When COVID-19 hit around the ’30s, companies all over the world started to send their employees off to work virtually because they needed access to all of their tools to be able to work effectively.
Whether you’re a veteran remote worker or just starting, check out this list of 10 companies hiring remotely as well as the pros and cons of hiring from home.
As we’ve long since discovered, remote work has a multitude of perks for workers. We’re listing out some of the best benefits of working from home—some that you may already be familiar with, and some that might open your mind even wider to the impact on employers and employees, as well as on economies and the planet as a whole.
Keeping work and life in balance
Remote work is becoming more and more popular, for sound reasons! With remote jobs, you get the privilege of choosing exactly when to start and end your day. Remote workers are also offered plenty of flexibility when it comes to their specific duties, which results in employees being able to manage everything from personal errands to attending their kids’ extracurricular activities with ease!
Commuting stress
The average one-way commute time in the U.S. is 27.1 minutes – that’s nearly an hour each day spent getting to and from work, and it really adds up. According to the Auto Insurance Center, commuters spend about 100 hours commuting and 41 hours stuck in traffic each year. Some “extreme” commuters face much longer commute times of 90 minutes or more each way.
It’s not just about wasting time when you commute; commuting can make you gain weight. According to The Journal for Transport and Land Use, people who take public transportation are 55% more likely to gain weight than people who drive to their destinations. Out of the participants in the study, 42% of the car commuters reported weight gains, while only 11% among public transit commuters did. Commuting is one of the reasons that there is a lot of obesity in America right now, and it’s also making us tired.
Being able to live closer to work makes it easier to support both your mental and physical health. With less time spent commuting, you’re able to prioritize aspects of your health that are most meaningful, like getting enough sleep in the morning, finding time for more family time, getting some exercise, or enjoying a proper meal that supports your dietary needs.
No location restriction
One of the benefits of living in a remote town is having access to a much more comprehensive range of careers and job opportunities. In this way, remote locals can kickstart their vocational journey even when limited geographically.
There are a number of work from anywhere companies you can check out. If you fall under a special category of worker, such as a military spouse or a nomad, you might be looking for a remote job. Perhaps there is one waiting for you within any of these companies?
Diversity
Remote work is a fantastic way for organizations to embrace diversity and inclusion by hiring people from different socioeconomic, geographic, and cultural backgrounds and with different perspectives – which can be challenging to accomplish when recruiting is restricted to a specific locale that not everyone wants, or can afford, to live near.
Remotes jobs provide opportunities for people looking to follow their career goals without worrying about commuting back-and-forth to the office. It also gives workers the flexibility of working according to their set schedule and getting into appointments when needed.
Better Savings
Working from home can significantly reduce your expenses each year. Some of the biggest expenses you will save on include gas, car maintenance, public transportation fees, parking costs and many other costs including lunches bought out , professional wardrobe and so much more. These savings add up and put more money back in your pocket every week rather than going to a company where they might not spend it to improve services or compensate employees fairly.
According to GWA, one can save $11,000 for every employee who works from home. They estimate that by allowing your employees to telecommute some of the time, you will pay for an annual subscription of $2,500 per employee through Concur Travel.
Healthy Environment
3.9 million employees who worked from home at least part-time before the pandemic reduced greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of taking more than 600,000 cars off the road for an entire year. A whopping 7.8 billion vehicle miles aren’t traveled each year for those who work at least part-time from home, 3 million tons of GHG are avoided, and oil savings reach $980 million.
Not only does choosing to use less paper and monitoring their air conditioning, heating, and lighting makes remote workers more conscious of the environment with every decision they make at work, but by planting an entire forest of 91 million trees, remote workers can have just as positive an impact on their surroundings.
Customized Office
One advantage of remote work is that you have the flexibility to set up your own customized home office. Whether it’s because you want a more ergonomic chair or need to adjust your lighting or add other equipment that’s necessary for specific needs, being able to work from home means that you can do with your workspace whatever best fits your needs!
Better performance and productivity
Imagine if you will, a world without traffic. Commutes are non-existent, people are kind to one another because they’re not in such a hurry, and the environment is less polluted because people just aren’t driving around so much. The Jetsons had it right—the future should be filled with remote work! Read on to learn about what remote work is really like and how it can help you focus on what matters most.
“Studies have shown that remote work is, simply put, more productive. FlexJobs conducted a survey of remote professionals and found that most workers believe they do their best work when working from home. And of the respondents surveyed who did telecommute once a week or more often, 69 percent said they get so much done that if they had worked in an office every day, the week would have flown by.”
New path forward
Although the pandemic did provide the catalyst for remote work to become more widespread for many millions of employees around the world, it’s far from the only reason to work from home. Indeed, there are so many benefits of working from home that it will no doubt be seen as an excellent long-term solution to other problems that arise each day.
