How Do Work-from-Home Setups for Employees Benefit Companies?
One of the adjustments that many people have had to make in the previous year is working from home. Adjusting to a different work setup, one that places you in the same area where you live and interact with the rest of your family, is a quite a balancing act. Some people welcomed the freedom that comes with being able to shift from work to personal activities. Others struggled to get their tasks done while attending to the needs of the other members of their family.
Employees were not the only ones who had to make adjustments; companies, in general, had to get used to a different style of management and communication. It can be difficult to get everyone in the company on the same page when employees and managers are working in different locations, after all.
However, this doesn’t mean that the remote work setup hasn’t been positive for businesses. Over time, companies were able to discover strategies that allowed them to perpetuate their company culture, even among employees who are based at home. These strategies helped employees maintain their levels of productivity despite the challenging times.
That being said, making work-from-home setups an option for employees also offers a number of other benefits for companies. Such advantages include the following:
Reduced Overhead Costs
One of the primary advantages of allowing employees to work from home is that the company does not have to retain a large workspace to make room for all of its employees. Even if just a portion of the workforce chooses to do their work from home, this will still allow companies to reduce their overhead costs by a significant amount. When fewer people are showing up in the office, the company has the option to rent a much smaller and cheaper space. Aside from reduced rent, the company can also benefit from having to pay less for utilities such as electricity, water, Internet connections, and even cleaning services.
Opportunities to Build Your Team
By allowing work-from-home setups, many companies have also discovered that they’re no longer limited to hiring people from the immediate area. This is especially true if they’ve found that the distance between remote and office-based team members does little to dampen their level of productivity. All a company has to do is find a communication and collaboration system that works for employees who are based in and out of the office. Once this is done, an employer can more confidently hire highly qualified people who may live far away from where the company’s physical headquarters is based.
At the same time, many employees are also attracted to the idea of working from home permanently. Given this, offering applicants the option to work remotely may potentially attract more qualified people to your business. Your company will be able to choose from a larger pool of applicants, and distance would not need to be major consideration when choosing the best candidate to hire.
Increased Flexibility and Productivity
There are certain kinds of employees who thrive when working from home. Many of them are highly appreciative of the time they save every day due to no longer needing to commute to work or prepare extensively for showing up in the office. They also have more time and energy to devote to their tasks, which can result in improved productivity and quality of work. Instead of driving or commuting, these workers also have more time to take further study and perhaps take classes such as project management and leadership and communication courses. They can then use these newly acquired skills to help your company achieve its goals and targets.
Happier and Healthier Employees
If they can achieve the right balance between their job and family responsibilities, employees are also able to better look after themselves even while they’re working remotely. They can schedule a few stretching or exercise breaks during their downtime, for example, and this can help them avoid the health issues caused by prolonged sitting or standing. They may also have better opportunities to eat healthier food, as they have access to their kitchen at any time of the day.
There’s No Need to Go All Out
Now, there are industries and jobs where employees won’t be able to accomplish all of their work if they’re not in the workplace. The good news is that companies don’t have to go all-or-nothing when allowing their employees to work from home. They can, for example, allow more work-from-home opportunities for employees who need not be there, all while requiring some personnel to still report every day, or perhaps some employees could come into the office on certain days and share an office with someone who also comes in for a couple of days a week. It’s all a matter of striking the right balance between fulfilling the needs of the company and promoting a culture that supports better work-life balance for the company’s employees.
Working remotely can be a boon for a company with the right approach. To make the most of such a setup, carefully consider what your company’s remote work policy should be, and offer the right level of support to your remote employees. This way, your business and its employees will all be able to thrive, whether your staff are working from their office desk or the comfort of their own homes.
Check Priority Management Australia’s work from home courses here today.