For observers in some quarters, it might sometimes seem as if the rapid rise of remote and hybrid working patterns over recent years has merely been an incidental consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Certain data might seem to back up this view. As of 2019, for example – just prior to the pandemic – only 4.7% of UK employees worked from home.
Fast-forward to April 2020 – when the first lockdown was in place – and some 46.6% of UK employees did at least part of their job from home. But in the case of 86% of workers who took such action, they did so specifically due to the pandemic, and as of 2022, only 13% of UK employees were working from home all the time.
On the other hand, research has indicated that approximately a quarter of US workers were still carrying out their duties on a remote basis – at least part-time – by late 2022, and a few academic surveys even put the proportion closer to 50%.
So, there is evidence of “stickiness” in remote working practices across certain parts of the world, even long after the coronavirus crisis. But looking further ahead, there is also reason to believe that remote workers will play an integral role in the growth of companies across the sectors over the years to come.
Here are a few examples of what we mean.
- Remote workers feel more productive – and often are more productive
A recently released study found that 84% of workers around the globe feel more productive in hybrid or remote work. Some 82% of hybrid workers, meanwhile, indicated that they felt more connected to their teams and managers.
Various studies have found that such greater worker confidence in their own productivity could translate into improved actual productivity when remote working is embraced.
One study of 16,000 workers over nine months, for instance, discovered that working from home was linked to a 13% increase in productivity.
- Remote working helps boost freedom and flexibility for businesses and workers
While the global corporate environment might not seem as unstable and unpredictable right now as it was at the pandemic’s peak, volatile conditions can easily return at short notice.
When your organization’s workers are permitted to work from anywhere with an Internet connection, this can help you maximize access to valuable personnel, even when they might not be in the same city or even country.
Accepting such remote and hybrid working patterns among your team members can also put your business in a better position to quickly scale up or down as needed, in line with the current conditions.
You won’t, for example, necessarily need to commit to a physical space with the expectation that every member of your workforce will always be there in person every weekday. This may give you the freedom to commit to a smaller office space, in the knowledge that many workers will probably be happy to work remotely or on a hybrid basis if there is any “overflow” of staff numbers amid your organization’s continued growth.
- Remote working can help provide greater continuity and stability for your business
It is difficult to write for long about remote working from an employer’s perspective, without touching on the scope it could present for the organization to streamline its costs.
Your firm’s month-by-month expenses in relation to physical office space, utilities, and supplies could be lower if you increase the proportion of your workforce that operates remotely or in a hybrid fashion.
However, staff being permitted to work remotely could also help drive down employee turnover and the recruitment and training costs associated with it. A member of your workforce who needs to relocate to another country for family reasons, for example, won’t necessarily have to sever ties with your company if they can still contribute remotely.
You could soon be enjoying the advantages!
Tapping into potential benefits like above, while also using suitable remote employee payroll services – as Aspirock can provide – could be key to your efforts to boost your company’s robustness and put in place foundations for growth.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us today to learn about how we could help simplify your firm’s global payroll arrangements.