Is Working From Home The Future of Employment?
Having the ability to roll out of bed ten minutes before your meeting is due to begin sounds like the dream for many, doesn’t it? Just enough time to brew a hot coffee and brush those teeth before settling down in your favorite spot on the couch.
The hours spent brushing against shoulders on your delayed train can now be spent snoozing in bed or applied to self-care activities such as a morning yoga session, meditating or a trip to the gym. All you need for this to become a reality is a stable internet connection (which by all means is a staple for any modern house), a capable laptop or tablet, now more affordable than ever. Gone are the days where you dish out over $1000 on a computer boasting 64 MB RAM.
Whilst i may be painting a picture akin to a fairy tale, describing something that many of us desire but could never receive their bosses blessing for— it’s seemingly creeping closer to reality than ever before.
With the current state of affairs heavily focused on the self-isolation period caused by the global outbreak of novel virus COVID-19, more and more individuals find that their daily professional activities can be exported to their cosy homes, with ease. The realisation that many meetings can become simple emails, and those dreaded conferences can be digitised through a sub-one-hundred dollar webcam, available from Amazon.
In this drastic shift in attitudes, it’s becoming apparent that the work-from-home scenario isn’t only a gift to the introverted individuals that take warmly to their personal space. It could be a smarter solution for all concerned.
The Evidence
Before the outbreak of COVID-19, the main topic of discussion surfacing across publications and TV stations worldwide was the deteriorating state of the climate, with rising temperatures caused by unprecedented levels of greenhouse gasses. Much of this rise can be attributed to the growing world population relying on carbon-based transport to interact with the world. However, it’s undeniable that the growth in internet speeds and widespread use provide a cleaner alternative to connect and interact.
Indeed as a result of the current global pandemic many employees have found that their roles can be exported into their own homes. What’s more impressive is the drastic rate at which air pollution levels have fallen in the last months as a result. Readings from the European Spaces Agencies Sentinel-5P satellite show that over the past six weeks, levels of Nitrogen Dioxide over China, Italy and the United Kingdom are significantly lower than during the same period twelve months prior.
However, remote work is still frowned upon, receiving criticism for the assumed drop in productivity caused by the array of distractions and loss in monitoring ability over employee work ethic. But surely the work should speak for itself?
Sure, you may be more inclined to pick up your smartphone for a few rounds of Candy Crush or scroll through the old Twitter, but if you meet your targets should your employer care? Particularly when companies worldwide continually commit to reductions in their carbon footprints — surely working from home is a win-win-win.
So, Is Working From Home Effective?
If you asked your employer a few years ago what their thoughts on working from home are, most would of probably dismissed the idea and expressed concerns of a dip in productivity. However recent evidence suggests that these assumptions about working from home are simply wrong.
In September 2019, Airtasker carried out a study exploring the benefits of working from home — surveying 1,004 full-time employees about their working habits, 505 of which were remote workers. The study considered everything from productivity, spending habits and the overall happiness of individuals.
The results show that contrary to preexisting presumptions, remote employees report higher productivity, increased happiness and considerable savings on fuel and car maintenance costs — all the while reducing individual carbon footprints.
Remote employees reported working on average 21.9 days a month, compared to 20.5 for office employees. The time spent on breaks (excluding lunch) was less for those working from home, as was the unproductive time reported — i.e. the time spent on your phone or thinking what you’re going to have for dinner that evening.
What Does This Mean?
There is more and more to suggest that working from home can be beneficial not only for the employees, but so to for the environment and the business concerned — marking a shift away from working from home as an activity that’s detrimental to business, to something that can have more far-reaching benefits for society as a whole. Improvements in air-quality over China, United Kingdom and Italy should be enough to propel the idea of working from home to the forefront of many businesses attention which are attempting to reduce their carbon footprint. However, coupled with the individual business and employee benefits, such as more time spent working by employees, lower stress levels and more time spent being productive, surely it really is a win-win-win.
