BENEFITS OF WORKING FROM HOME FOR DIGITAL TRANSFORMED BUSINESS
It begs the question: would companies ever consider the idea of working from home if it were not for the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID19)? Good question, isn’t it? As much as it has cast shadows in our lives, it made organisations think out of the box – conjuring up the idea of working remotely. “Sometimes bad things have to happen before good things happen”, Becca Fitzpatrick once aptly said. Before the pandemic, some managers saw the idea of working at home to be less than ideal, others had not even harboured any thoughts of it. Here is another question, will companies hang onto the benefits of working remotely when the pandemic ends? As recently as four days back, Tesla boss Elon Musk declared an end to remote working at Tesla.
However, Africon media recently ran a poll to find out if employees will be willing to work from the office or to continue to work from home. The results were decisive in the sense that 100% of the employees at Africon media opted to work remotely. The key observation is employees are willing to work from home. Remote working is made possible by collaboration and productivity tools. Even though Covid-19 still lives with us, there is a vaccine, but other organisations have opted for a mixed method. The aforementioned method involves working from home and the office interchangeably weekly.
It is no exaggeration that employees across the work find working from home more convenient than working in the office. One organisation (cannot be named for a fear of reprisal) learned with amusement the amount of money their organisation saved from their employees working remotely. It is clear as day that there are several benefits companies, large and small, could derive from working remotely. They will be enumerated and elucidated below.
FLEXIBILITY AND AGILITY
Home ground advantage can make things much easier sometimes. Flexibility and agility are needed sometimes for employees to perform with so much aplomb. Working from home can easily make all these possible. When employees are no longer reporting for duty from the office, they may be better placed and more willing to work flexible hours such as earlier or later in the day or even at weekends. In some companies, employees could call each other at any time of the day when they seem to encounter technical challenges or any other issues.
LESS TIME ON THE ROAD
Expending effort travelling from home to work and versa can prove to be more time consuming than working remotely. According to research, commuting by car has been linked to increased stress, more pollution and respiratory problems. Instead of people tied to the place of their comfort, they spend a great deal of time, travelling and it is draining. When employees work remotely, all of these ups and downs, to and fro are minimized.
INCREASED STAFF MOTIVATION
Employees feel more motivated when they are not micromanaged. They even feel more trusted by their employer as the working relationship is not as closely monitored and employees are allowed a degree of autonomy to get on with their work. The 2005 study 2005, discovered that job satisfaction increased with each additional hour people spent working
remotely. Observation is that employees are much happier with home from home routine as it nicely suits them better and this is said to be contributing can to them feeling more motivated to give their best for the companies they are working for.
LESS SICKNESS
Allowing employees to work from home can help keep them safe from communicable diseases. Covid-19 is still in existence and almost every day, people sadly lose their lives to it. Fact is, it is still a deadly virus. Remote working allows employees to work in isolation, which therefore measly make less chance of infections spreading as would be the case within an office environment. People breathe different air within the offices, sometimes even special air filters do little to help the situation. Workers feel more energized working from home and therefore have less chance of their immune system being negatively impacted by burnout.
SAVE MONEY AND FINANCIAL BENEFITS
Some companies learned with amazement the amount of money their organisation saved from their employees working remotely. Companies save on office space, office supplies, utility bills and other facilities. If ever there are the most expensive things in South Africa, there have to be water and electricity. No employer wants to find themselves paying a high price for such. Companies could spend less on real estate. If staff use company’s transport to commute to work and to attend to other stuff, they will save a lot of money on fuel.
TECHNOLOGY MAKES IT POSSIBLE
The internet has made it possible for staff to be continually connected to the office and to continue working from home. These days’ companies can run all of their operations seamlessly because of the internet and it allows employees to work from home in comfort. Technology plays a huge role in ensuring that a switch is possible. With the presence of 5G, people can work from anywhere they can get a signal without being limited by their connection to Wi-Fi. Microsoft Office 365 also empowers remote workers to work seamlessly.