The Benefits of Working from Home
by Mashum Mollah Business Planning & Opportunities 12 August 2020
For years there has been a gradual push for people to work from home. Modern communications technology has made the prophecies of futurists, who predicted a world where no one would commute and business would transcend geographic limitations, possible. Although the possibility has existed for years, companies and employees have been reluctant to embrace the change. They fear that nothing will get done or will feel isolated, respectively.
Yet, with the pandemic forcing companies’ hands, we can now begin to consider the range of benefits that come with working from home.
Here are The Benefits of Working from Home:
1. Goodbye Commuting
No one likes to commute. As mentioned, this was one of the main selling points decades ago, when futurists first put forward the idea of the ‘telecommute’. Why go to work, when the internet can bring the work to you?
While some people enjoyed a short walk to work; for most people, commuting looks like back-to-back traffic. Hours are spent staring at bumpers, moving at a glacial pace. Such an environment increases stress and anxiety, as you grow more frustrated from the claustrophobia of it all.
Well, when you work from home. The entire commute is the distance from your work to your bed. You can’t complain about that.
Some people do worry about the appearance of their home when remote working. However, with the wonders of modern technology, you can use a virtual backdrop to make it look like you’re in an office. With Zoom virtual background images business colleagues will never know you’re at home. Pick from one of their HD images or videos, to disguise your background with their smart greenscreen technology.
2. Hello Free Time
For the average American, commuting devours more than 100 hours a year, according to the US Census Bureau. That’s over two entire weeks of work. Imagine what you could do with such time? Learn a hobby. Spend more time with the kids. Or, perhaps most importantly, get a good night’s sleep – which is vital to our health and happiness.
Additionally, when you finish work, you’re already home. You don’t arrive back at 6 pm, needing to destress. You can get straight on with the tasks at hand. Consider building a stable routine, fitting in exercise, and any other responsibilities.
Plus, with a less stressed and crammed life, employees have found themselves more productive and happier during the day—just one more bonus on the list.
3. It’s Good to Be Green
In one global poll, over 2,000 office workers were asked about working from home and the environment. Over seventy-five percent felt guilty about their commute to work and the impact it had on the environment.
There is the apparent benefit of less carbon dioxide warming the planet, but that’s not the only harmful substance cars spew out. Air pollution is one of the leading causes of death, being a risk factor for a range of diseases. Chemicals such as NO2 are pumped out by all the vehicles on the roads, by reducing our travel hours we prevent volumes of this stuff going out into the air: benefiting everyone!
4. Money in Your Pocket
One of the top reasons people give for wanting to work from home is to save money. Not only are you throwing away money on the daily commute: the average American spends between $2,000 and $5,000 annually on transportation. But you are also saving money on the small items, you may not think about, but that collectively add up over the year. These include cups of coffee, lunches out, or expensive work clothes.
When you are working from home, you have time to make your lunch, so even while you are saving money on ingredients, you can eat healthier too! Speaking of which…
5. Good for Your Health
As we’ve already explored, working from home gives your time to eat healthier, exercise more, and spend more time with your family. In short, you can live a less stressed life. One study in 2011 discovered that employees working from home reported twenty-five percent less stress. The reasons they gave were a better work-life balance and a healthier diet.
So, sit back and relax, as you enjoy the wonderful benefits of remote work.
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