees, we can observe a structural shift in where the work itself takes place. Today, it’s not unusual for a company to rely almost exclusively on home office or corporate coworking. We can expect to see way more of this in the coming years.
