How has the coronavirus (COVID-19) affected us all?
The novel pandemic has swept us across the globe and posed a great challenge to our society in ways once considered unimaginable. This challenge has forced us to reconsider a wide variety of practices, from leisure, basic travel and daily tasks, and work. This does not only have individual impacts, but an impact worldwide from an economic standpoint and brought an array of economic sectors to a complete standstill.
While we have been mentally prepared, the extent and solution remained unthinkable and remains to be a huge challenge to us all. Before the pandemic, the idea of working-from-home (WFH) was merely a fantasy to many people that was never an ideal case to any organization. COVID-19 forced a decision upon people, and with the world having to adapt quickly, many businesses opted to try working-from-home (WFH). This WFH practices have then been employed widely and has proven that up to 71.7% of employees felt that the idea of WFH allows them to work more productively and effectively. Therefore, a unique opportunity to assess the possibility of having WFH as one of the future working models have a high impact to most of us as individuals and the organization.
WFH has clear beneficial effects for both the employees and employers which include but not limited to reduced commuting time, avoiding office politics, requiring less office space, increased motivation, improved gender diversity, healthier workforces with less absenteeism and turnover, higher talent retention, job satisfaction, and better productivity (Mello 2007; Robertson, Maynard, and McDevitt 2003).
WFH has since then become a policy priority for most governments to cope with the pandemic. In doing so, the policies must be made keeping in mind the practicability for both employees and employers as there will be some consequences for the two parties in one way or another.
What are the 10 benefits from working-from-home (WFH)?
As mentioned above and all we’ve known, working-from-home (WFH) has a host of advantages for the employees – some of which you may already be aware of, and some that may open your eyes even more to the impact of WFH on the employees and employers, the economy, and the planet in general.
Here are the top 10 benefits from working-from-home (WFH):
Better Work-Life Balance
As remote jobs = flexible schedules. This means that most employees can start and end their day as they choose, as long their work is complete and thus, leading to strong outcomes for the organization. This control one has over their work schedule can be invaluable when it comes to attending to the needs of their personal life. This could be as simple as dropping their kids off at school, running errands, or attending an online fitness class and more, which are easier to balance when one is working from home.
Less Commute Stresses
The average one-way commuting time is at least 30 minutes to an hour long each day spent getting to and from work, not including the time spent getting stuck in a peak hour traffic. Some extreme commuters face a much longer commute time of up to 90 minutes even each way. Research has shown that having spent more than 30 minutes of commute daily is associated with increased levels of stress and anxiety and can also be associated with other health issues such as higher cholesterol, elevated blood sugar, and increased risk of depression. Ditching the commute helps you support your mental and physical health. The time saved from commutes can allow you to focus on better priorities outside of work such as getting that extra sleep in the morning, spending more time with your family, getting in a workout, and even eating a healthy breakfast in the morning.
Location Independence
This is useful especially for jobseekers living in rural communities and small towns where there may not be many available local positions when it comes to job opportunities. Having no set job location means that, pre-pandemic, fully remote workers could also travel and live as digital nomads while having a meaningful career. Remote work is also a great way to avoid high-rent and high-mortgage areas, especially for an organization that requires a lot of commuting time to and from where you’re living at.
Improved Inclusivity
Remote work enables organizations to embrace diversity and inclusion by recruiting people from different socioeconomic, geographic, and cultural backgrounds with different perspectives which can be challenging to accomplish when recruiting is restricted to a specific location that not everyone wants, or can afford, to live nearby. Remote work gives any individuals who may be having a hard time finding steady employment at an onsite job such as those with disabilities, or caregivers who require a flexible schedule, the opportunity to follow their career goals without having a need to worry about commuting back and forth. This also gives them the flexibility to get to the doctor’s and other healthcare appointments when required.
Money Savings
It is proven that people who work from home from half time save around $4,000 a year from having to pay for gas, car maintenance, transportation, parking fees, lunches bought out, and more. These savings add up and put more money back into your pockets! Additionally, these savings are not just for the employees alone. As more organizations allow employees to continue working from home post-pandemic, organizations such as Twitter, Square, Shopify, and Facebook have seen a significant long-term cost savings.
Positive Environmental Impact
The employees who worked from home at least half time before the pandemic reduced greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of taking more than 600,000 cars off the road for an entire year. By making environmentally sound choices such as opting to use lesser paper and monitoring the air-conditioning, heating, and lighting, remote workers carry the same potential impact on air quality as planting an entire forest of a few million trees.
Sustainability
Remote work supports a variety of sustainability initiatives from economic growth and reduced inequalities to sustainable cities, climate changes, and responsible consumption. One of the fastest, cheapest ways for employees and employers to reduce their carbon footprint and affect climate change is by reducing commuter travel. In fact, we have already been seeing markedly reduced pollution, congestion, and traffic during the pandemic response. Being able to experience the results firsthand may be a driver of remote work for everyone involved.
A Customizable Office
One benefit of remote working is the flexibility in creating a comfortable home office for yourself. Whether it is merely an ergonomic chair or a large, spaced table, with the ideal office equipment, you can set up your home office and make it whatever you want with the same amount of productivity produced.
Increased Productivity & Performance
Fewer interruptions, lesser office politics, a quieter noise level, and lesser (or rather, more efficient) meetings. In addition to the lack of commutes, remote workers typically have more time and fewer distractions in place – which leads to an increase in productivity and performance. This of course, is a huge benefit from working from home for both employees and employers alike. When this is done right, employees can focus on what really matters – performance. FlexJobs’2020 survey with just over half of respondents (51%) has proven that employees who thought they might be more productive working from home were more productive when working remotely.
Happier, Healthier Work Life
Remote workers tend to be happier and more loyal to the organization when such arrangement is taken place. Working from home has shown to reduce stress, providing these employees more time for personal hobbies and interests, which improves personal relationships, among other things. Additionally, the relationship between the employees and employer can be more positive without the distractions and politics that come along with an in-office job. Research has proven that up to 72% of employers have said to have a higher impact on employee retention when remote work options are in place – plainly put, employees are sticking with their employers when they have remote work options.
In a nutshell, working remotely can give your employees the time and environment needed to make healthy choices not just for themselves, but for the organization as well.
How do you overcome challenges of working-from-home (WFH)?
Since the current pandemic situation has brought the world to its knees and we are all still fighting it as we all work hard to get back on our feet, how do we juggle with effectiveness and productivity while working from home?
In Singapore, with the WFH requirements for most of us and the home-based learning for children, working parents with school-going children must juggle their time between work and family. It becomes critical that we stay sane, resilient, and productive despite all that is happening around us.
Keen to know more? Enquire with us on one of our most in-demand topic of “Overcoming Challenges Of Working From Home (WFH)” and learn how to manage stress and be productive working from home with our expert trainer, Ms Maxine Teo. You can choose to have this workshop done as a lunch and learn (60 to 120 minutes long), half-day, or full-day duration via Virtual LIVE Stream or Face-to-Face at any premises of your choice.
What you learn will include but not limited to the following,
- Understand the importance of managing stress and productivity while working from home
- Leverage the power of positive stress to achieve higher productivity at work and in life
- Know how to self-coach to turn stressful moments into positive outcomes
You will raise some self-awareness of ability in coping your struggles while working from home and gain some tips and effective techniques from success stories and experiences shared by the trainer. The good thing about this training? You get to decide what will be your first step to take right after it after strategizing on how to apply what you’ve learnt!
Here in Aventis, starting at a nominal fee of SGD2,000 for our lunch and learn sessions, enjoy a discounted session rate and enquire with us now via (65) 6720 3333 or training.aventis@gmail.com.
