The Advantages of Remote Work

According to a recent survey conducted by Gartner, approximately 70% of employees express a desire to continue engaging in remote work to some extent. In contrast, both Twitter and Facebook have already granted their employees the option to work remotely permanently. However, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon considers remote work to be an “aberration” and urges employees to return to the office for ideation collaboration.

In her well-researched book titled Remote Work Revolution, my colleague from Harvard Business School, Tsedal Neeley, explores various aspects of remote work, such as trust-building, productivity, agile team collaboration, and virtual leadership. Through her research, Neeley discovered that when individuals have the chance to work remotely and the flexibility to organize their tasks, it leads to greater commitment and performance in their companies, while reducing the likelihood of attrition.

Now, let’s analyze the advantages and disadvantages of working remotely. As for the advantages:

Better Work-Life Balance

Having the ability to choose when to start and end your workday is a valuable perk of many remote jobs. As long as the work is finished and produces positive results, workers are granted the freedom to establish a flexible schedule. This level of control can greatly assist in balancing personal life obligations.

When you work from home, it is easier to balance tasks such as dropping kids off at school, running errands, attending an online fitness class in the morning, or being home for a contractor.

Less Commute Stress

The average commuting time in the U.S. is 27.1 minutes, meaning people spend almost an hour each day traveling to and from work. This amount of time adds up significantly. As reported by the Auto Insurance Center, commuters spend around 100 hours commuting and 41 hours stuck in traffic annually. Certain individuals known as “extreme” commuters experience even lengthier commute times, lasting 90 minutes or more each way.

Apart from the time wasted in commuting, there are other negative aspects of traveling to and from work. Having a daily one-way commute of more than 30 minutes is linked to higher levels of stress and anxiety. Furthermore, studies indicate that commuting a distance of 10 miles to work every day can lead to health problems such as:

• Higher cholesterol
• Elevated blood sugar
• Increased risk of depression

Location Independence

Telecommuting offers a significant advantage in terms of job opportunities, as it allows individuals to access a wider range of options regardless of their location. This is particularly beneficial for those residing in rural areas and small towns with limited local employment options.

Before the pandemic, fully remote workers had the advantage of not being tied to a specific job location, which allowed them to lead a digital nomad lifestyle by traveling and living in different places. Although the ability to fully embrace a nomadic lifestyle is currently restricted, it remains a desirable benefit as borders gradually reopen.

Individuals who are required to relocate often, such as military spouses, can also find value in acquiring a remote job that can be performed from any location, thus eliminating the need to restart their careers from scratch at a new company after each move.

Furthermore, remote work provides an excellent solution for steering clear of areas with exorbitant rental and mortgage costs, particularly for professions such as technology that previously necessitated residence in an expensive urban locality. Through remote work, residing in close proximity to a large metropolitan area is no longer a prerequisite for pursuing a satisfying career.

Cost savings

Remote work offers cost savings for both employers and employees, with significant reductions in business travel expenses for employers and avoidance of commuting costs for employees. Expensive downtown office space is being abandoned by numerous companies such as Target, who are transitioning to the concept of “hoteling.” This entails employees not having assigned offices and instead reserving open offices as needed.

Schedule flexibility

Remote workers have discovered that they are able to participate in scheduled meetings and still have uninterrupted time to focus on individual tasks, thereby granting them greater flexibility in managing their schedules. Additionally, this has resulted in higher attendance rates for meetings, as they no longer need to accommodate travel and commuting arrangements.

Money Savings

By working from home half the time, individuals can save approximately $4,000 annually. Expenses such as gas, car maintenance, transportation, parking fees, professional attire, and eating out for lunch can all be decreased or eliminated, resulting in notable cost reductions. These accumulated savings ultimately contribute to an increased personal income.

Moreover, it’s not only employees who will benefit from the savings. Numerous companies, including Twitter, Square, Shopify, and Facebook, are embracing the concept of remote work even after the pandemic, resulting in substantial cost reductions in the long run.

Global Workplace Analytics states that a standard company has the potential to save approximately $11,000 annually for each employee who engages in remote work on a part-time basis or more.

Positive Environmental Impact

Before the pandemic, a total of 3.9 million employees worked from home for at least half of their working hours. This led to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions which is comparable to the impact of removing over 600,000 cars from the road for an entire year. Moreover, an impressive 7.8 billion vehicle miles were not traveled annually by people who work remotely, regardless of whether it is part-time or full-time. As a result, around 3 million tons of greenhouse gases were avoided, and there was a significant saving of $980 million in oil expenditures.

By choosing to use less paper and being mindful of their air conditioning, heating, and lighting, telecommuters can have an equivalent impact on air quality as planting a forest of 91 million trees.

Increased Productivity and Performance

Typically, telecommuting results in decreased interruptions, reduced office politics, a quieter environment, and more efficient meetings. Additionally, the absence of a commute gives remote workers more time and fewer distractions, resulting in increased productivity. This advantage of working from home benefits both employees and employers.

Remote work, when executed correctly, enables employees and companies to prioritize performance. Regrettably, the office setting can foster “false positives” that result in bias and favoritism. In reality, arriving early and departing late may give the appearance of increased work, but true productivity is a far superior measure of performance.