Remote work is also known as telecommunication which started in 2000 era when there was an introduction to the internet and wireless communication tools. A lot of companies started working out to know if they actually need people in the office and can they work from anywhere?
Remote workers are more productive because according to the research, before pandemic, remote work was already fairly popular with about 6.6% of the US workforce. This percent is about 9.4 Million people in the US alone. Companies that have adopted remote work are the companies like Apple, Google, Microsoft and a lot of other leading companies in the tech space.
Many companies have seen the potential of remote work and they have implemented it within their company culture. There are tons of benefits to working remotely and they include- no commute time, no travel to work, less cost for the business with office space, attire or events. There are less distractions outside the office or inside the office.
People who work from home tend to be happier and healthier so the benefits can fall into family life and work-life balance and also improve your personal health. Lets learn more if remote workers are more productive.
Are Remote Workers More Productive?
According to a study conducted by OWL labs, at the end of 2019 with more than 1200 full time employees, it was found that 62% of them were remote workers with various frequencies. Remote workers are more productive in so many ways-
1. Flexible Schedule.
Working remotely gives us the complete freedom of working at our own convenient time, be it starting late in the morning or working into the wee hours of the night. We can fix our own timings. Different people have a different productive timing where they are in much better productive flow. So working remotely can help them use their peak time to be more productive with great outputs. This is a very big advantage for the end users of an enterprise.
When you are working remotely you can schedule your day before it starts while considering all the events of your day. You can create a loose structure of what your days will look like before the week starts, even on Friday of the previous week or the Sunday night before getting started. At the end of your work day you have a more detailed outline of your schedule including times of necessary.
We all need moments for breaks when it might seem necessary but breaks are important to help you in getting along. This is one reason why remote workers are more productive because you can schedule your breaks when you actually need it to get back more efficiently. You can’t be expected to work four hour straight because according to research, the most you should work at one time is 90 minutes. After every 90 minute a person needs 5-10 minutes breaks throughout the day.
2. Custom Environment.
While some people prefer working in an office setup, others might not because many people prefer working straight from the comfort of their home. Remote workers are more productive because of their custom environment. By working remotely you can avoid mental and physical clutter around your place which you might not be able to do in your small cabin or desk in your office.
Any physical object in front of you can take your attention away whether it’s a large object like a pile of unfinished project files or small bits of clutter like unread notice. These can pull your focus even if you are actively thinking that you need to get these things done, your subconscious mind will still take energy to visually analyze your setting. These things can keep you stressed out and trigger deeper force and it will make you feel like a failure and take a hit at your self-esteem.
Working remotely helps you to keep your space organised at your favourite and comfortable corner to do work. It gives your brain less to process. It helps you to cultivate an area where your brain has no option but to focus on everything in front of it and should only be the tasks that need to be completed.
3. Zero Commuting.
Another reason that remote workers are more productive is that when you work from home, there is zero commutation. This will save long hours of travel which thereby improves the number of working hours. Working remotely also reduces or even completely eliminates office distractions.
Taking a coffee break every half an hour or even having small talks with your colleagues might unknowingly affect your productivity. Remote work policy has already proved to improve employee productivity. According to one study in Business News Daily, remote work employees work almost 1.4 days per month than their office based counterparts. Resulting in more than additional weeks of work per year.
4. Time Management.
One of the reasons that remote workers are more productive is that they get more time at home and get more time for the family and more time for yourself as well. These are all aspects that speak for working from home in terms of time and time management. In addition, things can be done in the house during working hours when there may be a waiting period.
However, the most important advantage of remote work in terms of time management is the fact that hours of the day can be arranged by the user. If there are no fixed working hours then the working day can be arranged by the user except for mandatory appointments. The only important thing at this point is to inform colleagues and superiors regularly.
Surveys have shown that remote work leads to better sleep. This is due to the fact that you can sleep longer in the morning because there is no need to travel to work and that’s why you can be more productive with a fresh mind all over the day. On the other hand the idea of not having to travel to work but being able to work from home has a positive effect on the behaviour of many people.
Tips to Increase Productivity While Working Remotely-
- Get a designated working place for yourself where you can least amount of distraction and you can fully focus on your work.
- Avoid changing your designated workplace from time to time because with new places there comes a new set of obstacles that are onto the way.
- Make sure you have stable internet because you can’t afford to have a bad connection while working remotely. It’s better to have your modem in the best place as where you are working so that you get the strongest signals.
- Avoid working from bed because if you are still in your bed then you will go in that sleepy mode sooner or later while working.
- Stay away from your phone because you might be focusing deeply on your work but then if a simple notification or message can come in and you would want to reply to it immediately.
- Don’t skip breaks because a lot of time people skip the break time while working from home and that leads to exhaustion very quickly. Taking breaks will bring the freshness of energy for you to continue working.
- Use noise-cancelling headphones while working so that you don’t get distracted by any noise while working.
- Plan and execute your day by writing down a list of the tasks that you need to do during the day. Tick off one task when you have accomplished it.
Advantages of Working Remotely-
• Location.
Remote work offers the possibility to find and to set up the place for your work. The best part about working remotely is that you can travel around the world without getting your work disturbed.
• Comfort.
When talking about comfort, it is worth mentioning that there are few standards at home that at work. It may not be necessary to wear the necessary work clothes and not only the workplace but also yourself can furnish and dress as the situation demands
• Efficiency.
Efficiency of working from home suggests that for most people productivity increases and there are fewer distractions making them not only more productive but also faster. Not everyone, but most people can concentrate better at home and achieve a better work and life balance for themselves through more productive work.
• Money.
Considering the expenses at the costs involved the positive aspect of remote work is that there is no fuel costs, repair costs or maintenance costs for a car as it is not often needed. There are no commuter fees for tickets and no costs for breakfast and lunch among other things at work. These meals can be prepared at home at lower cost and perhaps healthier.
Not only the employee but the companies can also effectively manage employees remotely and save money by spending less money or renting unused rooms, less money on heating, less money on electricity and less money on business trips.
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Environment.
The environment can be protected by the following aspects-
- No commuting.
- Less CO2 emissions.
- Less electricity and heating costs due to less CO2 emissions.
- Less traffic on the roads whether in the morning or in the evening which leads to less pollution.
• Employee Fluctuation.
Higher employee productivity and increased job satisfaction reduce employee fluctuation within a company. Companies ensure that their employees achieve a better work and life balance through remote work.
