*Information required. Your personal information is only used to contact you. MyLLC will never sell or share your information.
Is working from home really the wave of the future? It’s certainly starting to appear that way for many small businesses. Providing employees with the ability to “work from home,” not only creates a happier, more productive staff overall, it also cuts the overhead costs associated with running a business. Furthermore, it allows business owners to hire better employees who otherwise couldn’t accept the position due to location, and it limits absences because people won’t always need to miss work when they’re sick (as they’ll already be at home!). Additionally, with more and more positions becoming primarily digital, working remotely has never been more practical or popular. Between 2005 and 2012, the number of people who chose to work from home increased to 79.7% according to Global Workplace Analytics.
Let’s just consider the numbers for a moment. What happens when you erase that horrendous 45-minute commute to and from work? Well, you’ll see an additional 90 minutes magically added to each day, which adds up to 375 hours per year. That’s a significant amount of time your employees can be spending with their families, relaxing, sleeping, and ideally, working. In essence, there’s a direct correlation between additional free time and happier, more productive employees.
To be fair, working remotely isn’t a perfect solution. It can be quite isolating for employees, and it does require a certain personality type that can handle the lack of daily office interaction and the ability to set goals and complete tasks on their own. Some people feel more productive when they work alone, while others think they work better when collaborating when others. This isn’t to say that collaboration can’t be achieved with this new style of working though. Technologies including Skype, Google Hangout, GoToMeeting, Facetime, email, instant messenger, etc., all provide employees with the opportunity for immediate, face-to-face interaction.
In order to maintain productivity (and therefore, success) in a remote work environment, business owners need to create the right “virtual” atmosphere. There are a few things you can do in order to accomplish this:
Bottom Line: Working remotely results in shorter commutes, private offices and flexible work hours. And lets face it, having the option of attending a business meeting via Skype in your underwear is a major bonus.