There’s no doubt that the devastating coronavirus pandemic completely altered the business sphere. So many companies had to adopt a fully virtual operational model and allow their employees to work from home for the first time. You, too, probably had to implement an entirely remote company setup and discovered something surprising: it worked out great! You found that employees were just as productive (if not more) and stayed on top of all of their business tasks just fine in the work-from-home landscape.
Now, you may be wondering, should I really order all of my team members to come back to the office just because it is what we all did before the COVID-19 crisis? Is that the best decision for my business’s bottom line and for the well-being of my employees? Before you start booting up all of the computers in the office, take a moment to consider these reasons why your business should stay remote in the post-pandemic era.
Increased productivity
Yes, it has been proven that those who work from home are just as productive (if not more so) than those who work in an office. A two-year study by Great Place to Work surveyed 800,000+ Fortune 500 company employees. This study revealed that “most people reported stable or even increased productivity levels after employees started working from home.” You may have also found this to be the case with your own company after your entire workforce went fully remote.
There are several reasons why the Great Place to Work study participants became more productive when working from home. For one, the survey showed that employees were able to get more tasks done because daily commutes and lengthy in-person meetings were eliminated in the work-from-home business environment.
Higher worker satisfaction
Throughout the pandemic, you may have heard your employees praise the new remote setup your company needed to implement. This stance has been echoed throughout the business sphere. A CNBC|SurveyMonkey Workforce Survey found that during the pandemic, remote workers had a Workforce Happiness Index score of 75 out of a possible 100, which was greater than the score of 71 reported by those who continued going into the office. “On nearly every question related to work satisfaction, those staying home report more positive measurements,” the survey revealed.
This is very important to keep in mind, because when your employees have an increase in morale, they can also become more motivated to set goals and work hard to achieve them. This, in turn, can help your business progress to greater levels of prosperity because your employees will strive to complete their projects on time, rather than be downtrodden and complain about the tasks at hand. That said, do you really want to impede on their worker satisfaction by reverting back to an in-office business setup?
Fewer expenses
Maintaining an office space for your business comes with many costs — you need to pay for office rent and utilities each month, keep the water cooler and coffee pots filled, stock the break room with snacks, hire personnel to clean the space on a regular basis… and the list goes on. In contrast, you won’t need to pay for any of these overhead expenses if your business remains fully remote. You just need to continue paying the subscription fees for cloud services that will maintain your remote workforce’s communication and collaboration.
If you want or need to do in-person meetings with clients or employees on a regular basis, you can simply rent out space in a coworking building when needed. You can schedule when you need to use the space and only pay for that allotted time, which is much more cost-effective than paying for an office space for the whole month. These coworking spaces usually provide everything you will need for your meetings, such as conference rooms, high-speed internet, printers, and beverages.
Better for the environment
A remote work setup can be so much more eco-conscious than an in-office business model. For one, you and your employees won’t be commuting to the office each day, thus lowering all of your carbon footprints. This setup also saves trees, as you and your employees won’t be printing and dropping off paper reports to coworkers each day. Remote communication can be easily done via emails, instant chatting and video calls. You also won’t create waste from used printer ink cartridges and other office supplies.
And let’s not even get started on all the food and drink waste that will be saved from not having a break room! There won’t be an abundance of used disposable coffee cups, coffee filters, napkins, snack wrappers, etc. All of your employees can be as eco-friendly as they would like each day from the comfort of their own home.
More profits
As a business owner, you want to do everything you can to boost your company’s overall profits and improve your bottom line. That said, you will be happy to know that a remote business model will increase your employees’ productivity and work output while lowering operational costs. This will ultimately increase your enterprise’s profits and financial well-being, thus ensuring your enterprise’s long-term success.
To Wrap It All Up
The COVID-19 pandemic was catastrophic for many industries and society as a whole, but it did prove that many companies could operate well with an entirely remote workforce. There are many reasons why your business should stay fully virtual in the post-pandemic era. First, it is proven that remote workers are more productive and have higher job satisfaction than their in-office counterparts. You will also save a lot of money by having lower overhead costs. Running a remote business is also Earth-friendlier than an in-office business setup, and your overall profits will grow. Consider all of these benefits of remote operations when deciding if you should really go back to the office.
