Why Businesses Should Embrace Remote Work
Transition to remote work has been a business trend even before COVID-19, but the pandemic forced organizations to adopt this employment type more rapidly and extensively. The study conducted by Felstead and Henseke (2017) shows that the percentage of people working mainly remotely rose from 7% in 1981 to 12.3% in 2015. Naturally, these findings are not related to factory-based jobs that require employees to operate machines and equipment. During Covid-19, many companies found that telecommuting was a viable option for their businesses, and transitioning to this employment type helped organizations to stay afloat in the period of crisis (Benzinga, 2021). Even though remote work is a growing trend in the business world, there are conflicting opinions on whether companies should adopt it. Managers are particularly concerned about the impact of telework on productivity, communication, and data security. Although distance working indeed presents some challenges to firms, they can be overcome for the sake of the benefits delivered by telecommuting. Businesses should embrace remote work because it provides advantages in terms of available talent, cost-effectiveness, and increased job satisfaction and productivity.
Issues with Data Security
Opponents of remote work cite several arguments against this employment type, the most important of which is an increased likelihood of a security breach. ODonnell (2020) argues that work from home creates an insider threat, which means that the company’s data may leak due to the actions of negligent or malicious employees. For example, workers can utilize sensitive business data for their personal purposes or use company devices for operations unrelated to their work (ODonnell, 2020). Sjouwerman (2020) also claims that remote employees are at a higher risk of undergoing a phishing attack because they are out of the supervision of the IT department and cannot immediately turn to colleagues for help. So, the concern about business data security hinders companies from transitioning to telework.
However, this issue is resolvable and can be tackled by proper employee training. Research shows that 62% of insider threats stem from negligent employees, and a lack of data security training is a major reason for employees violating data security rules (ODonnell, 2020). To address this issue, companies should train employees in using best practices in data security hygiene and perform regular employee testing to check workers’ knowledge and resilience (Sjouwerman, 2020). Thus, although concerns about data security are justified, the possibility of a security breach can be reduced by employee training.
Increased Talent Pool
One of the advantages of telework that businesses can gain is increased access to talent. This is because when companies hire workers for conventional employment, they have to choose from the workforce available in their location. However, when hiring remote workers, companies are not limited to a particular location in their search. Thus, they can employ the most high-skilled employees available in the job market. Businesses and workers have high chances to match in a large online labor market. There are three reasons for this: increased use of the internet for job search, effective algorithms on job-seeking websites, and a great potential for maintaining relationships via social networks (Clancy, 2020). Hence, remote work allows companies to employ the best available workforce.
Cost-Effectiveness
Another advantage of remote work for businesses is the opportunity to save costs. The cost-effectiveness of telework stems from two sources: a decreased office rent and reduced spending on employee wages. The first source of cost-effectiveness is obvious: since employees work from home, they do not have to come to the office, and the organization does not have to pay rent for the office space. According to Global Workspace Analytics, companies have an average of $11,000 savings per remote employee (as cited in Benzinga, 2021). Regarding the second source of cost savings, research shows that in 2015, college-educated employees in the most populated areas earned $25 per hour on average (Clancy, 2020). The average earnings of such employees in the least populated places were $15 per hour (Clancy, 2020). In addition, workers in densely populated locations spend more on housing than those in less populated areas (Clancy, 2020). Consequently, hiring remote employees residing in less populated regions is more cost-effective because companies can spend less on wages, and employees can enjoy higher incomes due to decreased housing prices.
Increased Job Satisfaction and Productivity
Remote work is often criticized because it is assumed to lead to reduced productivity. However, research shows that the effect of transitioning to remote work is actually reverse. Felstead and Henseke (2017) found out that remote employees put more effort into their work than conventional workers. Furthermore, their study showed that remote workers were more engaged and committed to their organization and more satisfied with their jobs (Felstead & Henseke, 2017). In addition, workers’ productivity increases when working from home because there are fewer distractions than in a noisy office (Benzinga, 2021). Certainly, some remote employees may find it difficult to balance work and life when working from home or finding a quiet space for work. But these issues are manageable, and what organizations can get as a consequence of transitioning to remote work is more engaged and committed employees who are willing to put more effort into their work, which results in increased productivity.
Conclusion
Companies should transition to remote work because it results in an increased talent pool, cost-effectiveness, and increased employee satisfaction and productivity. Although there are potential issues with data security, they can be addressed by proper employee training. Obviously, remote working cannot be recommended to every enterprise because of the peculiarities of businesses. However, non-factory-based companies should consider remote work to get the business benefits it offers.
References
Benzinga. (2021). Remote work is the new normal: The benefits and the reality of remote employees saving money in a new age. Newstex Finance & Accounting Blogs. Web.
Clancy, M. (2020). The case for remote work. (ISU Economics Working Papers No. 2007). Web.
Felstead, A., & Henseke, G. (2017). Assessing the growth of remote working and its consequences for effort, well-being and work-life balance. New Technology, Work and Employment, 32(3), 195–212. Web.
ODonnell, L. (2020). Work from home opens new remote insider threats. Threatpost. Web.
Sjouwerman, S. (2020). Is remote working causing security breaches due to lack of proper training? Workforce Management (Time and Attendance) Excellence Essentials. Web.