One of the most marked pandemic trends was the move to working from home. Offices around the world closed their doors, and employees stayed at home. With the end of Covid-19 hopefully in sight, employers face a stark choice: bring their staff back to the office or keep them at home. In this article we will discuss the top 5 benefits of encouraging work from home.
1. It saves money
Home working has the potential to save businesses a lot of money. Keeping the majority (or in some cases all) of the workforce remote allows companies to downsize their office space. This means less rent, and it often means that businesses can make savings elsewhere, too.
Cutting back on energy use leads to lower bills, and you’ll even decrease your water usage. After downsizing, businesses can use a comparison company like Business Water Quotes to find a new water supplier to suit their circumstances, often leading to substantially lower bills.
2. It’s greener
There are no two ways about it: the daily commute is bad for the environment. It means more cars on the road and more carbon in the air. People also tend to generate much more plastic waste when they’re out of the house. Working from home solves both of these problems.
Asking employees to come to office when they can easily accomplish the same tasks remotely puts needless CO2 into the air. Working from home surely plays a large role in securing a greener, more eco-friendly future.
3. Lots of employees actually prefer it
Despite concerns that working from home might be bad for mental health, there’s a lot of evidence to suggest the contrary. Many employees enjoyed the various benefits of working from home.
Not having to commute to work saves time, giving employees more freedom. Working from home also encourages healthier eating habits; there aren’t any office politics, and employees can (in some cases) even set their own hours.
4. Technology makes it easy
When the pandemic struck, and the first lockdowns were introduced, many businesses worried about the impact of working from home. Those concerns turned out to be unfounded. New technology, including video conferencing tools like Zoom and managerial tools like Slack, ensured that working from home was just as efficient as in the office.
Employees always had access to help when needed, and meetings could be conducted via video chat. Technology is only going to advance, so the future of working from home is bright.
5. It’s completely flexible
The strength of the working from home model lies in its sheer flexibility. There’s a model to suit every business. If you don’t want to go fully remote, you can adopt a more hybrid approach. This might mean bringing employees into the office for a set number of days per week or perhaps having them work alternate weeks at home.
Some businesses go even further, keeping the office open as an option but allowing employees to go fully remote if they so choose. Covid-19 has changed the way the office functions, so employers should take full advantage of the so-called “new normal.”
