Discover the Benefits of Telecommuting: A Compilation of Remote Work Surveys

It’s no doubt that COVID-19 took the world in a whirlwind that is still shaking and surprising everyone every day. One of the biggest challenges companies had to face was moving their employees towards telecommuting, almost with no warning, and hoping for the best. When the pandemic started, we thought it wouldn’t last that long... But as we approach the end of the year, we’ve discovered that a lot of companies still have their employees working remotely, or in a hybrid model.

Facing such a radical change we can’t help but wonder how are employees and managers performing? How do employees feel about telecommuting? How do managers feel? Is remote work here to stay?

We’ve read and compiled different working reports and surveys to bring you accurate working from home stats and answer the questions listed above so you can evaluate the advantages of telecommuting.

According to a global survey from BCG made to over 12,000 employers and employees, 25% of employees used to work remotely at least once a week before Covid-19, now 63% work in a hybrid model; also over 70% of managers stated that they are more open to flexible models for their teams than they were before the pandemic.

A survey made by BlueJeans revealed that remote employees work an average of 3.13 to 4.64 extra hours a day. This could be good for companies but not so good for remote workers, it is important for managers to be aware of their employees' wellbeing. 

Stanford economist, Nicholas Bloom, has been investigating and surveying different firms to get info about whether or not the future of work is remote, he found out that “the share of working days spent at home is expected to increase fourfold from pre-COVID levels, from 5 percent to 20 percent.” He also stated that “Of the dozens of firms I have talked to, the typical plan is that employees will work from home one to three days a week, and come into the office the rest of the time.”

Major companies are viewing the benefits of a telecommuting program and making it official as their new way of work. Google announced that their employees will continue to work from home at least until summer 2021. Twitter also decided to let their employees work remotely full time, and said that they don’t have to go back to their physical office space unless they want to.

As companies seem to be more accepting of telecommuting and/or a hybrid model of working, we are able to see the benefits of these flexible work arrangements for both employees and employers. According to Flexjobs, remote workers can save up to $4,000 every year or even more. Here’s why:

1. Commuting costs.

   An average commuter using public transportation can spend between $2,000 to $5,000 per year, depending on the traveled miles. For those who drive themselves to work spending on gas, car maintenance, and insurance means spending a higher figure a year.

2. Clothing.

   Even if your office’s dress code is “business casual”, you have to have appropriate attire for a daily basis, and even more formal pieces for important meetings. Flexjobs reported that in 2018, the average household spent $1,866 a year on buying clothes and keeping them clean, since not everything can be thrown in the wash, dry cleaning elevates the cost of clothing. And this figure isn’t considering a formal dress code. 

3. Eating out.

   Yes, we might enjoy a lunch or two out of the office every week, maybe a different coffee blend than the one at the office every now and then, but these little expenses add up. And considering that sometimes we don’t feel like cooking at the end of the day and we instead get some takeout, we can be spending a lot more than we intended to on food. Eating at home is not only cheaper, but healthier.

4. Time.

   This may not be money-saving per se, but consider the amount of time you save from commuting and the amount of time you save on interruptions. This means more productivity and less stress. As reported by ResumeLab: 99% of people say they’d like to work remotely at least some of the time for the rest of their careers because of this.

Besides saving money, telecommuting employees have the opportunity to pay more attention to their personal life, therefore they can work on a healthier work life balance, which, in turn, improves employee morale and job satisfaction.

As for employers’ telecommuting benefits go, some might think that remotely managing their employees might be difficult enough to see the benefits of having your employees working from home (check out our “Check-in with your employees: A Remote Management Guide” article if you’re struggling to remotely manage your virtual team), but corporations are also saving a lot of money. 

According to Global Workplace Analytics 6 out of 10 employers identify cost savings as one of the major benefits of telecommuting, such as:

• Rent and Utilities

  A lot of companies are considering reducing office space, even if sanitary restrictions are lifted soon or not, intending to have only a few employees on-site each day while the rest telecommutes. This saves a lot of money in rent and expenses that come with the space.

• Cleaning

  Smaller offices and fewer on-site employees mean less items to keep clean.

• Food and Beverages

  Maybe you provide coffee all day, maybe you even provide refreshments every now then… having part of your team teleworking reduces these expenses.

Besides monetary benefits, there are other benefits companies get when having their employees telecommuting, like reducing employee turnover, reduced absenteeism because employees ask for fewer sick days, increased employee satisfaction, and increased productivity; all of which could also be cost saving in the long term.

There are also some disadvantages of a telecommuting program, of course, some people discover that they experience fewer distractions in a traditional office setting than when remote working if they have many people, children, or pets at home. Some remote workers find it difficult to achieve work life balance or set an appropriate work schedule.

In the end, every business has different needs, it’s up to you to determine which work model works best for you and your employees, but something we know for sure is that Covid-19 has brought the advantages of telecommuting jobs into a bigger spotlight and that remote work is definitely here to stay. If you'd like to know how to successfully transition towards a hybrid office, check out our "Remote Work or Working in an Office? How to Establish a Hybrid Model" Article.

Even though there are positions in industries that cannot be performed remotely, those companies who can must highly consider the possibility of a hybrid model if they want to stay competitive and retain high-performance employees. Get ahead in the game and try Hirebook for Free! We provide managers the right tools to keep their team engaged and productive, from remote Check-Ins to scheduled One-on-Ones, to streamlining OKRs for maximum performance!

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