Productivity in the Remote Work Era

The pandemic, despite global lockdown policies’ best efforts, actually made the world smaller. How? 

Two words: Remote Work 

Remote work has established itself as the “new normal” for modern employees. So much so that, in 2022, Squaretalk noted that 16% of global companies have turned fully remote, with 44% introducing a hybrid combination of both onsite and offsite work options. 

In light of this shift, an outline of remote work and its effect on modern work is needed. What does this shift tell us about the modern employee’s values? How are they impacted in terms of things like productivity and morale? 

Let’s dive into it. 

#1: Increased Retention Rates 

A big change brought on by the remote work option is that it puts the work-life balance on their terms. The flexibility of how work fits into their personal lives has given employees a chance to make work adjust to their lives, instead of the other way around. 

As a result, remote work allows for a balance that suits the employee and their own agenda. This translates into decreased employee turnover, with the flexible schedule allowing them to figure out what works best in terms of both working and relaxing hours. This situation encourages loyalty, with Moneyzine observing  74% of employees to be less likely to leave their roles if it gives them remote work options. 

#2: Fewer Office Distractions 

At first glance, the idea that you can be more productive at home than at work seems odd. An office being more distracting than where you hang your hat? doesn’t make sense. 

Or does it? 

The increased freedom and autonomy that working from home allows makes a big difference. The trust and influence of employee managers have increased and decreased, respectively. For example, Stream noted a big distraction from work being overinvolved and frustrating management, according to 65% of workers. 

Micromanagement, office discussion, and “water cooler conversation” are totally absent from the home environment. This means employee output and creativity are free to run wild. 

#3: Increased Job Satisfaction 

It sounds rather obvious to say, so we will just say it: 

Employees are happier at home than at work. 

That’s not to say that they dislike work altogether, just that they have more means to look after the personal fulfillment of life without the duties of the job. 

According to The Remote Collaborative Worker Survey, 77% of employees with the opportunity to work remotely are more productive at home than in the office. The increased time with family, friends, and the chances to even develop healthier habits as opposed to constantly being fixed in one location has shown how good remote work can be for employee morale. 

#4: Promotes healthy living 

Stop if this sounds familiar: 

“I wanted to go to the gym after work, but the commute is exhausting” 

The commutes and scheduling of work times were often at the heart of employee excuses for less healthy lifestyle decisions. Returning control of this to the employee promotes more opportunities for personal habits of cooking, cleaning, and exercise to play a larger role in their lives.  

Healthier, more active employees are always more able to perform on the job. 

#5: Encourages better communication 

That does not seem likely when physical distance has increased, but look closer. 

The change to a higher speed, more efficient focused way of communicating is encouraged. All interactions will be work-based, with office communications being streamlined to task and problem-solving.  

Depending on the nature of their internal communications infrastructure, this presents the opportunity to rapidly increase the rate of how quickly companies create change and growth. 

 

Despite how remote work’s rise to fame was not ideal, it created an opportunity to reinvent the working world. The knowledge-based work, not labor based, has exploded in demand and led everyone (from corporations to start-ups) to invest in the models and software that make all this possible. 

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