The past year has shown businesses can benefit and even thrive when their employees can work from home (remote working).
Whilst it also benefits the employees in many ways, it can help them to maintain a better work/life balance, whilst offering the chance to have a life around work rather than just sitting in traffic and commuting for many hours a day.
Staff are Happier
With less time spent commuting and the opportunity to have a longer time in bed in the morning, or time to properly wake up and have breakfast before starting their day, staff will be much happier with their work schedule knowing that they don’t have to spend time and money on their commute.
It also means that staff can spend more time with their families and doing the things they love, as commuting to and from work can often eat up a lot of this free time.
With happier staff, you are more likely to produce better quality work as a company. Staff will be more inclined to work harder during their shifts as they aren’t already tired and burnt out from a long commute or skipping breakfast in order to get to work on time.
Less Money is Spent on Utilities
With less money being spent on hiring out office spaces or paying for heating and electricity to power your site, the money you save can be better used elsewhere such as kickstarting a new project or even treating your staff to a ‘thank you’ gift for all their hard work over the past year.
On average, a small business will spend between £1,900 and £2,900 on energy costs alone. This is quite a sizeable chunk that could go towards staff entertainment elsewhere. This way, you’ll still get the community feel of being part of a team, but in a more enjoyable setting which can encourage brainstorming sessions and provide new starters with a chance to integrate better.
Should You Go Fully Remote?
Before you decide on whether to go fully remote as a business or to operate from the office a few days a week, you should weigh up the pros and cons.
For example, some staff might really miss the social aspect of being in an office, especially if they live alone or their work requires them to work with other team members frequently. However, staff that might be traveling to central London via train might benefit from not being in the office as often, due to rush hour traffic causing their days to become much longer.
For some businesses, a balance of both remote working and days in the office is a good way to gauge workload and gives employees the best of both worlds.
