In today’s digital age, more and more businesses can allow their employees to work remotely. Home offices can benefit both employees and employers, and lead to decreased costs and increased productivity. As someone who has worked from home for many years, here are some advantages to allowing your workers to stay at home.
They’ll be more productive.
A recent study found that employees who work from home are 13 percent more productive compared with their in-office team mates. When deadlines are looming, sometimes its highly beneficial to avoid the chatty office banter and distractions of a large office and work solo to produce results. Allowing more experienced employees to work from home also increases their overall job satisfaction which keeps them happier and healthier.
You can hire the best, no matter where they are.
No office means the ability to work with anyone in the world. Freelance Consultants can be based anywhere, but make sure you utilise the effective screening networks available to be matched with professional and legitimate employees only.
It doesn’t have to be all the time
If a 100 percent work-from-home environment isn’t in the cards for your business, try giving employees that opportunity to work from home once a week or a few days out of the month. Most of the benefits listed here will still apply.
It will increase employee loyalty
Almost anyone who has had the chance to work from home would never dream of giving it up. By giving your employees this chance, they will be extremely loyal to your company. It will also create an Employer of Choice reputation, where good employees will seek out opportunities to work with you based on the flexible working conditions you offer.
Employees will take fewer sick days
The dreaded Winter flu wont spread as rapidly through the team if you allow some employees to work from home. Often, employees who are mildly sick can still get work done most of the time if it means not having to go into the office.
Employees will work longer on a day-to-day basis.
Employees who commute to work are often more time poor than their work from home counterparts? If you work from home, you’re at your office right when you wake up. The time that your employees would spend commuting can now be used for real work.
Family responsibilities
If you have children, a home office can be a godsend – with the extra responsibilities of parenting and school drop offs and pick-ups, allowing employees the flexibility of a home office proves highly beneficial. Offering this working arrangement allows people to re-enter the workforce sooner rather than later while still be able to parent effectively.
Letting your employees work from home is still a trust exercise for Managers. It’s important to make sure you’re sending trusted, experienced employees home, and not the newest employee at the office. Make sure these are the high performers who have consistently made deadlines in the past, and have earned the right to have this flexibility on offer.
A well-structured, rotating home/office workforce can produce happier employees and cut office costs substantially in the long run. Why don’t you try it?