Pros and Cons of Remote Working for Employers

Call it what you may, “hybrid working”, “distributed working”, “flexitime”, or “remote working”. A major shift is happening in the workplace, transforming the way we work and collaborate. With technology offering new and ever expanding ways of working and collaborating, flexibility is now the order of the day.

The pandemic brought home just how convenient it can be for people to work away from the office and many have earnestly embraced the increased flexibility this offers. In fact, Pew Research reports that 35% of workers who can work from home do so all of the time; and a substantial 71% of those who work from home say doing so helps them achieve a better work-life balance.

Even before the pandemic, Upwork and the Freelancers Union were predicting that most of the US workforce would be freelancing by 2027. While working remotely once meant going through the expense of establishing a home office, a quick scan of your local coffee shop reveals just how many workers can now work anywhere there is an internet connection. 

With the Great Resignation in full swing, and your company now firmly operating in a candidate’s market, what are the pros and cons of remote working for your business? Is switching to a remote work schedule right for your company? Is your staff ready to do all their meetings online? How are you going to maintain a corporate culture? 

Remote working certainly offers your business numerous opportunities to cut costs, improve productivity, and increase employee satisfaction — but is it right for you? Let’s take a closer look.

Benefits of Remote Working for Employers

Clearly, remote working is here to stay; and there are many reasons for this.

Access to a global talent pool

Employees increasingly expect perks like increased family time, a comfortable working environment, and a reduced commute. In fact, many would trade a lower salary for the benefits of working; According to Owl Labs, remote workers are 13% more likely to stay in their job over the next 5 years compared to onsite employees.

Therefore, offering remote working at least part of the time is a great move for your company. It allows you to tap into a global talent pool that is prepared to work remotely, without the constraints of location or costly moves. 

Also, remote working helps your business build a more diverse and inclusive workforce, as you can recruit from a wider pool of candidates. 

Reduced office costs

It’s difficult to argue against anything that positively affects the bottom line. With hybrid and fully remote working options available, you can achieve significant cost savings if you don’t need to lease full-time offices. 

These savings would be on top of other running costs, such as energy and office supplies. According to Global Workplace Analytics, employers could save an average of $11,000 per employee per year if they worked only half of their time remotely.

Increased productivity and efficiency

Perhaps counterintuitively, remote working can actually increase productivity. In a study conducted between March 2019 and April 2020 — that included 30,000 US employees together with 100 million data points — leading employee analytics solutions provider Prodoscore reported a 47% year-on-year increase in productivity.

There could be many reasons for this, such as being able to choose the best place to work from. Also, employees may be more able to work at the times that are most productive for them when freed from the constraints of a daily commute or a 9 to 5 schedule.

However, remote working is not just about increasing productivity for your business. The personal benefits that remote working brings (increased flexibility, less stress…) are just as much a reason your employees are more productive. Happy employees also make for more loyal employees.

Increased employee engagement and retention

Research indicates that flexible work options are increasingly important to job seekers — especially for millennials who stand to constitute 75% of the global workforce by 2025. Remote workers enjoy greater autonomy and responsibility, leading to higher job engagement and satisfaction. 

Naturally, engaged employees remain loyal, reducing the expense of hiring and training new employees. Happier employees also reduce instances of burnout and absenteeism.  

In fact, Global Workforce Analytics found that absenteeism costs US employers an average of $1,800 per employee, per year. They also found that remote working programs reduced absences by 63%.

Environmental benefits

Improved sustainability is increasingly becoming a differentiator in the global economy. 

With remote working, your workers produce less pollution, consume less energy, and your company saves money. 

Also, because the younger generation places a lot of importance on reducing their carbon footprint, remote working aligns with the values of the next generation of workers.

Disadvantages of Remote Working for Employers

As always, there are disadvantages to every opportunity. For a balanced perspective, let’s also examine these. 

Communication challenges

One drawback of remote working is that managers can't monitor their employees as effectively.

Since your managers simply can’t walk round the corner for a quick chat, they must set clear expectations regarding communications and processes. To avoid frustration, communication should be as straightforward as possible, making the most of collaboration apps, including instant messaging, videoconferencing, and emails. 

Your management team will also need to adapt their leadership style to match the needs of remote workers. 

Managers can mitigate many of these factors by providing flexible work training.

Maintaining a company culture

With a distributed workforce, it can be harder to build relationships and maintain a company culture. Human interaction plays a pivotal role in building the camaraderie and trust so vital to creating a sense of shared values and purpose.

This is obviously more challenging to achieve through online collaboration alone. This challenge is further exacerbated if your teams work in different cities and time zones. 

Your organization can mitigate these challenges by emphasizing company values during the onboarding process. You should also set clear expectations for team members regarding their roles and responsibilities. Communicate regularly with your team members, requesting timely updates on key performance indicators. Also provide clarity and consistency across service standards.

Lack of human contact

Remote workforces not only struggle with maintaining a company culture, but also face heightened risks of isolation and loneliness. More than just a professional environment, the workplace is also a place to meet people and make social connections. 

There’s a lot to be said about being in a room with like-minded people, all working towards a common goal. Beyond project management, many remote collaboration tools incorporate a social element that reinforces a sense of engagement. It is, therefore, worth the time to investigate the options available to you.

You should also consider arranging annual get-togethers where the entire team has the opportunity to interact with each other face-to-face and create meaningful connections.

Not suitable for all employees

While distractions also occur in the workplace, remote working requires a high level of self-motivation and discipline. Therefore, when hiring for remote roles, who should look for self-starters that can manage their workload with minimal supervision.

Not everyone performs well in a remote work environment, however, and some prefer working from a formal office. Therefore, to manage the transition to remote work successfully, you’ll need to provide your employees with the coaching, tools, and resources they need to be effective. Managers should also set expectations, have regular check-ins, and create opportunities for socialising and feedback.

Whereas, for many, remote working positively reinforces their work-life balance, for others, it may have the opposite effect. Some individuals may prefer the structure of their daily commute, allowing a separation between their personal and professional lives. This is something you will need to think about when considering a move to remote working.

Infrastructure Costs

Although remote working has financial advantages, it may involve upfront spending on IT infrastructure and security. To ensure your employees can work effectively, you will also need to invest in robust collaboration tools. 

Important features to look out for in project management tools include the ability to track and assign tasks, track time and budgets, and provide status updates and reports.

The Future of Remote Working for Employers

Hybrid and remote working arrangements are becoming commonplace as employers seek to promote a better work-life balance while also ensuring the efficient operation of their business. 

Therefore, organizations will continue to capitalize on the many benefits of remote working, reducing costs, widening their talent pool, and presenting an environmentally responsible outlook. 

Most importantly, employers will need to cater to the expectations of a new generation of workers that eagerly embraces new ways of working. Technology will form a critical element in this approach, facilitating remote hiring, onboarding, and collaboration.

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