The truth is that many functions and tasks can be done remotely, and even better, with the support of technology and other digital resources. Remote work is a way of recognizing that such functions need to be performed efficiently and not be treated like others that demand physical presence at work.

Study after study after study into remote work has made one thing clear: Remote workers are more productive than their office-bound counterparts.

Workplace flexibility will boost your bottom line in these five categories

1. Productivity — It’s far easier to concentrate at home. The office is actually an amazingly noisy and distracting environment. Teleworkers are an average of 35-40% more productive than their office counterparts, and have measured an output increase of at least 4.4%.
2. Performance — With stronger autonomy via location independence, workers produce results with 40% fewer quality defects.
3. Engagement — Higher productivity and performance combine to create stronger engagement, or in other words, 41% lower absenteeism.
4. Retention — 54% of employees say they would change jobs for one that offered them more flexibility, which results in an average of 12% turnover reduction after a remote work agreement is offered.
5. Profitability — Organizations save an average of $11,000 per year per part-time telecommuter, or 21% higher profitability.

Remote working is beneficial for different actors:

• For employees: they are much more productive and happier.
• For managers: they don’t have to spend so much of their time recruiting and training people all the time.
• For companies: they make far more profit.
• For society: there’s a huge saving in reducing congestion, reducing driving time and ultimately, reducing pollution.

Choice in combination with working from home is just hugely impactful. It doesn’t need to be four days a week, it can be one day a week, but certainly some combination of a bit of working from home and a bit of choice is incredibly impactful.

Summing-up: With today’s technology and worker preferences, it’s clear that remote working is here to stay. It’s time once and for all to embrace and enable the benefits of working from home. Companies would be wise to prioritize the “remote work revolution” as a strategy to enhance their top objectives in this new decade.

References:

• A 2-Year Stanford Study Shows the Astonishing Productivity Boost of Working From Home.
• Cisco Study Finds Telecommuting Significantly Increases Employee Productivity, Work-Life Flexibility and Job Satisfaction.
• Is It Time to Let Employees Work from Anywhere?.