“The new normal.” “We will be back to normal.”
How many of you have heard these statements too many times to count? These are common statements that we all have made a time or two during the past 18 months or so. I have some news to share with you. There is no going back. Our workplace culture has shifted amid the pandemic. As we return to post-pandemic life, remote work is here to stay. Before Covid 19, only 17% of employees worked remotely 5 days a week. Today, nearly 44%. (Source: Statista)
To be competitive when it comes to hiring new employees, I believe that employers are going to have to consider this perk as a regular part of the workforce culture. Below are three reasons why I believe it is important for employers to consider a remote work culture as part of their perks and workplace environment.
Remote work boots employee morale
The thought that someone has to be in an office to be productive is, as some might say, an old wives tale. Most employees are not productive the 9 hours they are at their office. Constant interruptions, distractions coupled with the coffee break and water cooler talk means people are probably productive 5-6 hours out of their day.
People want to have ownership of their work and their schedules. When people have ownership over their time and schedule, they have better attitudes about their work. When employees work from home, they can work around when they are more productive. Personally speaking, I am not as productive first thing in the morning as I am if I start my day around 8:30 or 9am. I also tend to work later in the day at times. Less distractions at home also means that I can hyper focus on needed projects, where in the office, I was often interrupted, therefore making it difficult to get back to productive work.
Productivity improves
Better attitudes at work lead to better productivity, less mistakes and better team engagement. When employees can have ownership of their role and their productivity improves, the organization’s bottom line improves over time.
Better work life balance
Personally speaking, one aspect of working from home has given me the opportunity to balance my work and personal life better. The post pandemic workforce has taken a look at the living for work culture and has realized that prioritizing their health and family is equally as important as work priorities. Shorter commutes, the ability to work in multiple locations, even the ability to throw in a load of laundry or start dinner at the end of the day create more personal life balance for the workforce.
This ongoing shift in working culture has many businesses facing the task of reinventing what work schedules and teams look like within their organizations. We have seen that people are more productive and happier working from home. What might that look like for your organization? Has remote working been a benefit to your team productivity?