What Are the Benefits of Remote Working?

Remote working has been around for some time now – and it’s rising in prevalence. According to a survey by the ONS, the number of people working from home in the UK doubled between 2008 and 2018. However, it has been particularly brought into the spotlight in 2020 with the COVID-19 outbreak requiring people to work from home.

That’s left a lot of businesses, whether it’s owners, managers or just staff, wondering whether this is a practical option going forward. In this post, we’ll discuss why remote working is not just practical – but can actually provide a range of benefits for both employers and employees.

Remote working for employees

With remote working, the key benefit for employees is flexibility. Rather than having to work in one fixed location at a set time, they can work ‘on their terms’. Depending on the employer’s policy, some staff can make up hours when they find time.

A standard 9-5 can become a 9-1 plus 3-7. That provides a lot more flexibility when fitting work around other commitments. If you need to pick the kids up from school, you can simply take a break and make up time later in the day.

Crucially, remote working also means staff don’t need to get to and from the office. With an average commute of an hour each way in the UK, that gives employees up to two extra hours to walk the dog, head to the gym or just enjoy some extra time in bed – not to mention the saving on fuel, parking or public transport fares.

All of this leads to a better work-life balance, allowing staff to balance work with other commitments like childcare or just their own physical and mental wellbeing. All in all, it’s no surprise that 99% of workers said they would like to work remotely at least some of the time in a survey by Buffer.

Remote working for businesses

Most businesses want their staff to be healthier and happier in general. However, the points above can also have several positive knock-on effects for employers…

• Productivity - Contrary to what many think, working remotely has actually been found to increase productivity. Staff report less time spent unproductively at home than in the office, where conversations with colleagues can often take up valuable working time.
• Staff retention - The option to work remotely is a big draw for employees – prospective and current. A report by Zapier showed that 74% of workers in a professional setting would even quit their job to move to a remote working position. Offering this option can increase the appeal of your company to draw in top talent, but also improve staff retention in the long run.

Better for the environment

Let’s not forget the big benefit for employers, employees and the public more broadly – the environment. Remote working removes the need to commute. That means less cars on the road and lower emissions. In the first week of the COVID-19 lockdown alone, particulate matter levels dropped by up to a half in several UK cities.

Continuing this switch to remote working, at least in part, will help us reduce the unsustainable growth in air pollution we’ve seen in recent years.

Getting the right tools

As many businesses have seen during the COVID-19 outbreak, the main challenge of remote working is facilitating it. To achieve the same or even higher levels of productivity compared to the office, you need the right tools and systems in place.

That’s where iBase can help. Our digital asset management platform provides a place for your employees to store, share, organise and retrieve files and assets with ease. It removes the need for fixed computers and servers without removing the convenience.

To find out more, simply get in touch with our team, who would be happy to talk more about how our system can help you.