Is remote work here to stay?
Even if you don’t consider yourself a remote worker per se, you’ve likely done work beyond the confines of a traditional office. Quickly checking email on your phone, brainstorming ideas for an upcoming pitch, or joining a conference call while on your commute – these are all tasks that can be done well, from anywhere, with no need for either a work PC or a dedicated desk.
A very brief history of telecommuting
The trend toward frequent and full-time remote work began decades ago in the U.S., but only reached escape velocity relatively recently. The 1970s oil crisis, the surge in traffic gridlock (a term that was, coincidentally, coined in the ‘70s, too), and the rise of stay-at-home parenting all contributed to the very early growth of telecommuting. Then, technology caught up.
Tools such as real-time workplace chat, video conferencing, web conference calls, and more are now readily available and make it much easier for employees to stay in the loop no matter where they are. These solutions enable richer, higher-quality interactions than were possible using just emails or phone calls.
Why remote work is worth supporting
Recently, some companies have had to make a sudden shift to remote work. But for others, this shift was already taking place:
- Global Workplace Analytics estimated that the number of businesses offering telework options to employees increased by 40% from 2014 to 2019 (and now even more in 2020). (1)
- Meanwhile, between 80% and 90% of the workforce would like to work remotely at least part of the time.
5 perks of remote work
What will the workplace of the future look like? How should your organization approach remote work arrangements? Remote work offers many benefits to everyone involved. Let’s look at five perks:
1. Lower costs
Think of the typical SMB’s budget and what it goes toward. After the mostly locked-in expenses of salaries and benefits, some of the larger line items will usually include travel and real estate.
Telecommuting helps curb these expenditures. Instead of needing a sprawling office, an organization might choose a smaller, denser space with the assumption that many of its employees will be working elsewhere much of the time.
Likewise, the company travel budget can be trimmed. Traditionally, meeting with a colleague or client basically required taking a road trip or booking a flight. Not anymore. With video and HD voice, it’s possible to have a virtual conference call meeting that feels like being in the same room, all at a much lower cost than actually traveling.
2. Improved morale, with less turnover
Why do people leave their jobs? It’s complicated, but long commutes are definitely a common reason why.
According to a University of West England survey, adding 20 minutes to a commute had the same negative effect on job satisfaction as a 19% pay cut for the study’s subjects. No one likes being stuck in traffic. (2)
Remote workers don’t have to confront this issue. As long as they’ve got a stable internet connection, they can work from home, a public place, or a nearby branch site instead of making the long trek into HQ. That’s good news for morale and for their chances of staying at the firm.
3. Increased productivity
Working remotely can boost productivity in several durable ways:
- Since commutes become less grueling or even non-existent, employees have more time to focus on their work.
- The distractions of some types of office spaces, like having to contend with constant noise from in an open floor plan layout, are eliminated entirely.
- Remote workers can use devices they know, plus utilize the full bandwidth of their internet connection since there aren’t sharing it with potentially many others.
- Individuals with health conditions that might be difficult to deal with in an office, or worsened by a commute, can more easily take care of themselves.
- Remote workers can get creative with leveraging the power of online tools to improve productivity. Grammar checkers make it easier to edit written content, project management software keeps things streamlined, and cloud storage services like Dropbox or Google Drive make it easier to share documents across teams.
4. More opportunities for expansion
Allowing employees to telecommute can double as a company expansion strategy to new locales. If your business is growing and looking to target customers in different markets, then remote work lets you recruit workers with more flexibility and fewer limitations.
Of course, there are still some constraints, like needing to be incorporated in each state in which you conduct business operations. But having telework options available means that it’s more practical to create lob listings with broader appeal. Candidates can apply without needing to price in the cost and time associated with a commute.
5. Better time management
Not everyone is a morning person. But commute-driven jobs almost require you to be one.
Impact of flexible work schedule
With remote work, there’s more flexibility in how an employee sets and uses their hours. Telecommuters have more discretion over when they start work and take breaks, allowing them to be productive on their own schedules. And, as we noted earlier, they have more time to begin with due to not commuting or having to constantly tune-out various in-office distractions.
What you need to get the most from remote work
There are a few things that flexible working arrangements need to succeed. The first being the leadership support to create a culture that encourages this type of flexibility. Establishing trust and accountability from the top down, is critical to foster a remote working environment. You also need the right collaboration solutions. The ability to easily create and join a video conference call, plus add context through messaging, digital whiteboarding, and file sharing, is essential.
With the right approach and the right technology, you can create a culture that embraces the remote workforce—and positively impacts the business.
Learn More
Cisco Webex: Supporting customers during this unprecedented time
Working smarter anywhere – Working remotely
3 tips for working with remote team members
References
(1) telework options to employees increased by 40% from 2014 to 2019
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