The innovation and creativity that rise from the IT hub are not the key. However, with remote work becoming more popular, IT hubs could soon become irrelevant.
The number of remote workers has increased 400% over the past 10 years. Upwork predicts that 73% of all teams in the next eight years will employ remote workers. Remote work is a winning trend across all industries.
You might be the boss of hiring, or an expert at hiring staff for your company. We have compiled 15 amazing benefits of remote work to support our case.
Let’s first see what the research says before we get started.
Remote work in numbers: The pros
Remote work has been the subject of a lot of research over the last few years. Let’s give you a taste of the benefits of working remotely.
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO, revealed that over 22,000 of his social media company’s employees will work remotely within the next five to ten years. Source: Washington Post
Coinbase, Masterclass Shopify, Shopify and Siemens have all started to adopt a “remote first” work policy for their businesses. Source:
The USA, China, and India will each add $4.5 trillion and $1.4 trillion respectively by 2030. This is due to increased opportunities for work-from-home, as a result of decentralization. (Source: IWG)
Remote onboarding is one of the many benefits of remote work. It will cut down hiring costs by 160%. (Source: TalentLMS)
Collaboration with remote workers can lead to double productivity.
40% of employees would be willing to accept a pay cut if they were allowed to work at home permanently. (Source: Indeed)
Remote work has a surprising advantage: Employees are 1.8x more productive when they work remotely than when they work in an office. (Source: Owllabs)
Remote workers make 52% less time when they work remotely, even if they are sick. Source: CoSo Cloud
Over 58% of employees think that remote work is more attractive than a traditional employer. (Source: Owllabs)
8/10 employees think they will support remote work after the pandemic has passed. (Source: Owllabs)
Remote Work: 15 Benefits
These findings show that remote work has 5 main benefits. These are:
- Onboarding benefits
- Productivity boosted
- Guaranteed health benefits
- Happier employee
- Richer employer
We have identified specific benefits of remote work based on the themes discussed.
Remote Onboarding Benefits
Let’s start by examining the benefits of remote working on your onboarding experience.
- Faster onboarding
- Onboarding is a great way to make a first impression.
- Because there is no paperwork, it’s easier to create a virtual onboarding experience that’s seamless and efficient.
- Remote onboarding is better than in-house if your recruit needs to be ready quickly and show-ready soon.
- These virtual onboarding programs are especially beneficial for remote workers.
Lower costs
Remote onboarding is cost-effective because you don’t have to do any printing, agreements, or signing of papers.
- Advantages to Productivity
- Productivity increases
Employees who can work remotely are often praised for their productivity. Both employers and employees have recognized this.
According to a Hubstaff survey, 65% of workers think they are extremely productive working remotely. With over 85% of businesses backing their employees, it is clear that workers who work remotely are more productive.
Remote working has another advantage: asynchronous communication rules – that is, there are fewer distractions
Asynchronous communication can cause issues such as lower frequency of responses, slow email turnarounds, and other problems. These issues are not common at the beginning. Remote employees learn better communication skills when they settle into a routine.
Free work – More work
Remote employees are able to work for an average of 1.4 days per month more than their offices. This roughly translates into 3 weeks per year.
This phenomenon is evident in every one of our home-based experiences. Let’s look at Sun microsystems. The software giant surveyed remote workers’ productivity and found they worked five hours more per week than their office-based colleagues.
It has been shown that employees who work from home have a greater loyalty to the company. This could also be a sign that employees are grateful. This could also be due to all the energy and time spent on the commute that has translated into additional work hours for the company.
However, these benefits can be gained by switching your workforce to work remotely.
Remote working for health: Benefits
There are many reasons why work-related stress can creep in. These include, but are not limited to:
- Boredom
- Commute
- Anger
- Conflict between work and family
- Politics at work
- Frustration
- These are only the beginning.
Remote work offers flexibility, which is one of its greatest advantages. Remote work allows employees to better manage their time. They may be able to sneak away for a dental appointment or a soccer match with their children. They can leave immediately if they have an emergency.
Employees can work from home or on the road thanks to this flexibility. 84% of employees agree this flexibility is beneficial in managing mental stress.
Higher levels of gratitude
Loyalty is an important metric that you should nurture in your company. In these situations, trust management can make a big difference in your team’s collaboration and individual productivity.
Employees who are less stressed will be more open to gratitude. Many workers still enjoy working from home. Many reasons will make them grateful, including more family time and a flexible work day.
Let’s explain why remote work can bring you the benefit of nurturing gratitude.
It means asking them to work a little more. Employees who are grateful will be more inclined to help others. They will also spend more time working, respond to emails, and offer support.
Physical health impact
Remote work isn’t all about sitting on your rolling chair and staring at the pixels for hours. We can conclude from the evidence that remote working is more productive than just watching Friends in your office.
Remote work has been proven to increase employee exercise. Remote work allows employees to save time and avoid having to commute to their exercise sessions.
