As the world becomes more advanced and digital, a lot of jobs are becoming remote as more people are working from the confines of their homes.
Home working opens up a new range of possibilities for the way businesses can work and structure themselves. With the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, home working has given some employers the flexibility they need to continue their business operations while prioritizing staff and customer health and wellbeing as part of their public health responsibility.
Remote work has quite a lot of advantages for workers. We would highlight some of the benefits of working from home- some which you may already be aware of, and others which might further enlighten you on the influence of remote work on employers, employees, and the economy.
- Increased productivity and performance: Working from home allows for a serene and quieter environment that can facilitate more focused work due to lesser interruptions, which would normally occur in an office environment.
- Improved health and wellbeing: Remote work rules out the need to commute to and from work daily which could be stressful to workers. This saves a whole lot of time and energy. Working from home also enables workers to gain extra health benefits such as extra time to rest, bonding with friends and family, exercising, and indulging in a healthy lifestyle.
- Flexibility and agility: When workers are no longer confined to their offices, they may be better placed and be more willing to work flexible hours such as earlier or later in the day or at even weekends. Remote working enhances more agility and flexibility in work arrangements.
- Better work-life balance: Working from home also come with flexible schedules, which means that workers can start and end their day as they choose, as long as the job is completely done and leads to strong outcomes. This type of control over your work schedule can be invaluable when it comes to attending to the needs of your personal life.
- Impact on sustainability: Working from home supports different types of sustainability initiatives, ranging from economic growth and reduced inequalities, to sustainable cities and climate change. One of the fastest and cheapest ways for employers and employees to reduce their carbon footprint and affect climate change is by reducing commuter travel. Durig the pandemic, there was reduced pollution, congestion and traffic, and this has gone to show that remote work would bring about a positive change on global warming.