Before the pandemic hit, it was more of a rare occurrence for employees to work from home. However, what has become apparent due to the Coronavirus outbreak is that employees can work just as well (some would say better) from the comfort of their own home.
At activ we are advocates for working from home, in our opinion it increases trust within a team as no one is constantly being watched over and we also feel there are huge benefits to staff wellbeing.
Don’t just take our word for it though, the National Office of Statistics shared that 79.9% of businesses agree that allowing their employees to WFH improves wellbeing. Let us talk you through what we believe to be the top 7 advantages of working from home!
1. Better Work-Life Balance
Having control over your work schedule can be invaluable when it comes to keeping up with things in your personal life. Whether it is dropping the kids off to school, running day to day errands or attending a lunchtime fitness class, these tasks are easier to balance and make time for when you work from home.
2. Less Stress Commuting
In 2019 the average commuting time was close to 59 minutes. Wasting time commuting is one of the main downsides of working away from home. If you say goodbye to the commute, you can support your mental and physical health as it is thought that more than 30 minutes of commuting a day is associated with increased levels of stress and anxiety. You would have more time to focus on things you want to do like getting extra sleep, exercising or eating a healthy breakfast.
3. Independence
You may be living in an area you do not particularly like because of your job. You are generally much more able to live exactly where you choose to if you work from home! Having no set office site means that (post-pandemic) remote workers can travel whilst maintaining a career. Remote working is a great way to avoid costly areas as working remotely means you don’t have to live near a major city to have your dream career.
4. Money Saving
Remote workers can save valuable amounts of money by just working from home. Petrol, car maintenance, public transport, parking fees, office wardrobe, expensive lunches and more can all be reduced or completely removed from your spending. By working from home it is more possible to have more disposable income each month.
5. Environmental and Sustainability Impact
One of the fastest ways for people to reduce their carbon footprint is by reducing their commuting travel. It is a fact that already, because of the pandemic, pollution, congestion, and traffic have been reduced because of more people having to work from home. Not only this but working remotely supports a variety of sustainability initiatives such as economic growth, sustainable cities, climate change and responsible consumption.
6. Increasing Productivity and Performance
Working from home can mean fewer interruptions, less office politics, quieter noise levels and more efficient meetings. With no commute, workers can have more time and fewer distractions which could leads to an increase in productivity. In these cases, not only does this benefit the employees but also the employers alike.
7. A Personalised Work Space
Most importantly, lets be honest, you can create a comfortable and customisable home office! Perhaps you have needed an excuse to turn the spare room into something more practical, or you have been wanting to buy yourself a new kitchen table, you can now do it! You can customise your office space to include an ergonomic chair or specialised equipment to help with other health issues. You can make it into whatever you want.
When it was first announced that most of us would have to work from home there was an overall feeling of unease. It seems that working from home will be here to stay after this pandemic leaves us.
When you decide to join the activ franchise you can achieve all the above and more! If you want to find out more about how you can have it all and work from home on your own terms, click here.