- Here’s the math: A Coso Cloud survey found that 35% of employees believe they can get more exercise. This is a great remote benefit for employers.
- Here are the reasons: Employees should not suffer from work-related burnout. Digital burnout is added to the experience due to the pandemic.
Remote work is a great option because employees can choose their own diet and exercise regimens to live a healthier life.
Additional benefits for your employees
Improved satisfaction & Higher morale
Remote work offers many benefits at both the micro- and macro level of an employee’s personal life. Remote work has saved me several thousands of dollars that would otherwise have been spent on my commute, lunch, office-wear, etc.
Another horror story is the time lost while waiting in traffic or trudging through traffic. The Census Bureau Data 2018 estimates that US workers lose 117.7 minutes per week to mundane commutes. This is a staggering 96 hours per year.
For the wealthy, these benefits are not a major deal-breaker. These savings can be a big deal for many business graduates and students who have a lot of debt. It’s no surprise that 50% of employees will choose remote work companies over those that don’t.
Remote working is therefore a great option. These time- and monetary benefits result in employee satisfaction and higher morale.
No longer is the time when a job was enough to bring you satisfaction. Gen-Z and Millennials demand that they have control over how they work.
They can save so much time, money and invest in hobbies or a side-hustle.
Fewer distractions
While workplace friendships and water-cooler conversation are a great aspect of work life, it is not hard to see how many minutes are lost each day.
These distractions are not available to remote workers. Remote workers have the flexibility to incorporate other socialization into their lives without affecting productivity.
Remote working also has the advantage that workers can create and shape a productive work environment.
A quiet area is a necessity for me as a knowledge worker. I can choose the most productive and hassle-free location when working from home.
My workplace has a beautiful view of the garden. Yours?
We have less absenteeism
Did you know that 78% of employees who call in sick don’t actually feel sick? This leaves only 2 honest employees per team. These employees may also be affected by other pressing issues.
Employee absenteeism can be caused by many factors:
- Illness
- Bad weather
- Schedule an appointment
- Emergencies
- Family functions
Remote working is a great option for employers because it leaves them with fewer issues related to absenteeism and leave.
Remote workers don’t feel the effects of rain or cold outside. Remote workers are confined within the walls of their homes and have less reason to leave their homes. Research shows that employees who work remotely have 63% fewer absences.
You can save up to 6 different costs
One of the first to advocate work-from home policies was Dell. Since 2016, Dell has flirted with remote working policies. This was after it discovered that it could save $12 million annually on real estate costs.
Employers have the greatest advantage of remote work because it is affordable. If you ever feel the need to reduce costs, you can shift your attention from marketing and human resources.
Already, the pandemic has prompted a paradigm shift. Remote work is now fashionable. Profit from this.
Remote work is a great way to save money for your business. According to Indeed, remote work can help businesses save up to half of their operational costs.
Reduced costs for plant, equipment, stationery, parking and other expenses can help you save between 15% and 25%.
Remote workers result in a 31% decrease in health insurance spending.
Remote work has another advantage for businesses: it saves energy. This includes printers, laptops and cooler systems. Lighting, etc. are also reduced.
Employers will no longer need to provide travel allowances for employees who commute less. Transport costs are also covered by large companies. This reduces the impact on your balance sheet by allowing remote workers.
Employer branding
Remote work can be a great way to promote your company. Remote work is great for employers because it allows them to hire new talent.
First, it puts you on the map for a progressive business. It also shows your company’s tech-savvy.
Remote work is also a good option for the environment. By using remote workers, you can tell stories about how your company is helping to reduce carbon emissions.
Remote working offers work-life balance as one of its benefits. You can promote remote work by promoting a balanced work-life balance organization.
These stories can help you hire exceptional talent by increasing your chances of hiring remote workers.
Work around the clock
Employers have the advantage of having a remote workforce. This allows them to bring together world-class workers from all over the globe. You can hire workers from different time zones and allow them to work for you all the time. This is especially useful for building vibrant support teams that are available 24/7.
- Employees who have been pre-trained
- Remote working policies can be a boon for employees who are already trained.
- Remote work doesn’t bring cost savings – it opens up talent pool around the globe.
How does this benefit you, the employer?
Simple. It’s easy. Stop hiring people you don’t have to train. Instead, look around for the right skill set.
Increase your business’s competitiveness
Employers also have a competitive advantage by remote working. Remote working allows you to tap into talent all over the globe. It allows you to tap into regional markets.
You can solve the language barriers that often arise from market entry by hiring workers in different contexts.
How can Multiplier help remote work?
We have now established the benefits of remote work, so let’s introduce Multiplier.
Multiplier’s SaaS-based EOR and PEO solution allows you to generate local compliant contracts without needing to deal with compliance issues. The challenges of hiring across the globe include language barriers, compliance and payroll management.
Multiplier’s platform provides 50+ legal partners and local entities that you can use to hire local employees. You can also pay freelancers, contractors and permanent employees in a single click. You hire, pay and manage the day-to-day tasks of your employees, but we also take legal responsibility.