The internet has caused the lives of every single human being to change drastically. Besides the improvement in communications by connecting people all around the globe, it has affected the regime and usual way of work. With the fresh spike in the daily Covid-19 cases, the culture of working from home has become a new norm in the workplace. Certain significant companies such as Google, Twitter, Facebook, and others, have also announced remote work as a long-term business strategy.
However, despite the proven efficiency of remote work, some companies still prohibit the practice of working from home. In my opinion, the act of allowing employees to work remotely should be encouraged and practised on a broader basis due to the following reasons.
Benefits gained by working from home
Based on a survey, the list of benefits related to working from home is as follows:
i. How Working from Home Saves Money
Working from home is cost-saving, not only for the employees but for the companies as well. According to Global Workplace Analytics, a typical company can save around $11,000 (RM45,265) per annum for every employee that works from the time, at least for some period. FlexJobs, a job site that provides remote and flexible job opportunities, has saved more than $5 million (RM20.58 million) from allowing employees to work remotely, mainly from the overhead, transit subsidies, real estate costs, and the continuity of operations.
Furthermore, throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, U.S. employers saved over $30 billion (RM123.45 billion) per day by having their employees work from home. Figure 2 below shows an ordinary monthly business expense. We can minimise expenditure by promoting the work from the home norm.
Figure 2
On the other hand, those who work remotely half of their time can save approximately $4,000 (RM16,460) annually,according to a study from FlexJobs. That massive amount comes from saving on commuting costs as well as saving on spending on lunches, professional wardrobes, and coffee.
Figure 3 shows the annual cost of owning a mid-sized car. If one happens to drive to work, working from home will enable them to save on gas, car maintenance and even specific wear and tear to the vehicle. Remote workers tend to spend less on gas, but not zero, as there are still some road trips to take and errands to run.
However, the expenditure will not be nearly as much since the commute is usually close to their home office. One can even consider selling their car if they live in a city with options for public transportation.
Figure 3
In short, working remotely saves money for both employees and employers. Hence, we can continue this significant economic advantage as more companies make it a long-term solution.
ii. How Working from Home Conserves Time
Working from home is time-saving. This is because employees are not required to spend their time going back and forth between their workplace and home. For certain people, this may take up to an hour or more each way, contributing to a certain level of stress. Figure 4 below shows the average time spent every day in traffic congestion for various main cities.
Figure 4
On average, citizens in Kuala Lumpur spend nearly an hour in traffic jam daily. It is crystal clear that we can spend valuable time on other more practical and quality activities instead of being stuck in traffic. Beyond saving time, not having to sit in their car during stand-still traffic, also reduces their stress levels, which will eventually enable employees to work more effectively and productively.
Remote working also enables individuals to have a better control on their lives and schedule due to the flexibility of being able to work in a way that suits them best.
Everyone has different working styles and pace. For example, one might concentrate well while completing their tasks in the morning, and the other might be at their optimal condition in the afternoon.
On average, a commuter travels approximately 5 – 13 miles for work, while some commute as much as 47 miles for their job. All the driving has occupied most of our time. And so, by practising working remotely, we can use the time spent on commuting more efficiently. At home, the employees can be given a certain amount of work they are required to complete, and it is up to them to allocate their workload given the amount of time they have in a day.
To sum up, the working from home culture not only helps one to save their same, but it has also given one an authority to manage their time. With more time and fewer distractions, this increases productivity, which is a massive benefit for both employees and employers.
Contribution of technology towards Working from Home:
Figure 5
i. Stay connected with people all around the world
Figure 5 shows the way technology in the modern workplace improves the productivity of working from home. Out of all advantages, the most significant one is collaborating in real-time with contributors and colleagues all around the world. The collaboration might not always happen during regular business hours considering the difference in time zones.
ii. Less but effective Communication
Another exciting influence technology has had on-at-home employees is that they tend to have less communication with their managers, but the communication process is done more concisely. Instead of checking in constantly or even swinging by their office to talk face-to-face, remote employees often consolidate their correspondence to ensure that there is no constant back and forth.
Cloud-based programs such as Google Cloud Platform and Microsoft Azure and collaboration tools such as Zoom and Google Meet have also encouraged this streamlined approach to communications.
Figure 6
To conclude, technology and innovation, have enabled employees to enjoy the collaboration tools and enterprise-level communication in the home. This creates more golden opportunities to connect with others who may be spread across the world without worrying about time and distance.
Drawbacks of working from home:
On the other side of the coin, there are some companies for whom working from home did not work out. StatusPage.io wrote a blog post on their failed attempt to build a remote team. There was also a heated argument against full-time remote workers that stemmed from an article titled “Don’t Hire Remote Workers”. Figure 7 shows the top 10 disadvantages of working from home.
Figure 7
i. Low reliability and retention
“Trust can be an issue. Unless it’s an employee who relocated.”. It seems like reliability is a problem for some co-located teams. Things tend to be catastrophic when the manager’s presence is eliminated. What happens when one hires a remote worker, and he or she does not seem to be completing his or her work? Also, how do you deal with a remote worker who just stops answering calls and emails and eventually disappears without a trace, despite investing the time to train them?
ii. Difficult to maintain and manage accountability
One of the most prominent disadvantages is that employers cannot monitor their employees in a physical space. This indicates that the employees’ performances and standard management measures, for example, time in and out, will go out the window. Moreover, remote work makes most traditional management practices like getting the team together after lunch for post-mortem useless.
In addition to being difficult to monitor, it is also tough to keep remote employees accountable. This is because it is harder to establish ties that promote accountability in a completely virtual environment.
Solutions to the drawbacks:
i. Practice the culture of transparency.
The culture of transparency allows both employers and employees to have a good grasp of each other’s responsibilities and tasks; this improves reasonable expectations accountability. It can be as easy as sending weekly reports to a shared channel to ensure that others are aware of what is happening within the company.
ii. Implementation of non-monetary benefits.
Non-monetary benefits can act as an incentive to the employees so that they are willing to work harder and contribute to the company. For example, some companies provide a monthly budget for exercise or gym memberships, while others sponsor trips and vacation for their employees.
Final Thoughts:
With the contribution of modern technologies, the culture of working from home does provide benefits like saving time and money. However, it also has disadvantages like low reliability and accountability, which can be solved by promoting transparency and non-monetary benefits.
Despite modern technologies, certain occupations such as grocery shop workers, pilots and courier delivery person still exist, where work from home is not an option. Therefore, while full-time work-at-home jobs are not for everyone, a hybrid approach where employees can choose to work from home one to two days per week can help with the employer’s and employee’s bottom line. Working from home is not a one size fits all strategy. Employers are also resistant to a complete agreement for staff to work from home always, citing the inability to effectively track employees or measure their productivity. Therefore, it is essential for everyone to find a suitable solution or common ground. Only by doing so will we be able to perform our tasks most productively.
Girish Ramachandran is the Executive Director of 27 Advisory Sdn Bhd. He is a Research Fellow with the National Human Resource Centre (NHRC) of HRD Corp.
The views expressed here are entirely the writer’s own.
