In this age of Skype, GoToMeeting and the Cloud, both workers and employers find themselves less restricted by the brick and mortar office. The advent of effective digital tools has enabled businesses and organizations to build productive remote teams. Such is our new virtual reality that employees can simply call into the office when needed without phoning it in. Indeed it’s not surprising for an office to be based in, say, New York with a team spread continents apart.
That said, despite our video and screen-sharing connections, it’s the ever-present issue to remedy the disconnect in the way that we might otherwise interface with our colleagues. Indeed, the innovations of working on the internet promise to shake up our old paradigms of what it means to go into the office. But, can a skype call really replace an old fashioned face-to-face?
Let’s investigate the benefits!
- Go Green!
The most obvious benefit is the commute. Between red lights and road rage, the morning commute is easily one of the worst ways to start out the day. One more person working from a home office is one less person on the streets, polluting our air and clogging our highways. It would be a great solution to maintaining our roads, and maintaining your sanity! - Time
With your saved commute, we also save you that time. The half hour spent weaving through cars is now spent sleeping in, or making a more reasonable breakfast. The half hour drive home is now allocated towards checking in with family members about their day or tidying things up a bit for a better evening at home. There are clear and definite advantages to adding an hour to your day. - Balance
Indeed with that sort of flexibility, employees are able to maintain a more efficient, a more effective work-life balance. There are fewer sacrifices that need to be made to see your kid get home from school, or to make it home in time to change your clothes to go out. There is more room to give up less so one may perform better in every aspect of life. - Productivity
This is all well and good for the trusted employee, but what does the Manager see at the end of this rainbow? In fact, many employers will trace this higher morale when working directly into higher productivity. That ability for an employee to simply work without worries of “forgetting my lunch” or “leaving early to dodge rush hour” streamline the day more efficiently. Seeing your employees working without worry can be your veritable pot of gold. - Overhead
Now that we’ve freed up that office fridge, what need do we have for it anymore? Or all those cubicles? And Instant Messaging can eliminate that need for a water cooler. When your employees are able to use the comforts of home when working, the employer no longer needs to waste the budget on so many office supplies. Now the savvy company can make do with a smaller office, a smaller footprint, or even none at all – depending on your needs! - Talent Pool
But when your needs are employees, you’ll find that, with remote work, you’re no longer limited by the daily drive. Instead you’ve got the entire reach of the internet at your disposal. With your choice of workers from every timezone and temperature, the possibilities for recruiting the best talent grow exponentially! - Flexibility
In the end, Remote Work boils down to flexibility. It is the business decision trade-off of having to walk down a row of cubicles to get to the meeting vs. logging on and utilizing the employees’ resources to connect everyone. It’s the ability to work hard in the environment that works best for you, with an office designed by the person who knows you best – You!