Thanks to technology, some people have worked from home since the 1990s. However, most companies were not favorable to remote workforce management. Until the global Coronavirus pandemic...
Viola - We're now a remote workforce! Covid was the catalyst, and many businesses are finding advantages.
For more than a few years, the idea of employees working from home was seen as a neat idea with some questions over viability. Businesses were intrigued by the concept, but shy to try it.
In a global environment that is somewhat risk-averse, being the first to jump is not conducive. Even with the suggestion that it could aid productivity, few businesses would “bet the farm” on something that had never been tested on a wide scale. And then ... the pandemic happened.
There is a history of harrowing global events leading to broader positive developments. As an example, without the science used to develop rockets for use in war, humankind would never have landed on the moon. Similarly, businesses are now forced to embrace the idea of working from home. The alternative would be mass Coronavirus transmission, potentially worse than imaginable.
Let's take a look at the unforeseen benefits of a remote workforce.
Fewer People Commuting Means Cleaner Air
It’s unsurprising that the environment has seen benefits from people staying home. Less often, our highways are backed up with people trying to get to the office.
There is now a lower level of emissions clouding our atmosphere. It’s something that was rarely mentioned as a positive outcome of working from home pre-pandemic, but it is something we should recognize going forward.
Given the lop-sided responsibility businesses have for greenhouse gas emissions, embracing this part of the new normal is a way of moving in the right direction.
Easier Modifications
If you have been working from home for most of 2020, then you probably appreciate these little benefits:
- Sleeping later in the morning
- Popping into the kitchen for a snack
- Taking an afternoon walk as a break
Being at home instead of in an office has also been a real boon for people who have specific health needs.
Even if the employer needs to fund the original cost, installing an ergonomic sit to stand desk at a colleague’s workstation has become more plausible. Expecting those colleagues to fit into a workspace that wasn’t designed with them in mind helped no-one. Facilitating a remote working plan has helped us see that.
Potential Savings For Your Business Budget
The number of empty offices has been a concerning throughout Coronavirus global pandemic. However, for any company that leases its space there is a potential bright side.
Naturally, the rent on an office or call centre that holds dozens of people will be higher than for one that holds five or less. Businesses that might have been resistant about adopting a work-from-home culture think differently thanks to the potential savings this represents.
This alone might be one of the deciding factors in how widely the concept is retained once the world survives the pandemic.
Final Thoughts On The Remote Workforce
Working remotely from home may have been forced upon many of us. But as the benefits become clearer, it will be interesting to see how widely this remote workforce model is retained.
