Whether you call it teleworking, telecommuting, or remote work, working from home is a growing alternative for businesses. However, why are some employees and employers opting for work-from-home arrangements?. What are the advantages? What are some of the job you can do from home?
Benefits of working from home for employees
Working from home can offer huge benefits for employees. This is as long as the arrangement is set up to counter potential drawbacks like lack of social interaction, isolation, and no boundaries between home and work life.
The advantages for anyone working from home could include the following:
● Productivity – Employees can create their own work environment at home and so they can find it easier to concentrate and get more work done.
● Reduce commute time and costs – Eliminating commute time and costs can be a significant morale booster for employees. Not only are you saving hours each week travelling to work and back; you can spend that saved time with family or in getting more work done. Additionally, you’re saving on petrol and other public-transport costs.
● Flexibility – For staff members working at home, having the flexibility to juggle other priorities can be a key advantage. Working at home could provide a level of flexibility not available in the usual on-site work environment. For example, employees can work any hours they choose, whether it’s late at night or early in the morning. They can choose to work when they can work (around their household schedule, for example). They can also do their job wherever they like: at the local cafe or on their most comfortable couch.
● Work-life balance –
Better work-life balance is another potential advantage, and this might emerge by eliminating the stress of commuting to work every day and the considerable time savings. Better work-life balance means happier employees, and happier employees could produce lower turnover, higher productivity, and greater success for the employer and business.
● Reduce interruptions and stress – Some employees might prefer working from home as it could provide relief from the interruptions and stress of office environments.
● Time with family – Employees could prefer working from home because it lets them take care of their children at the same time and spend more time with the family.
Employers: benefits of work-from-home arrangements
Work-from-home arrangements can also benefit employers if they have the right management approach and collaboration tools in place. Some of the core benefits include:
● Reduced overhead costs – For employers, giving staff the flexibility to work from home could lower overhead costs. You’ll need less office space and can save on things like electricity and water with more staff members working from home. You could also save on things like office supplies, coffee, snacks, and other miscellaneous items. If you’re a startup business with just one or two employees, working from a home office could be the only way to get your business started as you bootstrap your operation to growth.
● Source talent – Further, employers can hire top talent from around the world without being limited by geography. If your business caters to work-from-home employees, you have a much larger labour pool to choose from. If you have employees working in different parts of the world, this could further support your business expansion as it lets you get on-the-ground insights into other markets.
● Flexibility –
You don’t have to go all or nothing with telecommuting opportunities for staff. You can have your entire team working from home or offer the arrangement some of the time to certain employees.
● Autonomy – Promoting autonomy could support higher morale and employee wellbeing and provide them with a work environment that reflects their unique and preferred work arrangements. They can work when they like and where they like, which could drive better performance outcomes.
● Performance and productivity – Since employees could be more engaged as a workforce, employers and businesses can end up with greater productivity and even things like lower turnover and better quality of work. In fact, employees working from home enjoy a 13% improvement in their performance.
● Reputation – Since employees value work-from-home arrangements, offering it could become a selling point for you as an employer. This could help you attract the best talent.
Great jobs you can perform from home
With advances in technology, harnessing the benefits of working at home is easier than ever for businesses and employers. Some of the most popular work-at-home jobs include virtual assistant, web developer, travel agent, and writer.
You could work from home as an online teacher or tutor, artist graphic designer, bookkeeper, or child caregiver. Even jobs like a baker, caterer, and chef can be home-based. Occupations like a consultant, event planner, realtor, a photographer can be entirely or partially based at home.
Fashion stylists, public relations specialists, and social media managers can also work from home. With the right training and qualifications, you can work at home as a therapist, pet groomer, or hairstylists.
Work-at-home arrangements can be advantageous for everyone, with cost savings, better work-life balance, and improved performance as some of the potential outcomes. With the technology tools available today, it’s easier than ever for a variety of different jobs to be based at home.
This article was written by Ben Hugh, a talented student studying communications. If you would like to find out more about how working from home benefits employers, contact us now.