Some businesses have had no choice but ask their employees to work from home during the pandemic. However, this forced option actually has some major advantages for a business too, whilst also being pretty useful for an employee.
The option to work from home has been around for a long time and whilst it’s not for everyone, it can help to create a better home and work-life balance for those who have other responsibilities and who simply want to create a more flexible way of working.
However, aside from what it can bring to the employee, what can remote work such as this do for a business?
- Fewer overheads - Outside of a pandemic situation, when employees work from home there is no need for the company to provide office furniture such as ergonomic office chairs etc. That saves money from the get-go, however this may also reduce electricity and heating bills too, depending on how many other members of staff are also utilising flexible working arrangements.
- Increased morale - Members of staff who want to work from home are obviously going to be happier that they got the chance to do so. This increases morale and shows your employees that you actually care bout their home and work-life balance.
- You retain your existing staff - Employees who want to work from home but cannot do so may decide to leave the business, in order to find opportunities that fit in with their responsibilities better. By offering the chance to work from home, you get to retain your highly experienced employees.
- Increased productivity - All of the above reasons add up to increased productivity, however there are also suggestions that working from home could be a more productive route for some employees.
- Attracts new talent - Offering flexible working arrangements is attractive to people who are looking for employment. This means you can attract high quality employees and therefore increase the quality of your work and your productivity levels.
- Ensures continuation of service during pandemic - During the current COVID-19 pandemic, the opportunity to continue providing a service to customers can be the difference between survival and failure for some businesses.
For most businesses, the option for employees to work from home has ensured their business can continue to function during lockdowns and Government advice to work from home wherever possible. This isn’t always going to be possible for all businesses, but with some adjustments, most employees can continue to carry out their work duties from a home office or even their kitchen table if necessary!
Many employees have found that the idea of working from home may not have appealed before, but having tried it during the pandemic, they enjoy it and now want to continue. Of course, some may feel that they prefer the contemporary office environment. However, there are certainly some very key benefits for both businesses and employees when it comes to working from home.