Haven’t Considered Telecommuting for Your Employees Yet? Here’s Why You Should Give It a Shot

Telecommuting is the future!

Well, I am not saying this, but people are. According to David Coplin, the Chief Envisioning Officer at the Microsoft, UK,

“We need to take a more flexible approach to both the workplace and the work we do; one that provides us both the physical and cognitive space to harness the incredible power, insight and experience we offer, but focused not on the individual processes but instead on the overall outcomes our organisations are seeking to achieve”.

Then Again, Michael Dell, the Chairman, and CEO of Dell introduced the 2020 Legacy of Good strategy to reduce his environmental footprint by allowing half of his workforce to start working remotely by 2020, if they prefer, of course. In the company’s statement, he mentions,

“Technology now allows people to connect anytime, anywhere, to anyone in the world, from almost any device. This is dramatically changing the way people work, facilitating 24/7 collaboration with colleagues who are dispersed across time zones, countries, and continents.”

Now, when such industrial biggies are encouraging telecommuting and flexible work schedules, you may at least consider the perks of the same, but before that, feel free to go through the following statistics to get the global picture of telecommuting:

• 3.7 million employees, which make up 2.8% of the US workforce, were found to be working from home for at least half of their schedule in 2017
• Since 2005, the number of telecommuters (excluding the freelancers), has increased by a whopping 115%
• In the last 5 years, the number of employers, providing work from home opportunities, has also increased by 40%

What’s in it for the employers?

Statistics and quotations aside, you may wonder what’s in it for you. As an employer, how can you benefit from the telecommuting policy? Keep scrolling!

• No more late arrivals: As the employees need not commute to their workplace, they will save more time and be more punctual. All they have to do is get up from the bed in the morning, sip a cup of coffee and get down to work. Hence, as an employer, you won’t have to start your day by calculating late arrivals and holding meetings with the HR regarding the same.
• The reason for happiness: Which employer doesn’t secretly wish to be the reason for his employees’ happiness? When you introduce a flexible work schedule in your company and encourage remote working, you will definitely be one of their main reasons to work at your company, happily. This will further enhance the employee retention factor.
• You will save tons of money: You need not pay for large office space and high-tech computers and internet connections, as your company expands. With more and more people opting for the telecommuting facility, you are likely to save a lot on regular office supplies.
• Happy employees are more productive: You give them some, they will return fivefold of it. That’s how it works in the corporate. If you give your employees the chance to work from home, or anywhere else for that matter, they will be more productive, even if it out of gratitude. Besides, when your employees need not suffer the hassles of commuting, their energy will be focused on work only.
• No more location issues: Did your manager just get married and wish to go on his honeymoon? But, you need him for a critical meeting, so what should you do? If you have the telecommuting policy in your organization, you need not cancel his vacation and upset him. You can stay in touch with him, no matter which part of the world he is. However, make sure you do not go over the top and ask him to get a good internet connection as well.

Convinced enough? It is not only the employees, who benefit from telecommuting, but also the employers. As Jason Fried, the author of ‘Office not required’, rightly says, “One of the secret benefits of using remote workers is that the work itself becomes the yardstick to judge someone’s performance”, you may ultimately find your work getting a lot easier.

Think about it!