The Proven Benefits of Offering Remote Work

Marcianne Kuethen

May 23, 2016

Did you know that two thirds of people want to work from home? Many workers feel their commute is worsening and want employers to take the lead in helping them fix the problem. I can hear you saying, “But I like to have eyes on my employees.” In fact, at least one third of managers feel the same way, needing the energy of people in the room to generate collaboration. But what if the proven benefits of offering remote work were to outweigh the potential problems? Would you reconstruct your opinion about having an agile workforce?

In a massive compilation of data from more than 4,000 studies, reports, and articles, Global Workplace Analytics has come up with a thorough yet concise synopsis of the proven benefits of offering remote work–as well as the costs. If you have time to peruse the entire article, read more. If not, here’s a brief summary of a few of the benefits of remote work:

• It increases employee satisfaction and retention.
• It significantly reduces unscheduled absences.
• It increases productivity and saves you, the employer, money.
• It improves collaboration and efficiency of communications.
• It expands the talent pool, tapping into unemployed, disabled, home-bound, part-time, and Baby Boomer markets.
• It reduces traffic jams and traffic accidents.

Having an agile workforce can’t be taken lightly, however. Because working remotely is such a desirable perk, jealousy amongst co-workers can arise. Studies show that if you’re going to allow some workers to work at home, you’d better make it part of your culture and allow the same option to all employees. Here are a few points on the downside of working remotely:

• Not everyone is self-directed, is comfortable with technology, and has a home office space.
• Some workers worry about being forgotten and their careers being endangered.
• Security issues must be identified and solved, with training provided for all teleworkers.
• Technical support issues have to be addressed.
• Local taxation, safety, and zoning issues must be considered.

As you can see, the proven benefits of offering remote work are not only numerous but also significant. What employer doesn’t want to improve employee loyalty, decrease absenteeism, and step up productivity? In the current candidate market, where knowledge workers are in increasingly short supply, you might need to consider hiring remote workers as some of your best candidates may be located in distant geographical locations. The good news is, it could be one of your smartest moves yet!

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