Working from home is more common than ever, with technology continually disrupting the landscape of how and where we can do our jobs. While many benefits exist for the company who provides work-from-home set-ups, such as savings in overhead and 24/7 accessibility to key players, equally as many benefits abound for employees who choose the work-from-home option.
Following are 10 reasons why working from home is good for your employees:
1. Work-life balance.
Awaking at 3 a.m. for a sick child or arising early to take a pet to the veterinarian can stress out an employee who otherwise enjoys his job writing code or managing the finances of their growing company. However, with a (flexible) work-from-home environment, an employee can more fluidly navigate being pulled from both ends – home and work.
As well, working from home means an employee can break away for a rejuvenating nap should they need it, and they can recapture lost time by working a little longer into the evening from the comfort of home.
2. Health and fitness.
One aspect of a healthier lifestyle that working from home offers is the availability of home-based exercise circuits, whether it be as simple as a walk around the neighborhood or a jog through a local nature trail. As well, an employee can access their own custom food pantry to fulfill refueling needs and goals.
3. Project momentum.
Taking care of business instantaneously is a valuable, stress-reducing benefit when a devoted employee wants to stay on top of the details at any hour of the day. When a problem erupts or new details unfold on an important project, having a fully functioning office at home makes it easy to address things right now, eradicating worry and maintaining project momentum.
4. Cost savings.
Work from home days generally mean donning more casual attire. Wardrobe expenses and trips to the dry cleaner are reduced when an employee is permitted to wear shorts, t-shirt and flip-flops and work from the comfort of a porch or other converted space. This benefit can rack up thousands of dollars in savings for the employee.
5. Uninterrupted productivity.
By working from home, employees can set themselves up for quiet, uninterrupted work cycles; whereas, at the office, other employees stopping by their office and various office-wide activities often interrupt flow.
Follow this link to read five more reasons Why Working From Home Is Good for Your Employees.
I love working from home. Of course, I’m the only “employee” at my little LLC, but I know others who work from home as full-time employees of large entities and most of them love it too.
Depending on your situation (i.e. if kids are at home), you may not always have uninterrupted productivity, but I’ve found that when interruptions occur or pint-sized interlopers squeeze themselves into my attention space, it’s not all that derailing..
Despite any initial frustration I may feel, if I simply take a moment to mindfully (there’s that word again) engage with the person doing the interrupting, it makes them feel validated and respected and helps me realize that a little surprise break now and then isn’t so bad.
HI Samantha,
I’m so pleased you stopped by and commented on this particular blog!
I love how you expanded upon the ‘uninterrupted productivity’ thought, especially how you animated your remark with images of ‘pint-sized interlopers’! You’re right – not all that derailing to validate + respect those we love and equally, we gain from the surprise detours of ‘joy’ in our day! (And, yes yes to ‘mindfulness.’)
Thank you, Sam!!
Jacqui