What Are the Benefits of Remote Working?

According to Buffer’s State of Remote Work report, 99% of employees would like the chance to work remotely at least some of the time. For many employees, the ability to work remotely is more important than salary.

But why? What are the benefits of remote work for employees? And what about for you, as their employer? Let’s take a look.

Employees

There’s No Commute

The average commute in the UK takes up an hour of a person’s day. That’s an extra hour they could spend with their families, working, or catching up on some sleep.

When employees have more time to themselves, they’re less stressed and can therefore complete their work faster and to a higher level.

They Have More Time with Their Children and Pets

When employees have children, flexible working makes it easier for them to drop their children off at school and pick them up. When they work remotely, they lose less time travelling between home, school, work, and back again. This saves them hours of time every week.

88% of employees who have pets, meanwhile, say that pets in the workplace improves morale.

Offering them remote working not only achieves this but also gives them the chance to play with, or walk, pets at lunchtimes, which can help with their mental health.

Employees that don’t worry about their children and pets are both happier and more productive, which helps you to achieve your bottom line.

They’re in Their Own Environment

While open-plan offices are everywhere, they’re actually bad for productivity. They’re noisy, there’s always someone who’s too hot or too cold, and the lighting in them can affect some people’s eyesights. The bigger the open-plan office, the harder it is to find the Goldilocks environment.

The right environment plays a huge role in productivity levels and should never be underestimated. Small changes in temperature, lighting, and noise, can negatively affect employees and mean they’re unhappier in their roles and more likely to leave.

When employees are in their own environment, they’re in control. That means everything from the room temperature to where they’re sitting is up to them – they don’t have to sacrifice their own comfort in favour of something that works for their colleagues.

Employers

You Have a Wider Talent Pool to Choose From

Choosing the right talent is imperative but increasingly difficult in a candidate-driven market with a high employment rate. Offering remote working means that you don’t have to choose from the best local candidates – they could live hundreds of miles away.

Because you’ve hired based on skill set and not proximity, you’re more likely to get the best person for the role first time. This helps to reduce your employee churn rate.

Employees Are More Engaged

Employees that are offered remote working options are happier in their roles and therefore more engaged.

This higher engagement rate leads to greater productivity and a better employer brand.

Improving your employer brand leads to better hires and less chance of them leaving during the onboarding process. As the onboarding process can take up to eight months, finding the right candidate the first time can make a big difference to your hiring costs.

Reduced Office Costs

When employees work remotely, you don’t have to pay traditional office costs. Instead of paying rent on an office space, you only need to worry about buying equipment such as a laptop, and subscriptions for tools that they’ll need to help them work remotely.

Conclusion

As the candidate market becomes even more competitive, the more you can do to stand out and attract the best talent, the better your chances are of finding and retaining that talent. Finding the right talent helps you to grow your business as fast as possible while still offering the same – or a better – level of customer service.

Employees, meanwhile, have more time to spend with their family and pets. They also avoid stressful commutes which eat into an average of five hours every week. That’s a lot of time wasted that could be spent on other things.

Offering your employees a flexible working arrangement shows that you value and trust them. It also helps to attract candidates from more diverse backgrounds who may not be able to travel into an office but would do an amazing job for your company.

Remote working is still in its infancy, but with more and more employees valuing it over salary, offering them the option – even if it’s just some of the time – could be the difference between not just hiring new employees, but keeping you