5 Important Reasons to Let Your Employees Work Remotely

If you’re unsure whether to let your employees work remotely, here are five reasons to consider letting them.

1. Everyone saves time

When your employees work from home, everyone will save time on tasks.

Employees won’t have to prepare for a day at the office and commute to work. While at home, they can multitask, such as running laundry or being available for repair workers during their workday.

As a boss, you will save time normally dealing with handling office-related issues and managing equipment. Research shows that more than ⅓ of the work year is spent on “meaningless” tasks.

By working from home, the average person saves more than an hour each day. With that spare time, employees can do what they love and care for themselves and their families.

2. Everyone saves money

A medium-sized business spends an average of $1,960 on office expenses each month, while large businesses with 200 employees spend around $6,000 on monthly office supplies. While providing your employees with resources is still important, you won’t spend nearly this amount on work-from-home employees.

Paying for employee home expenses eliminates over half of the cost for in-office work. You won’t have to purchase as much equipment, as many employees will use their desks, chairs and devices.

Employees, meanwhile, will save money on their commute, meal expenses and work clothing.

3. They’re more productive

A fear of many business owners and managers is allowing employees to work from home will make them less productive. In fact, nearly half of managers hesitate to trust work-from-home employees. However, that’s far from the truth.

Employees relax more in their own environment. Office anxiety is common because workers feel watched, even if they did nothing wrong. In their homes, they have more freedom to use their own processes to get the work done. They also can decorate their workspaces as they like, making them happier throughout the day.

Research found that work-from-home employees are 13% more productive and 40% of them work longer hours than those who work in the office.

4. It’s safe

Another fear bosses have is that their companies data will get compromised by employees working from home. However, with the right security measures in place, the risk virtually disappears.

Even offices around the country now have bring your own device (BYOD) policy to save money on purchases and managing business devices. With a secure internet connection and anti-virus software, most workplaces can securely work from their homes.

Medical officials and government employees are able to work from home, handling sensitive information thanks to the amazing security options available. It’s important to have guidelines in place for employees, such as not working in public wifi and not discussing sensitive information around smart home devices or household members.

With the right policies and programs in place, working from home can be as safe as working from the office.

5. It improves everyone’s health

Working from home can benefit you and your employees’ physical and mental health. Being in a home environment can improve your mood, increase your exercise and help you live a happier life.

Mental health

When working from home, 75% of employees face mental health effects from workplace stress and 90% believe staying at home to work improves their happiness.

There are many contributing factors to this improvement.

• Less office pressure: Research shows that employees who work the  office feel more on-edge during the day, even if there’s no reason for them to feel that way. It can come from employees and bosses being in the same room and workers feeling judged by how they complete tasks. When you work from home, that fear dissipates.
• No stressful commute: Commuting to work, especially in urban areas, can get very stressful. Between traffic and unexpected delays, many employees are already stressed by the time they get to the office, making their day harder to get through.
• Their office design: When employees work from home, they have more freedom to surround themselves with colors, plants and mementos that make them feel most equipped to do their job. For example, colors can inspire mood with blues, reds and yellows having an energizing effect while greens, light blues and purples have a calming, focusing effect. Employees can choose what they need to do the best job.

Physical health

Research shows working from home also improves physical health thanks to various factors.

• More movement: When employees are home, they have more opportunities to move around since they won’t interfere in anyone else’s space. This movement decreases the risks of multiple illnesses that are exacerbated by a sedentary lifestyle.
• Better ergonomics: While many offices try to include ergonomic equipment for their employees, different heights and weights can make those items unsuitable for everyone. When  employees works at home, they can get equipment that best fits them, helping their bodies stay healthy and energized.
• Better mental health: There is a strong connection between mental and physical health. When employees face less office stress, they’re likely to feel better physically.

Letting employees work from home

Allowing your employees to work from home is an excellent way to improve their stress and your bottom line. With benefits for both managers and employees, exploring work-from-home options makes sense for many companies.