Working remotely, aka working from home, is something that the ongoing pandemic has forced several businesses to adopt. Even educational institutions that before now flourished on classroom interactions have had to operate virtually. The reliance on internet and broadband companies’ services has thus increased astronomically in the last few months that COVID-19 has dealt with the world.
However, while broadband companies may be smiling to the bank with plenty of money, other business owners have been seeking answers to if their productivity won’t be affected now that workers have to work remotely. Even customers of many brick-and-mortar stores who comment on US-Review websites wonder if the quality of service they receive won’t dwindle now that companies’ workers work from home.
It is understandable to entertain fears about your workers’ productivity or business since you cannot monitor what they do physically. However, facts, data, and experience reveal that people perform better when they work from how. Check the reasons while this is so below.
1. Breaktime Autonomy
With office work, breaktime is regulated. Employees cannot stretch, see a short movie, attend to other pressing needs, or even spend time on the phone making calls outside of the allotted break time. While these may appear to curtail wasting work hours, the human-machine is too complicated to be restricted. According to the Promodoro Model, employees perform better when they take responsibility for managing their time. They can take as many breaks as they want while working, which won’t hamper their productivity.
2. Reduced Daily Commuting
Remote work reduces daily commuting that traditional office work demands. In fact, in some cases, it eliminates it. And for many workers, it takes several minutes if not hours to commute to work every day. With reduced movement comes a reduction in accidents and other risks. Employees will, therefore, be less prone to falling sick or becoming fatigued. Expectedly, this would affect how they go about their work.
3. No Random Office Discussion
Office employees cannot but have something to discuss now and then. Some of these discussions may have nothing to do with the company’s progress, while others even result in conflicts. Working remotely may not completely end this habit, but it drastically curtails it. Someone busy with a task can choose not to respond to gossip, inquiry, or discussion that can affect their work. No one is obliged to listen to reply to anything at a time not convenient for them. This explains why remote workers communicate better and why productivity increases.
4. Better Job Satisfaction and Personal Happiness
Several polls have revealed that employees experience increased job satisfaction and happiness when permitted to work from home. This happiness may be connected to employees’ sense of security and autonomy from office regulations. Most workers even spend more time with their computers and office work at home than they would do in a physical office workspace.
5. Reduced Expenses
Working from home takes away the cost of purchasing office wear, shoes, and other things that go with it. Many have found out that they could save more by cutting down on their spendings. Employees who have cars can also spend less on their maintenance and fuelling. Which worker wouldn’t like an arrangement that helps them to save more?
Bottom Line
Even after COVID-19 leaves our shores, it doesn’t appear that we would forget the lessons it taught us in a jiffy. One such lesson is that most of our business transactions can be done remotely and even better. If you put in the right measures, remote working can increase your productivity beyond your wildest thought.
