Productivity among remote workers has been a surprising success story coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic. Several studies across industries have noted high levels of satisfaction among both employers and employees in remote working productivity, leading to a significant expansion of both temporary work-from-home programs and permanent work-from-home positions.
In fact, productivity has been so solid many companies are already eyeing reductions in office real estate while many workers are relocating out of city centers to places they would prefer to live. A few stats help illustrate the momentum:
According to a study of 800 US businesses by HR firm Mercer in New York, 94% of employers report that productivity among remote workers is the same or higher than it was before the pandemic. 67% said it was the same, 27% said productivity actually improved.
Before the pandemic, only one in 30 employers allowed remote work. Now 73% of businesses expect at least a quarter of their workforce will continue working from home after the pandemic, and a third of businesses expect more than half of their employees will work from home after the pandemic.
A recent study of US commuting trends related to remote work helps illustrate the impact businesses and employees have seen from this shift. Working from home saves an incredible 62 million commute hours per day, with a cumulative total of more than 10 billion commute hours saved since the start of the pandemic.
In the same study, which was conducted among more than 10,000 US workers, 35 percent of those saved hours were spent on business-related work. Studies have shown similar findings in the past, with major tech firms reporting that remote workers were 35-40% more productive than their office-bound peers.
The question employers need to address for 2021 is how to maintain productivity and flexibility as the world waits to see an end game for the pandemic. Placing a bet on continued remote working is certainly a good start—there’s simply too much uncertainty involved with containing a global virus to bet on a quick return to normalcy.
Accommodating worker preferences will be another step, as employees with secondary health problems, or employees with vulnerable family members may be slower returning from remote work—and many employees may look for opportunities to work from home permanently.
Finally, even if most of your employees do return to the office, there’s no guarantee the companies with whom you do business will be ready for visits, so while your own team meetings may be in person, a lot of business is likely to continue to be conducted through virtual meetings for the foreseeable future.
If you’re working on your remote workforce and return-to-the-office planning for 2021, MNJ can help. We provide equipment, services, and support to businesses managing remote workforces large and small, and are working with many businesses on flexible planning to optimize productivity whatever challenges await in the coming year.
MNJ is delivering the solutions you need to manage your remote workforce successfully – Contact us to learn more at sales@mnjtech.com.
Thanks,
Jammie
