The 5 Main Benefits of Working Remotely

The 5 Main Benefits of Working Remotely The 5 Main Benefits of Working Remotely Image Source: iStockThe  benefits of working remotely have never been clearer, thanks to the sheer range of apps and mobile tech available. In fact, such benefits have given an urgency to the debate about the benefits of working remotely versus going to an office. However,  the conversation is nothing new.As long ago as the 1960s, TV shows such as the BBC’s Tomorrow’s World  pitched us  a world where people could work from home, taking the business worlds pulse through a home computer terminal linked to “a giant brain 10 miles away in the heart of London”.Decades on from that broadcast, the debate about the benefits of working remotely and its drawbacks is ongoing. Meanwhile,  remote working has become a fact of life. In the middle of this decade  in the US, 33m people were working remotely for at least half of the time that they work. And between 2005 and 2012 the number of remote and stay-at-home workers increased by a whopping 79.7 percent.In the UK during Q1 of  2014, hom e workers made up 13.9 percent of the UK workforce. The British Trade Unions Congress, quoting  Labour Force Surveys, and the Work-Life Balance Survey of 2013, insisted that a further 1.8m people wanted to join them.In the decade between 2005 and 2015, the United Kingdom’s home working population increased from 3.4m to 4.2m.A  Connect Solutions Remote Collaborative Worker Survey of 353 US respondents, conducted in December 2014,  found “significant benefits” for remote workers and employers, with off-site employees working harder and more efficiently “to protect both the personal and professional benefits of working remotely”.What are the benefits of working remotely, then? There are 5 main arguments in its favour. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 1.  A Win-Win Situation Check Price Jason  Fried, CEO of BaseCamp, knows a thing or two about the benefits of working remotely. His companys main product, Basecamp, wrote the book for remote working, and then he himself wrote one book Remote: Office Not Required, and, with his Basecamp counterpart, David Heinemeier Hansson, another, REWORK. His philosophy is simple: talented  people dont live in one place, the modern office is an “interruption faction”, and remote working allows the most talented people to produce the best work, regardless of location. Fried was named among the worlds top 35 innovators in the 2006 MIT Technology Review. Check Price 2. Improved ProductivityImproved  productivity must rank as one of the most tangible benefits of remote working. More than  three-quarters of all those who work remotely at least a few times a month estimate that their productivity increases while working off-site.The 2014 Connect Solutions survey found that 30  percent were accomplishing more in less time, and 24  percent completing more in the same length of  time.Twenty-three percent  of those surveyed were willing to work longer hours than they would onsite, and 52  percent  less like ly to take time off, even when sick. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 3. Financial Benefits of Remote WorkingA large  number of remote workersâ€"almost a third in the Connect Solutions surveyâ€"report savings of over US$5,000 annually from working remotely.Again, this is one of the benefits of remote working that transfers tangibly into benefits for the companies concerned.Half of the remote workers surveyed declared that the option to work remotely at least some of the time makes them much more likely to stay with the company.4. Personal Life BenefitsAn enhanced  quality of life seems to be  significant benefit  of remote working. Forty-five percent  of remote workers surveyed in the Connect Solutions research said they got more sleep; 35 percent were getting more physical exercise; and 42 percent were eating healthier.Interestingly, the survey also found that 42 percent of remote workers felt just as connected with colleagues as if they were working in the offi ce… while 10 percent felt even more connected. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 5. EmpowermentThe  survey found that remote workers felt empowered by technology to conduct their work on mobile devices either at home or in a number of other non-traditional working locations such as cafés or parks.Forty percent  of those surveyed were able to conduct at least half of their workload on a smartphone, tablet or other mobile device.