Does your company currently employ telecommuters or allow telecommuting based on employees’ needs? If not, it may be time to consider the variety of benefits telecommuting can provide for the organization.
In light of the recent decision made by Yahoo’s CEO Marissa Mayer — to end the employee telecommuting practice within the company — all eyes are on telecommuting. This large-scale measure has created a heated discussion in regard to the interest and necessity of this flexibility practice. Many companies are beginning to question their own telecommuting practices…and even whether they should adopt them altogether.
A survey from Staples Advantage discovered that 93 percent of respondent employees thought telecommuting benefitted both the employee and the employer, while 53 percent of business leaders surveyed said telecommuting leads to more productive employees. By 2016, it’s been estimated the U.S. will have 4.9 million telecommuters — will your company employ telecommuters?
5 Reasons Telecommuting Is Still Beneficial To Your Employees
Here are five benefits to consider before you avoid or cut out telecommuting from your company policy:
1. Improved Company Culture. With so many employees seeking out the perfect balance between work and life, telecommuting offers a unique opportunity. Companies who allow remote work, even on occasion, are more likely to build an employee-respected company culture. Fostering positive company culture is a must when seeking to satisfy your employees.
A poll of 1,500 technology professionals revealed that 37 percent would take a pay cut of 10 percent if they could work from home. And when it comes to the environmentally friendly factor of telecommuting, 70 percent of employees reported seeing their companies in a more favorable light if they reduced carbon emissions. Giving your employees what they want and need in terms of flexibility, as well as taking steps toward making your company more environmentally-friendly, will only fuel a company culture worth bragging about.
2. Increased Engagement And Productivity. When companies are losing $600 billion a year due to distractions in the workplace, productivity deserves a conversation. While many employers are left looking for ways to minimize distraction, telecommuting becomes a clear a prominent answer for a variety of circumstances.
Working from home doesn’t just blossom happier employees, it improves engagement and overall productivity. It’s no surprise that two-thirds of employers report increased productivity among their telecommuters. This is likely to stem back to the increased amount of balance working from home can provide, essentially contributing to a new level of enjoyment and engagement in all they do.
3. Lower Employee Expenses. Telecommuting doesn’t just save you money, it also cuts the costs of your employees. From minimizing the necessity of maintaining a work wardrobe to nearly eliminating the cost of commuting, working from home even means gaining access to cheaper and healthier home cooked meals. The cost-cutting involved with working from home will be sure to leave your employees in a position to go the extra mile when it comes to challenging tasks faced on the job.
4. They’ll Be Less Likely To Quit. Employee turnover isn’t cheap. In fact, losing a valued employee can cost an employer between $10,00 and $30,000. There are a variety of reasons workers decide to change jobs, and they aren’t always due to a bad boss or on-the-job boredom. Many workers change jobs to shorten their commute, increase the balance within their life, and seek out companies who value their need for flexibility.
Eighty percent of employees consider telework to be a job perk. Your telecommuting policy is will give your employees an added bonus for sticking around.
5. Improve Efficiency. When you cut out the mundane task of commuting, unnecessary meetings, and basic workplace duties — productivity is bound to skyrocket. Telework allows workers to focus on their tasks in an environment they’re comfortable in. Cutting out the more menial tasks provides employees with an opportunity to focus on increased efficiency.
Providing your employees with the option of telecommuting opens the door to a variety of benefits. You won’t just have happier employees, you’ll also experience positive gains in productivity.
To Telecommute or Not to Telecommute?
Did your company decide to utilize telecommuting? Why or why not?
6 Comments
I worked at AOL for seven years, had my first child there, and going back to work was so easy and the work/life balance was A+. I was so productive there, I won several award recognitions and climbed the ladder in record time. If it was not for my manager’s flexibility in allowing for telecommuting I would not have been so successful.
My current company allows for telecommuting only if needed but it was not marketed on the job description. Whenever I am stuck in traffic getting to work, it always pops in my head, I could be sourcing right now and calling candidates! It’s a huge waste of time. And for someone like myself that is very efficient my ideal job would only have me go in the office for meetings or if I needed to visit the customer face to face.
Thanks for bringing this up, especially after all the Yahoo stories.
At American Fidelity, we offer telecommuting and have seen an increase in productivity. Managers are happy about that and employees are happy about not having to commute. We have a flexible program, so if/how much you telecommute is based on your job and your schedule that week. So, some people telecommute full time and only come in for big meetings or department parties and others telecommute once or twice a week. I think that’s one thing companies should understanding – it doesn’t have to be a one size fits all policy.
Telecommuting in fact is an old concept, reaching back to the early nineties of the last century.
What I don´t really understand is, that this subject seems to be popping up again as something worthwile to discuss. In my opinion it certainly isn´t since telecommuting (also called teleworking, working from home, flexible working and so on) is being executed at so many companies and (public) organisations that it has become kind of casual. In the nineties, the EU (and also US organisations) fostered and funded with quite a bit of money. In Europe for a couple years so called European Telework Weeks had a certain momentum. Many magazines, tele-centers, consultants, companies offering particluar “devices” to ease this kind of work, many particular employment agreements were set up to administer telework and give it a certain framework – and – last but not least – hundreds of studies were done to research this phenomenon. In Germany we had the German Teleworkers Association, VTD, (of which I was a founding member and a member of the board) to provide a platform for all activities and people, companies involved. I myself was editor in chief of Telework and TeleOffice Magazine (which, well, received the European Telework Award for best Media Coverage in 1998 :-)) and much, much more.
So I really wonder why this subject pops up again. I think it would be a good idea to check and search the Internet – there´s an abundance of information available on that subject, already…
Ulli
Fantastic! Telecommuting is indeed the best working model to manage work home balance. I am glad I came across such a post.
I just have a question my job is forcing staff to Stay home with pay or they have to use sick time. But majority of us got gi virus at work. We can return only if we are 72 hours symptOm free. I work in jersey is this a cOmmon practice In this state?
Sorry for the tYpo but its supposed to be im forced to stay home without pay
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