Remote work has grown exponentially within the last 10 years. Although commuting to work might be a nightmare when you live far away from your office, some people need that commute to switch to work mode. While technology keeps making it easier for employees to work from home, a new debate has emerged: what's better, to work remotely or from an office? We are going to review some of the pros and cons of each of them, but in the end, it depends on each person and their working habits.
Routine
For some people, commuting to work is part of the ritual to clearly define leisure and work time. Some people find it easier to start working when they enter an office and are surrounded by others who are working as well. They actually need the scenery and work environment of an office to get them to work. These workers use the amount of time on the way to work to mentally prepare for the day, and it helps them to transition from home to work and from work to home.
Some people who work remotely also needs this ritual to prepare themselves to work but they make up for it by having their own ritual, like walking for 15 minutes before and after work.
The younger crowd, however, is more accustomed to working remotely and technology has made flexible working a fully immersive, collaborative experience. Out of those who work remotely, most of them prefer to work from the tranquility of home. Only those able to phase out the background noise and get work done are able to work from other places such as cafés. This is the case of digital nomads who are able to work from literally anywhere while travelling.
Cost savings and productivity
Most bosses will tell you that remote workers are not the most productive sort. Stats, however, show that remote workers are actually more productive. According to a Standford study of 16,000 call centre employees found that working remotely increased productivity by 13 percent. Another study showed that 77 percent of workers reported greater productivity working off-site.
While some people might wonder how remote workers manage to be more productive, the answer is that offices can be distracting. Your colleagues are constantly coming up to your desk, you have to attend meetings and there's background noise and constant chatter - an nuisance for those workers unable to phase out the background noise and get work done.
Remote companies save great quantities of money on overhead because there's no physical office, so they don't have to pay leasing fees nor in-house IT, utilities and other expenses.
Access to awesome talent
Instead of settling for the best worker the company can find in the area they are located, remote workers allow them to access the best talent anywhere in the world. This way a company has a wider scope of professionals to choose from.
Remote workers are happier
According to researchers at Harvard and Princeton, workers are willing to accept 8 percent lower pay, on average, to work from home. The reason why they would settle for less money is because they are happier to work remotely, or at least, that's what stats suggest. Accordingly, 24 percent of people who work in traditional offices say they love their job, where 45 percent of people who work remotely are happy with their job. Obviously, remote workers are happier, but on the bigger picture this is better for companies since happy employees are more productive.
Apart from delivering an improved quality of work, the happier people are with their jobs, the lower the turnover will be. Therefore, companies will save a lot of money on recruitment and retention.
While some people need the commute to switch to work more, the slog to work ruins the morale of others. If you live in a big city and it takes you an hour to get to work, your morale is already ruined. By the time you finish and get home, you've lost two hours of your day commuting, which means less leisure time. Other works end their time at the office just dreading the next morning.
The 9-5 is not for everyone. While some are productive in the morning, others need a power nap to get them going and are more productive in the evening. Flexible hours allow workers to work during the time they are most productive.