Why Companies Should Seriously Consider Work From Home

Work from home has shifted from being a trend to a viable option for companies. There are many benefits to working remotely such as cost savings and employee satisfaction. Forbes listed 100 companies that provide work from home arrangements. These include IBM, Dell, Amazon, Apple, American Express, Adobe Systems, Teletech, and UnitedHealth Group. If big companies can allow their people to work remotely, how much more small businesses that need lower overhead expenses. Let’s look at some compelling reasons why work from home is worth considering.

Direct impact on bottom line.

Both employers and employees can gain substantial savings from remote working. According to the Global Workplace Analytics telecommuting statistics, if workers telecommute half the time, companies can save an average of $11,000 per employee each year. Not only that, the workers themselves can save between $2,000 and $7,000 annually. On a national scale, that’s $700 billion in yearly savings.

Think Earth Day every day.

This may come as a surprise but telecommuting has a direct effect on our environment, too. The report stated that if employees work from home 50% of the time, it is equivalent to removing the entire New York workforce off the road in terms of greenhouse gas reduction. Less people going to work mean less cars on the road, which ultimately mean less pollution.

Current workforce is built for it.

The report also revealed that 50% of the US workforce has a job that is compatible to a work from home setup. This means that if you look at your employees’ work right now, they can possibly do it remotely especially if they have access to cloud-based applications and other similar technologies. Right now, 20-25% of the workforce telecommute with varying frequency. The response has been overwhelming as well with 80% to 90% of the US workforce saying they would like work from home at least part-time.

It is a global shift.

According to Polycom, 43% of countries around the world are providing work from home opportunities to their workers. China is leading the way with 69% followed closely by the US at 63%. The two countries are leading well in terms of the number of companies that allow telecommuting tied at 48%. This is way above the global average which is 29%. With the two superpowers leading the pack, you can expect the rest of the world to follow suit.

Win-win situation

Employee satisfaction and talent retention drive the growth of work from home workers. Companies get to keep their best assets and they are happy because telecommuting provide work-life balance. Employees feel empowered because they have the flexibility of time, location, and duration of work. Research also shows that working from home increases productivity. Not only that, technology is also making work from home more feasible with collaboration platforms, wearable technology, visual communications, and better connectivity.

The telecommuting workforce is growing at a rapid pace. In 2015, there were 30 million employees working from home once a week in the US and it is expected to rise by 63% in the next five years. Fortune 1,000 companies are even renovating their office spaces since their employees are allowed to work remotely. With the increasing viability of the work from home setup and the increase in supporting technologies, there is no reason why this option is not worth considering.