With the rise of telework, small businesses are looking for ways to embrace this flexible and convenient form of working. However, some companies still hesitate to make this change for various reasons. Many business owners are fearful of the effects a remote workforce will have on productivity, while others worry that their employees would be less willing to attend meetings and take care of other responsibilities if they worked from home.
Despite these fears, the research is clear: Employees are just as productive when they work from home as they are in an office. In fact, some studies have found that remote workers actually performed better than their in-office counterparts!
The most significant benefits of remote work for business owners are:
Save Money on Physical Overhead
One of the biggest costs of running a company is paying for office space, electricity, and commuting. With remote work, this overhead can be eliminated or significantly reduced.
Increase Productivity
In a traditional workplace, employees are subjected to constant distractions. These include talking coworkers, noise from the office and other distractions that can be hard to focus on.
When working remotely, employees are able to set their own schedules and choose when they want to work, so they can get the most out of their day without being interrupted. This can improve both the quality and the quantity of their work.
Stay Safe and Healthy
Having an effective telework policy is essential, as it can help ensure that employees are safe at work while avoiding exposure to viruses and other harmful agents. This can be especially important for employees with young children or immunocompromised individuals.
A good telework policy should also include guidelines on how to handle emergency situations, such as fires, power outages, and medical emergencies. It should also cover how remote employees should communicate with coworkers, and what forms of communication they are expected to use.
Employees who have a strong telework policy tend to be more productive than their office counterparts, which helps businesses achieve their goals faster. In a recent study, researchers at Stanford University found that employees who worked from home produced about 30% more than those in the office.
Employers who offer a robust remote worker policy are also more likely to retain their talent, as they are happier with their jobs and are less likely to look for new ones.
Attrition is often the biggest issue for small businesses, and remote work has been shown to reduce the rate of attrition among both women and men.
Moreover, remote work is also a more cost-effective option for employees, as it can save them time and money on commuting costs and fuel prices.
Increased Diversity & Inclusion
With remote work, small businesses can expand their talent pool by hiring people who may not have access to traditional workspaces. This can bring new perspectives and help foster a more inclusive culture.
