The main benefits of remote working for both employees and employers are well-known: less stress and more freedom for workers, reduced costs and higher retention for employers. But there’s so many more reasons to consider remote working. Join us as we drill down into five pretty major ‘working from home’ factors, and discover the benefits of each for both employees and employers. Plus a few considerations you should make. First up, a biggie.
1. No Need to Commute
On the face of it, it’s easy to see the benefits of this to everyone. However, there’s more to it than just calmness and carbon.
Remote working benefits to the employee
- More wage in your pocket, because of zero travel costs and potentially no need for you to have a car.
- Reduced stress, because you’re not dealing with crowded public transport.
- Increased feelings of control, because you’re not relying on timetables running smoothly.
- Increased mental and physical wellbeing – no miserable Monday faces to look at, no germs to catch.
- Feeling in-tune with nature as you now have a zero carbon commute.
Remote working benefits to the employee
- Staff are focused and productive when they start work, not travel-weary.
- Increased ‘green credentials’ for the business, as staff emit zero carbon getting to work.
- More business efficiency, with transport delays removed, staff are working their full hours.
Considerations
- Reduced physical movement should be offset with exercise, employers should encourage and incentivise this.
- For some, a commute offers a change of scenery that fuels creative juices and mindfulness. Consider a few days in the office or build in walks into your morning routine to recreate this.
- Reduced human interaction from not coming into the office needs to be considered, for some employees it won’t be a problem, for others it could have serious mental health implications. Keep an open forum between all staff and consider arranging time together in-person.
2. Employees have more control
The era of subservient staff is over, today’s talent demands a more balanced employer-employee relationship. Best-practice remote working gives workers increased control.
Benefits to the employee
- You can be all of yourself, with no need to feel pressured to conform to office attire norms, you can wear what you love.
- Eat super healthy and save, now you’re at home you can buy and prepare your own food instead of defaulting to cafe/shop menus, and prices.
- Work where inspires your best output, instead of being chained to an office desk, you can work from your sofa, a coffee shop or co-working space for the day.
- Free your evenings and weekend up and get more ‘home chores’ done – book tradespeople, arrange shopping deliveries and take lunchtime haircuts, all during the day, all while keeping your work hours productive.
Benefits to the employer
- Build stronger relationships with your staff, based on the trust and tolerance you’ll display with a work at home arrangement.
- Attract the best talent that simply won’t work to the traditional employer-employee relationship, they want freedom and lifestyle over the ‘big city’ office.
- Enjoy a more engaged remote workforce that experience greater feelings of gratitude for their work/life balance, they’re more committed to your shared cause and approach.
Considerations
- For those who like to change environments, from a home desk to the sofa, coffee shop etc, there’s a requirement to keep focus and not get too comfy.
- While wearing anything might be on the table, remember that client-facing meetings may necessitaste smart attire.
3. Flexible Working Hours
As long as the work gets done on time, it’s up to the employee when in the day they do it. Flexible working has great benefits for both parties.
Benefits to the employee
- Work to your own rhythm, get your work done at times that work for you.
- Put your health first, doctor or hospital appointments are hard to arrange, be completely open to available appointments.
- Achieve a lifestyle balance, the days of work dominating your day is over, do yoga, am-dram or whatever lights you up, and work around it.
- More time with your family or friends, this one’s genuinely huge, you’ll be able to see your baby take its first steps or say its first word, or be there for friends you wouldn’t be able to ordinarily see.
- Reduced childcare costs, daycare gets expensive, so if you can keep your kid at home and then work when a partner gets home, there’s a huge saving.
Benefits to the employer
- Staff are more productive, by letting your people work when they are most focused, you get maximum output.
- Staff are more satisfied, reducing costs associated with absenteeism, lateness and illness.
- Staff feel respected and are more likely to stay, which is key to retention, reducing the need to recruit and the hefty related costs.
Considerations
- Managing the different times that staff are working will require additional tools and planning. A joined-up teamwork approach might be impacted and as such, there may be times when staff need to be online irrespective of their preferred hours.
- Employers should focus on output, not management. Ensure staff are clear on the goals that need rot be achieved and by when, this ensures that the right work is done, irrespective of when in the day.
4. – Skilled Staff
Feeling motivated and satisfied, staff will want to develop their skillset and progress their career. Remote working gives them more ability to do this, with significant benefits for themselves and their employer.
Benefits to the employee
- You’ll improve your communication skills, because you’ll need to keep in regular touch with your line manager and colleagues.
- Savvy tech skills will be inevitable, as you use video calling, online workflows and chat tools to work and stay in touch.
- Working flexibly from home allows you to take part in more diverse training opportunities, both inside and outside of your core competencies.
Benefits to the employer
- Improved confidence around comms skills enables team members to share their learnings more widely across the business, lifting everyone.
- Your staff, and therefore your business, are more future-ready, thanks to the necessity of technology in their everyday workflows and communication.
- Your in-house skillsets are more diverse, allowing you to see and seize opportunities more quickly, without needing to rely on outside resource
Considerations
Just keep a focus on what needs to get done and ensure training doesn’t head into work time, unless it’s supposed to.
5. The world’s your job market
Why limit your pool of talent or potential employers to just the city or country you operate or live in?
Benefits to the employee
- You can apply for international jobs, or jobs in Bangkok for example – now you’re working via video, you can work for any business in the world that operates this way.
- You can live wherever you like, with no office to head into, you can work wherever there’s an internet connection.
- You could pay less tax, some countries have low, or even zero, tax rates, allowing you to take home all of your wage.
Benefits to the employer
- Unrestricted talent sourcing, thanks to your remote working set-up, you aren’t limited to local staff and can recruit from a global talent pool.
- Access specific talent not available in your home country, some countries produce specialists and remote working allows you to more easily employ them for a competitive advantage.
- Achieve workforce diversity as you hire from around the world, bringing in cultures and traditions that enrich your business.
Considerations
Think about the legalities of working for a foreign-based business or employing foreign-based talent. There may be tax or citizenship implications.
Remote Working Benefits: Summary
So now you have a serious case for either implementing remote working if you’re a business, or going remote as a worker. It might take some adjusting, but working from home is going to become the norm and covid-19 has definitely expedited the transition to home working.
As ever, if you want to hire the brightest talent or would like to work for the most exciting employers in Bangkok and South East Asia, get in touch with our team.
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