Working From Home Means A More Diversified Workforce
Mark E. Watson III
Founder and Chairman at Aquila Capital Partners | EY Entrepreneur of the Year, Transformational CEO | YPO | NYSE:ARGO
Businesses are faced with a new challenge: they must balance the need to achieve profitability, while also sustaining a healthy productive work-life balance for their employees.
A growing amount of research has shown that working from home has the potential to become a valuable business strategy — especially when it comes to productivity, diversity, and profitability.
When employees work from home, they’re able to skip the extra coffee breaks, the long commute, and the distractions that come with working in an office space. The outcome? Fewer sick days, less time off, and a boost in productivity equivalent to a full day’s work, according to one study from Stanford University.
Simultaneously, remote work provides a unique opportunity for companies to diversify their workforce. Previously, location was a huge factor in who applied for what job. Now, the only factors that employers need to consider are competency, skills, and collaboration — which leads to a much larger applicant pool. Employers can not only hire from all over the country, but from all over the world. When it comes to gender-based diversification, women are having to make fewer parabolic choices between working as a stay-at-home mom and joining or rejoining the workforce. In pre-COVID times, this arrangement would not have been possible, as most companies just didn’t offer true work at home flexibility for the past decades. That choice for parents was a rarity before, and now, it’s protocol.
Workplace diversification also lends itself to greater profitability amongst many American businesses. A report from McKinsey & Company found that, when evaluating diversity among executive teams, companies in the top quartile were 21 percent more likely to enjoy above-average profitability compared to companies in the fourth quartile. Additionally, companies can save an average of $11,000 per year for every part-time remote employee, according to another study. This is the result of heightened productivity, lower real estate costs, less absenteeism, and reduced turnover.
What are your thoughts about remote work creating a more diverse workforce? Share in the comments below.
For more articles and resources, check out www.markewatsoniii.com.
VP of Sales & Marketing | B2B Marketing Executive | Cmte Chair: Houston District Export Council | U.S. Board Mbr: The Experiential Design Authority
3 年Zen has been a remote company for 12 years - you are 1000% correct!
Founder & CEO @ Zen Media | Keynote Speaker | Henry Crown Fellow (Aspen Institute)
3 年Mark - You’ve always been a forward thinking leader. As a company, we’ve been remote since our inception. It has indeed led to all the things you talk about in your piece.
Shareholder, CBIZ CPAs P.C., Director, CBIZ Advisory, Member, National Attest Office. Retired audit partner, Deloitte. Independent Director/Audit Committee Chair. NACD and PDA Certified Director. Opinions my own.
3 年Well put. With certain constraints, the diversity and breadth of potential employees can be enhanced using the technology available - and the lessons we have learned over the past year.
Risk Management and Insurance
3 年We are in a different employment environment. Companies which embrace the idea of remote work will have the opportunity to benefit from a much broader employee talent pool. The key will be for employers to develop remote employee engagement, inclusion, and accountability.