The Pros and Cons of letting your employees work remotely
The Pros and Cons of letting your employees work remotely
Remote working is the new norm of getting things done. Companies located all around the world have now asked their employees to work from home. This will help them to adhere to the social distancing rules that are implemented along with the global pandemic. However, it is important for a company to have a clear understanding of the pros as well as cons associated with asking employees to work remotely. Then it is possible to take appropriate measures to minimize the drawbacks and get the maximum out of it.
Here is a list of some of the most prominent pros and cons that your company will be able to experience by asking the employees to work remotely.
3 Pro’s and 3 Con’s of working remotely
Pros of working remotely
- Your employees can save a lot of time
By asking the employees to work from home, you will be providing all the support needed by them to save a considerable amount of time on a daily basis. On a typical working day, an average employee would spend at least a couple of hours to get ready and to spend time on the daily commute. This will be eliminated through remote working.
There is no need to get ready and travel all the way to the office. An employee will even be able to work in his pajamas after getting out of the bed. This will benefit the company in numerous ways. For example, you can expect your employees to start their work earlier in the day. The employees will also find it an easy task to get into their focus zone within a short time period. If there is a need to work for late hours, the employees will go ahead and do it without complaining about anything.
- You can experience a massive productivity gain
After you ask the employees to work from home, there is a possibility to experience a massive productivity gain as well. Noisy team lunches, desk discussion, and day to day office chats can distract an employee. It is possible for an employee to overcome these distractions by working from home. As a result, employees will be able to work with a higher level of productivity.
It is true that employees should connect with their colleagues when working for a workplace. However, the unplanned run-ins will be able to make the employees slow down a lot. Such situations can easily be eliminated when working from home.
- You can save a lot of money
It is possible for a company to save a considerable amount of money by asking the employees to work from home as well. A company will have to bear a considerable cost in order to hire the employees and provide them with a seating space. This can create a major impact on profit margins. But when the employees are working from home, there is no need to provide them with such a working space. Along with that, it is possible for a company to save a considerable amount of money. For example, there is no need to spend money on office appliances and cleaning supplies. This can eventually help a company to increase profitability.
- It is better for the environment
Remote working will be able to contribute a lot towards the betterment of the environment as well. That’s because it can massively reduce consumption. On the other hand, the gas spent to get in and get out of the office will be reduced. Along with that, it is also possible to experience a drop in trash production. All these will eventually contribute towards the betterment of the planet. Hence, any company can think about asking the employees to work remotely and reduce carbon footprint.
Cons of working remotely
- Different types of distractions
The employees can get distracted in a different way while working from home. This is something that needs to be addressed as well. For example, people who work from their homes will have to focus on a large number of day to day commitments. For example, some will have daily laundry to attend to. On the other hand, employees who have kids will often get distracted by the kids. As an employer, it is important to make sure that these distractions are minimized. This is where an employer can think about coming up with a remote working policy. Then the remote employees will be able to stick to the policy and cut down the distractions
- Reduced opportunities for team bonding
Working remotely will be reducing the opportunities that employees have to go ahead with team bonding. This is another major drawback that the companies will have to experience. The employees don’t usually tend to get into conversations with their team members casually when they work remotely. They will only contact colleagues or team members for work purposes. This will eventually create a negative impact on the team spirit that the company is trying to manage. A company or an institute will be able to implement a work from home policy to overcome this. For example, it is possible for the company to come up with a face to face time in between the team members. Then the team members will be able to develop better connections with others.
Final words
As you can see, there are pros as well as cons associated with asking the employees to work remotely. Therefore, it is important for you to analyze the cons and make sure that you come up with appropriate work from home policies to reduce them. Then it is possible to experience all the benefits that come along with working from home. Most of the employees love work from home because of the extra support that they are getting on a daily basis. It is up to you to come up with appropriate measures to get the most out of remote working.
Jacob Darr Associates is an executive search firm based in High Point, North Carolina servicing the entire United States. Specializing in Human Resources, In-House Legal Counsel, and Manufacturing – we are experts and can help.