The ability to work remotely is becoming more popular with each passing year. It's estimated that 4.7 million employees (3.4% of the US workforce) work from home at least half the time compared to just 3.9 million people in 2015. This trend shows no signs of slowing down. It's anticipated that by 2028, over 70% of all company departments will have at least one remote worker.
Currently, much of the world’s population is working from home (if they are able to) due to the COVID-19 outbreak. During this time, it’s worth paying attention to how this shift affects your operations.
In the future when the economy is back to “normal,” why should your small business support flex work for your employees? Let's explore just a few of the advantages.
The typical SMB saves an average of $11,000 a year for employees who telecommute just 50% of the time. Depending on the number of employees, this could result in hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings annually.
According to the American Institute of Stress, work stress costs U.S. companies over $300 billion a year in medical, legal, and insurance costs. Creating a remote work program for employees can help to reduce those costs by increasing worker productivity, reducing employee turnover, and cutting down on the number of workdays missed.
The physical location for your company is likely to be one of the largest expenses you incur as a business owner. By allowing your employees to work remotely, you can reduce your costs by using a smaller space or having the flexibility to redesign how you use your space for both current and future employees.
Two-thirds of employees say that they would take another job to help reduce their commuting costs. Eighty percent of employees feel that working remotely is a great job benefit. The cost of losing an employee and hiring a new worker is estimated to be up to $30,000 a year.
Nearly half of companies still don't have flexible work arrangements for their employees, yet the majority of workers say that they would benefit greatly from such a program. Offering remote work can provide your small business with an advantage in the competitive job market.
By having a plan in place that allows employees to remotely work full-time, you are no longer limited by geography in being able to bring on new team members. You can find the best employee for the job whether they live across the country or across the world.
A study by the U.S. Census Bureau maintains that the average US employee spends 26.1 minutes commuting to work each way on a daily basis, with 50% of people saying that their commute causes significant stress.
A lower commute also translates to lower fuel costs, maintenance costs, wardrobe, and food costs. Employees saved an average of $3,900 a year when telecommuting full time.
Working remotely helps workers to reduce their carbon footprint by lowering the amount of time spent driving and decreasing the greenhouse gas emissions from their vehicles and the use of office space.
Over three-quarters of workers say that they were more productive when working from home. Remote employees are subject to fewer distractions, fewer breaks, and more time working on a monthly basis.
If you don't currently have policies in place to allow your employees to work remotely, you can start slowly by allowing employees to create their own work schedules or by instituting remote work on a part-time basis.
Technological advancements have made it easier than ever to implement flexible work arrangements for your employees.
Software tools such as Zoom and Skype allow you to have face-to-face contact with your employees without the need to be in the same room.
Invest in tools that allow employees to work together seamlessly. Using tools like Slack that have messaging capabilities allow employees to work together in real time without the back and forth of email and lost time trying to get on the same page.
If your company has regular daily meetings, create a policy that allows for these meetings to be scheduled during the same time period each day (e.g., 9 am - 2 pm EST). This allows employees the flexibility to schedule their work time and personal time accordingly, making the team more productive.
Remote work and flexible work arrangements are the future for businesses. Since 2005, the number of telecommuters has increased by 115%, and that trend shows no signs of slowing down.
If you have any questions regarding remote work arrangements or you would like to learn more about our services, please feel free to contact us for more information.
About Martinez & Shanken, PLLC
Martinez & Shanken, PLLC is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) firm based in Gilbert, Arizona. We provide a full range of accounting, bookkeeping, consulting, outsourcing and business services. Partners Deborah Martinez and Earl Shanken work to ensure your business accounting is done with integrity and to your satisfaction.
