Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, a large number of businesses embraced remote work. Not only did doing so enable them to continue day-to-day operations unencumbered, it helped protect employees and their families from the novel coronavirus.
However, with the advent of readily available vaccinations, many businesses are now gradually attempting to get employees back in the office. While it’s easy to understand why certain businesses want their respective workforces operating out of one office, allowing employees to continue working remotely is worth considering for a number of reasons.
Four Effective Ways Of Remote Work That Can Benefit Your Small Business:
1. Heightened Productivity
Many employers cite decreased productivity as one of their key reasons for opposing remote work. However, the data simply doesn’t support this. By and large, individuals who are allowed to work remotely see an increase in productivity – which, in turn, proves beneficial to their respective employers.
There are a number of reasons remote work tends to facilitate increased productivity. For one thing, when working in an office, many people have trouble concentrating when they feel like their eyes are constantly on them. Feeling as if your progress – or lack thereof – is constantly being monitored by bosses and coworkers can be a stressful experience that hampers productivity.
Furthermore, some businesses inadvertently discourage productivity. For example, if completing an assignment early only stands to increase scrutiny on someone’s work or get them saddled with more work, employees have very little incentive to be productive. In environments like this, people spend a good portion of their time trying to look busy instead of actually being productive.
On the flip side, when working from home, people don’t need to worry about bosses looking over their shoulders and questioning whether they truly have enough work to occupy their time.
Sure, they’re still expected to keep bosses and coworkers abreast of their progress and attend virtual meetings, but the overall atmosphere is more relaxed and conducive to productivity. And while meeting deadlines is still vitally important, employees won’t have to fear being penalized for completing work ahead of schedule.
2. Increased Worker Retention
Unsurprisingly, the happier employees are, the more likely they are to remain loyal to your business. Conversely, employees who are thoroughly unhappy in their jobs won’t hesitate to abandon their current positions the instant something better comes along.
As such, it’s in every employer’s best interest to keep workers happy. The less attention you pay to worker satisfaction, the greater your odds of losing some of your business’s top talent.
As we’ve learned over the past couple of years, a strong majority of the workforce favors remote work. That being the case, any business that continues to offer it is likely to see an increase in worker retention.
Even if one of your most valued team members receives a better offer from another employer, they’re liable to turn it down if remote work isn’t part of the package.
Related: Top 10 Work at Home Jobs that’ll make you never want to Leave Home!
3. Heightened Worker Engagement
Despite not being physically present in a formal workplace, remote workers are likely to display heightened levels of employer engagement. Free of the most cumbersome aspects of the daily grind, employees are liable to be more honest and open about their individual work experiences.
So, if you’ve been meaning to conduct a pulse survey, you may find that remote workers are all-too-willing to take part.
4. Reduced Operating Costs
Embracing remote work can also be a boon to your business’s operating costs. For example, if you provide employees with a wide array of snacks and refreshments, allowing remote work is sure to result in reduced food costs.
In addition, you’re practically guaranteed to see a reduction in energy costs and assorted incidental expenses. You may even be able to relocate your base of operations to a smaller office space with more agreeable rent.
It isn’t hard to see why so many members of the workforce vastly prefer remote work to report to an office. Having more control over their work schedules, avoiding office politics, and not having to worry about a cumbersome commute are just a few of the perks of working remotely – and there’s little wonder as to why many of us would prefer to keep things this way.
In addition to being the preferred choice of employees, remote work also stands to benefit small businesses in a number. Business owners who are currently weighing the pluses of allowing remote work to become permanent should consider the advantages discussed above.
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