Is Remote Working Really Better Than Office Working?

In a world where people are chained to their desks in stuffy basements, working nine-to-five jobs with their bosses constantly hanging over their heads watching their every move and counting how many cups of coffee they’ve had before noon, working remotely sounds very enticing. 

‍

But is it really all lying on a beautiful beach, drinking cocktails with little umbrellas and soaking up the sun, or are you still chained to a desk - just in your own house - with kids running around while a remote worker monitoring software counts your every keystroke?

Be realistic for a minute and remember that no situation is simply black or white. If working in an office was so terrible, people wouldn’t have been doing it for decades. 

‍

However, there is no denying that technology has transformed all facets of human life, among which is opening up the labor market and working without having to be in the physical office. 

‍

Nowadays, all you need is a stable internet connection and a working laptop - or even a smartphone - and you’re set for having a successful and fulfilled working day. 

‍

And with the help of remote work monitoring software, your company can also be sure you’re actually working when you’re supposed to. 

‍

Let’s see what exactly makes remote work a more favorable option as of late. 

‍

‍

Open Labor Market

‍

The concept of remote working has opened a whole new world of opportunities when it comes to getting the desired job. Just 30 years ago you had to move across the planet or even your own country to be able to work for a company you wanted if it wasn’t located close to your place of residence. 

‍

That is now a non-issue for many professions out there, especially if they can be monitored via remote employee software. 

‍

True, you can’t exactly perform surgery online - or can you? - but you can teach foreign languages, sell email archiving solutions, design houses or nightstand lamps, and a lot more without actually being in the same room as your colleagues and clients. 

‍

By the same token, employers have also gained access to a wider talent pool and, as is the case in many industries, cheaper, but equally or more talented workforce than first expected. They are now able to choose among the best in their fields by simply posting an online ad and conducting interviews and testing via the Internet. So much easier and faster than before.

‍

More Economical Solution

‍

Companies have found it significantly cheaper not to have to maintain a physical office in order to function normally - as many of 60% of them.

‍

Instead, they can invest part of the money into purchasing collaboration, project management, and remote employee tracking software - and still have plenty of resources left in their money bag.  

‍

Aside from not having to pay for the lease on working space, taxes, security, maintenance, and taking care of all sorts of other expenses, companies can also save money on food, equipment, employee transportation, and similar costs. 

‍

While plenty of companies maintain the practice to reimburse their remote employees for this kind of cost, it’s still a smaller expense. 

‍

Similarly, workers get to save a little bit of money this way as well since working from home inherently comes with a cheaper price tag - you can work from your pajamas, you don’t need to pay for gas or cab fare to get to work, you can eat in (and more healthy at that), etc. 

‍

Higher Productivity Level

‍

Research shows that remote workers are 35-40% more productive than their office-bound counterparts. 

‍

This is also corroborated by remote worker monitoring software the likes of Insightful - employees tend to be more productive when such a tool is present in their working environment. 

‍

Both lower-level staff and management have direct insight into how many man-hours have been invested in a project and individual tasks. Not only is that important for accurate billing purposes (in case of marketing agencies, for example), but also for precise employee payments. 

‍

Moreover, the information gathered by means of time tracking for remote workers is an excellent starting point for business process optimization in general as it pinpoints areas ripe for improvement. 

‍

That can relate to employees who are unproductive in their assignments, processes that can be automated and sped up, skill improvement potential, etc. 

‍

Desired Job Perk

‍

As many as 96% of workers in the US have stated that they want more flexibility from their job - whether that is flexible working hours, working from home a few days a week or month, or forever, or simply traveling the globe and still “being present in the office”. 

‍

Additionally, around 50% of people have decided against a pay raise if that meant more time off or the option to work from home. Monitoring desktop software is a non-issue if more freedom while working was allowed. 

‍

HR managers from all over the world - who are now competing for talent on the international level - are more increasingly offering the remote work option in any form when recruiting as well. 

‍

99% of people who have been working remotely for any amount of time so far would not change that for an in-office position. Just knowing that shines an entirely different light on enticing employer branding. 

‍

Increased Job Satisfaction

‍

Hand in hand with achieving enviable productivity at work comes a high level of job satisfaction. 

‍

According to this study by Leadership IQ, mobile workers are 87% more likely to love their jobs when compared to in-office staff. 

‍

What is more, in the study only 24% of respondents who were working from traditional offices said they loved their jobs, while 45% of telecommuting workers said the same. 

‍

Not only are employees who work from home more productive (as shown by tools for tracking remote employees), but also, generally speaking, feel less stressed. Contributing to that are factors like flexible working hours, increased ability to travel, desired work station setup, physical absence of bosses, fewer distractions, and in recent times, health safety. 

‍

Furthermore, 76% of remote workers feel more loyal to their employers, meaning they would more gladly stay with them as long as they offered some kind of flexible working solution. 

‍

Remote Work Is Environment-Friendly 

‍

If you care about the environment and want to do your part to save it from rapidly decaying in the near future, you’ll be happy to know that remote work is beneficial in this sense. 

‍

First, switching to remote employee tracking software instead of sticking to paper performance reports helps preserve forests and decreases the amount of garbage released into the environment. 

‍

Second, no longer having to travel to and from the office on a daily basis and drastically cutting down business building energy usage saves 54 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions every year. 

‍

In countries like Canada, with related legal regulations, that also means an increase in tax returns for environment-conscious behavior. 

‍

Final Takeaways

‍

While many people have a tough time switching to remote work because they miss the human interaction from the office, can’t get used to communicating via tools like Slack or Zoom, or don’t like using even the best software for employee monitoring, the benefits seem to exceed the drawbacks. 

‍

Just look at the list we came up with! 

‍

So don’t be afraid to try it out and see if that is something that can be the right fit for you. Insightful is here to help you every step of the way.

‍

This article was originally written on August 14th, 2019 by Aleksa Misic. It was updated on June 26th, 2020 by Aleksandra Djordjevic.