Most of us are working remotely these days. It’s amazing how quickly we are adapting, and how productive our own staff has been. Like many businesses, we’ve allowed employees to work remotely at times as needed based on family needs and other responsibilities. But COVID-19 is likely to extend this trend for the foreseeable future.
It’s not a new concept to work remotely. According to Gallup’s State of the American Workplace report, 43% of Americans worked remotely at some point in 2016.
We’re finding there are benefits to the remote workforce and those are backed up by recent studies.
Fewer Distractions
75% of people who work remotely do so because there are fewer distractions. Remote work statistics from a FlexJobs 2018 study show that the majority of people feel there are fewer distractions when working out of the office. Coworkers are obviously a big part of these distractions; 74% of respondents said they work remotely to get away from colleague interruptions. Dedicating a certain place in your home for the workday can further assist in creating a ritual.
Willing to Stay With Flexible Hours
76% of workers would be more willing to stay with their current employer if they could work flexible hours. The same FlexJobs study indicated that 97% of respondents would love to have a flexible working plan in the long run. During a time when Americans have been voluntarily switching jobs at record rates, the ability to work from home can help increase loyalty in the workplace for a current employer.
25% Lower Employee Turnover
Companies that allow remote work have 25% lower employee turnover than those that don’t. According to data from Owl Labs’ 2017 State of Remote Work report, companies that support remote work lost 9% of their employees, compared to 12% in companies that don’t. This may seem like a small difference, but at a macro scale during a robust economic period with low unemployment, it’s actually a significant number. As more companies are utilizing this work model during this sudden economic jolt, it may be difficult to return to an office-only model for some businesses with some sense of normalcy returns.
Work Benefits vs. Flexible Working Space
69% of millennials would give up other work benefits for a more flexible working space. According to remote work statistics from CBRE in 2017, millennials appreciate a flexible working environment more than other generations. Some pre-pandemic estimates suggest that by this year, millennials would make up about half of the entire workforce. Our firm will certainly continue to look at ways to maintain an efficient remote model when needed in the months and years ahead given a large percentage of our new employees are millennials.
Telecommuting Saved Employers Money
Telecommuting in 2015 saved employers $44 billion in total. This data is based on a State of Telecommuting study. According to these working from home statistics, each employer saves an average of $11,000 per year. That’s because they didn’t have to provide a working space or incur other costs like commuting, hardware, or electricity and internet bills. Those cost savings may be even higher today as telecommunications have improved technology (consider all the video conference options) while costs have decreased.
Like you, we’re working hard at home these days. But the days of needing to meet with your lawyer at his or her offices to make progress on a case were already far behind us. If you want to talk to a lawyer regarding your case, please don’t hesitate to call Bashore Green Law Group. We are here around the clock, working remotely, and ready to take your case. We hope you’re finding success working at home and are finding it as productive as we are!