6 Benefits of Remote Work for Employers and Employees
Remote work isn’t just a perk for employees; it also helps your company thrive. Here are six benefits of remote work for employers and employees.
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Remote work continues to solidify its presence in the business world. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, only 6% of US workers were fully remote, but that percentage quadrupled by 2021. COVID-19 may have accelerated the rise of remote work, but it’s clear now that remote work is here to stay.Since remote work isn’t going anywhere, all businesses that are able to operate remotely need to consider doing so. Remote work isn’t just a perk for employees; it also helps your company thrive. Remote companies gain competitive business advantages in areas like hiring and productivity, while remote employees flourish in a more supportive work environment.3 Key benefits of remote work for employers
Remote work isn’t just a perk to keep employees happy; it’s a strategic business model that delivers tangible results on an organizational level. Shifting to remote work helps you scale and diversify hiring, increase productivity, and lower costs.1. Grants access to a bigger, more diverse talent pool
Companies that only hire within a specific radius near their headquarters are extremely limited in their options. Companies that hire remote employees break out of those boundaries and expand their job search across borders, looking in other states or even other countries. Remote companies hire the best people for their roles, no matter where they live, which means their teams are more qualified and often more diverse.Remote jobs are in high demand, which means your job listings will receive more applications than on-site-only ones. Remote work makes your organization more attractive to job seekers, as it represents an organizational commitment to a people-first culture and better work-life balance. And you can offer highly competitive salaries in less expensive markets, attracting top talent to your roles. The more candidates you can consider, the more selective your managers can be in making sure they choose the right person for the job.Remote work is good for diversity and inclusion, allowing you to consider a wide range of candidates who might otherwise be excluded from traditional office work. This includes international employees, working parents or caregivers, and employees with disabilities.Remote hiring is also faster and more efficient than in-person hiring, which means that remote companies can scale recruitment efforts as quickly as needed. It’s easier to coordinate remote interviews than in-person ones since candidates don’t need to take significant time out of their days to drive or fly to a specific location. You don’t have to wait for employees to relocate or pay for their moving costs because they can start their remote onboarding and ramp up to full productivity ASAP. The entire process, from an employee’s first screening to their first day, is done virtually.Learn how Pilot can help you with payroll, benefits, and compliance
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2. Increases employee performance and productivity
Before remote work rose in prevalence, some companies feared that work-from-home would result in lower productivity. If anything, the opposite has been proven true — the autonomy and flexibility of remote work have enabled employees to become even more productive.Eighty-five percent of remote workers around the world surveyed by GitLab in 2021 said they were satisfied with their productivity. Meanwhile, nearly six out of 10 US workers surveyed in a Chicago Booth study said they were more productive while working remotely than they expected to be. That same study predicted that remote work would result in about 5% higher productivity across US employees compared to pre-pandemic.Remote companies often operate asynchronously, losing less time to unnecessary meetings and discussions. Communication happens on everyone’s own schedule or during set meeting times instead of throughout the day. As a result, fewer distractions allow people to dedicate uninterrupted blocks of time to deep work.Remote work also reduces absenteeism, as employees don’t have to take as much time off for personal obligations that would keep them from the office, like doctor’s appointments or classes. They simply take advantage of flexible scheduling to work around disruptions.3. Reduces operational costs
Moving to remote work is financially smart. The average US employer saves about $11,000 per employee who spends just half their time in the office, according to Global Workplace Analytics. Those savings are even greater for companies with fully remote workforces.Here are some of the costs that remote work cuts down on:- Rent, utilities, and cleaning fees for office real estate
- Team lunches and office snacks
- Supplies and stationery
- Furniture
- Sponsorship of parking and public transportation passes
- Relocation support
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3 Key benefits of remote work for employees
The facts are the facts: Employees want remote work. According to Buffer’s 2022 State of Remote Work report, an overwhelming majority of employees surveyed (97%) would recommend remote work to others. The same percentage of workers also want to work remotely at least some of the time for the rest of their careers. Remote work helps your company both attract more job applicants and retain current employees who prefer to work from home.1. It eliminates the daily commute
As the cost of living rises due to inflation, everyone is concerned about making ends meet — namely, your employees. Requiring workers to come into the office makes them stretch their dollars even further, especially with the rising cost of fuel.According to Clever, the average US worker loses 239 hours of commuting time every year, which costs them $8,466. That’s 20% more time and a 31% higher cost than pre-pandemic. Remote work eliminates this commute entirely, putting more money in your employees’ pockets and giving them more time for themselves and their loved ones.Getting rid of their commute has compounding benefits for your employees beyond the monetary ones. Employees don’t have to dread the daily stress of rushing through their morning to prepare meals and drop the kids off before running to the office. They don’t have to sit in traffic for hours each week, with fewer chances of getting into accidents. And they can get more sleep by not having to wake up as early to get ready for the day. By removing their commute, you introduce more leisure and free time to your employees’ lives.2. Healthier work-life balance
Remote work is all about flexibility, and the biggest result of that flexibility is a healthier work-life balance for your employees. Remote workers are happier when they’re encouraged by their employers to put their well-being first.Flexible work allows remote employees to set their own hours instead of being forced to adapt to a rigid 9-5. They can choose when to work and when to take breaks, taking time for themselves, their families, and their pets as needed.According to a study published in American Sociological Review, flexibility is key to employee satisfaction. Greater flexibility and control over work hours, as well as managerial support for work-life balance, resulted in lower rates of burnout and stress and higher job satisfaction.
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Remote work is more than just “work from home.” It supports employees in working from anywhere they want, whether that’s from their home office, a local coffee shop, or an Airbnb in Italy. Instead of being forced to live within a reasonable distance of the office, employees can travel or move whenever and wherever they want.Remote employees have more control over when to take time off and how much time to take. They can take longer vacations and save money by traveling on less busy days because they don’t have to get back to the office. One study from Deloitte found that out of those who planned to work remotely while vacationing, 75% of them extended their vacation by one or more days. This means remote workers get to spend more time visiting out-of-state family and friends or exploring a foreign country, with no rush to return home.Remote work gives employees the opportunity to move away from expensive cities like San Francisco or New York City to areas with a lower cost of living. It can also provide more job opportunities for people already living in these lower-cost-of-living areas. In a survey conducted by MakeMyMove in 2021, 29% of remote workers said they were likely to move within the next 18 months. Some small towns and cities are even offering incentives worth up to $20,000 for remote workers to relocate, making their move even more lucrative.
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Offering remote work is just the first step
The advantages of remote work give your company and team a competitive edge, but deciding to go remote is just the beginning. You have to build a strong company culture around remote work and ensure that your processes and technology are all optimized for the remote work environment. This includes things like choosing the right remote work tools and keeping remote work taxes in mind.Here at Pilot, we serve companies with remote teams distributed all over the world. We can help you hire and pay employees in all 50 US states and over 100 countries, as well as contractors in over 240 countries. Your all-star team of remote workers is out there — and wherever they are, we’ll help you hire and pay them.Going global isn't daunting when you partner with Pilot. 🤝
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