The Top 6 Benefits to Telecommuting

6 reasons it makes good business sense

Remote work arrangements often called telecommuting programs, offer significant benefits to employees. In fact, telecommuting is good for not only employees but also their employers.

However, even though you might fall into one of the job types that work best for telecommuting, your employer might not be aware of the benefits.

If you're interested in having a work-from-home or other type of telecommute job, you might be able to negotiate one with your business, especially if they know how and why telecommuting can be so beneficial to productivity and other areas.

Mother working from home with daughter on lap
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Save Office Space and Reduce Costs

Companies can save thousands on office space and parking for each employee that works remotely, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. There are several areas of a business that sees a benefit from the cost savings of telecommuting.

Think about all the different things an employer has to provide to keep an employee afloat at a business. Aside from the obvious like water and electricity, there are recurring office supplies, oftentimes food, company vehicles in some cases, and more.

On top of that, if employees are working at home or a remote location where travel is limited or not required, they save on travel expenses, which is one way an employer can offer a telecommuter a smaller wage while still benefiting the employee.

The number of telecommuting employees any business can support is basically only limited by available funds since they can work anywhere in the world, so future growth isn't limited by available office space.

All this cost savings flow through the company in several ways, from being able to provide a better service, pay their employees better, grow the brand, innovate, expand the workforce, etc.

Enhance Productivity and Work/Life Balance

Telecommuting enhances productivity. Several studies and reports provide evidence of significant gains in productivity when employees work from home.

Employees become more productive when they telecommute because there are fewer distractions, minimal (if any) socializing, zero over-the-shoulder management, and less stress.

Telecommuters also usually have a greater sense of control over responsibility toward their work, which contributes to better work product and satisfaction.

More Work Gets Done

If employees get to pick their own at-home work schedule, there's a good chance that they'll make it so flexible that it's accommodating to their personal lives without negatively affecting job performance.

This translates to not only a better home life since they're in total control of what they can get done at home but also an employee who still manages to get work done despite personal obstructions that would normally force a regular worker to stay home.

Telecommuters and mobile workers can work in bad weather when children are home sick or during school closings, and in other instances where regular employees might instead take a personal or sick day.

Reducing unscheduled absenteeism can save large employers over $1 million per year and increase staff morale overall. 

Telework programs also enable both large and small companies to maintain their operations during times of emergency, severe weather events, or when there are concerns over health epidemics like the flu.

Attracts New Staff and Increases Employee Retention

Happier employees are usually better employees, and telecommuting definitely increases employee job satisfaction and, thus, loyalty.

Telework programs also help companies retain employees with common circumstances such as needing to care for sick family members, starting a new family, or needing to relocate for personal reasons. Reducing turnover saves on considerable recruiting costs.

Telecommuting is also an excellent incentive when looking for additional skilled staff in occupations that are high in demand. One-third of CFOs in one survey said that a telecommuting program was the best way to attract top talent.

Better Communication

When your only form of communication as a telecommuter is over text and audio/video calls, all of the in-person conversations is eliminated since all your communication efforts are directly targeted and not just "in office chatter."

This focus makes it not only easier to get work done due to fewer distractions but also provides a stress-free environment for speaking to managers and providing critical feedback, things that are sometimes difficult for regular employees to do.

Help Save the Environment

Companies can do their part in promoting a greener world by establishing remote work programs. Fewer commuters ​mean fewer cars on the road, which translates to less air pollution and reduced fuel consumption.

The Climate Group for the Global e-Sustainability Initiative indicates that telecommuting and technologies such as online video conferencing decrease tons of carbon dioxide each year.

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