The Coronavirus pandemic came and disrupted the way we live and work forever. This unprecedented global pandemic has proven that people are more agile and adaptable than expected. This realization has opened the door to fresh perspectives on the workplace, employee productivity, and satisfaction.
Although remote work isn’t a new concept, it has proven to be an optimal solution for keeping businesses afloat and protecting employees’ health in times of global health crisis.
What started as an experiment 3 years ago has become a preferred work model because employees worldwide have recognized the numerous advantages of working remotely. Now that the pandemic is behind us, employees want to keep the flexibility and independence that remote work offers, enjoying an increased work-life balance.
And while more and more employees demand remote work to become a standard option rather than a perk, many employers still struggle to balance out employees changed needs, business needs, and technological requirements.
If you are still on the fence about allowing your employees to work fully remotely, here are some relevant statistics that can help you reach the decision.
Employees Want to Work Remotely until Retirement
Buffer research shows that almost 98% of remote workers want to continue to work this way, at least to some extent until their career ends. This opportunity to choose when you want to work remotely and when to go to the office has gained significant traction, inciting leaders to abandon the idea of traditional full-time office-based work.
Allowing your employees to decide when to come to the office and work in person while encouraging them to work remotely most of the time can be crucial for boosting productivity and retention rates.
Flexibility is Remote Employees’ Top Priority
The statistic shows that 33% of employees think that the opportunity to tailor their work schedule to fit their needs is the ultimate benefit of remote work, while 25% of them emphasize the opportunity to work from different locations. This is a clear sign that remote work offers unprecedented flexibility that employees can never have in a traditional workplace, and they don’t want to lose this new-gained freedom. This flexibility brought much-needed work/life balance with employees having more time to spend with their loved ones or dedicate it to hobbies.
Knowing that most employees spend about 40 minutes on average commuting to work and spending about $6,000 annually on it, it’s clear how much money and time can employees save when working remotely.
Remote Workers Are More Productive
The main reason why numerous business leaders are reluctant to allow their employees to work remotely is the fear that they won’t be able to focus on their work outside of the office and that their productivity will drop.
However, these fears are shed during the Covid pandemic when numerous studies showed that remote workers longer and are more productive than their office-based peers. For example, Stanford University’s study on 16,000 employees showed that remote workers increased their companies’ profit by 13% compared to previous years.
If you want to stay in sync with your remote workers’ productivity, invest in employee remote monitoring software that offers real-time insights into your employee activities. Once you collect and analyze this data, you’ll be able to see how your employees’ performance fluctuates throughout the day, provide support to those who struggle with their tasks, and reward overachievers.
At the end of the day, you will find out whether your employees are more productive while working remotely compared to office work productivity levels.
Final Words
Judging from all these numbers, remote work will become a viable option for businesses worldwide. Specific estimates show that 25% of all jobs in America will be remote by the end of 2022, and this trend will continue in 2023.
By shifting your business to remote, you’ll meet your employees’ needs for flexibility and work autonomy, using advanced technology and building people-focused culture in your remote workplace.
