The year 2020 has been challenging, to say the least. For managers and business owners, one of the most significant of these challenges has been transitioning from an onsite workforce to one that works from home. In making this transition, it’s easy to focus on what’s difficult about managing a telecommuting staff. But as the year draws to a close, it’s a good time to remember all the advantages of remote work for both individuals and the companies they work for. What follows are some of those benefits:

For the Employee

• Flexibility in work schedule – Whether you’re a parent trying to juggle your professional life and caring for your kids, or a single person who prefers to work slightly different hours than your peers, in most instances working from home allows you to pick and choose which hours you devote to your work-related tasks each day.
• No commuting – If you’re like most employees, not having to commute back and forth to an office each day means that you save both time and money, not to mention the stress of dealing with bumper-to-bumper traffic.
• Choosing where you live – When your office is in your home, it really doesn’t matter where you live. For many telecommuters, this means they have the freedom to live in suburbs or smaller towns and rural communities that may have been impossible when they had to commute back and forth to an office in a city.
• Simplified childcare – Any parent can tell you how expensive it is to pay for childcare. That expense is a thing of the past when you work from home and can be there for your kids throughout the course of each day.
• Quality of life – Whether or not you have children , striking a healthy balance between your career and your personal life can be a challenge. But for most telecommuters, achieving that work/life balance is easier than ever. That means healthier, happier employees – a benefit not only to those individuals, but to their managers and the companies they work for as well.

For the Company

• Reduced overhead costs – When the majority of your staff members work from home, you can save the money you would otherwise spend on the office space to house them during the course of each workday. And that can add up to a tremendous cost savings each month.
• Less turnover – It’s a simple equation: happier and healthier employees = fewer employees leaving the company. When your staff members are able to enjoy all the benefits of working from home, they’re much less likely to look for work elsewhere. That means less turnover, which adds up to a smoother workflow and reduced time and money spent in recruitment and training of new employees.
• Reduced salaries – Several studies conducted recently have shown that employees value the flexibility of working from home so much that many of them would accept a lower salary to enjoy the benefits of telecommuting. Of course, we’re not suggesting that you short-change your employees when it comes to salaries. But you might find that offering a somewhat lower salary range is totally acceptable to some workers as long as they can continue to telecommute.
• Hiring new employees is easier – That may sound counterintuitive, but it’s true. When your staff works remotely, you can quite literally hire the most qualified workers from anywhere in the world! That means you’ll have a virtually unlimited talent pool to choose from!
• Increased productivity – If you’re worried that remote workers won’t be as productive working from home, you’re not alone. In fact, many managers have shied away from allowing workers to telecommute for this exact reason. Fortunately, tools like MySammy allow you to measure employee productivity levels and even help to encourage your telecommuters to increase their own productivity while working from home.

The advantages of remote work are undeniable, for both employees and the companies they work for. And thanks to technological tools like MySammy, managing a remote workforce is easier than ever before. There’s no better time than the present to learn more about MySammy and sign up for your free trial today!