This year has seen a large increase in businesses having staff remotely working from home, perhaps for the first time.

How have you found this way of working? For some, it has saved them costs for the business as well as their staff, and they’ve preferred the flexibility of working this way, therefore they’ve decided to continue working this way long-term. Others prefer to work with other people in an office because there’s more of a sense of team when people are in face to face contact as well as the social side, rather than feeling isolated.

A great way to decide in the long term what is best for your business and your staff, is to consider the pros and cons of both options. Some of these are outlined below.

Working from home

Pros:

  1. Reduced expenses – the biggest benefit is saving on office rent and rates, as well as heating and electricity costs. This is a major potential saving for your business, as well as the costs of desks, chairs, technology and other equipment.
  2. No travel time or expense for staff – for those who have to commute to work; saving them travel costs. Plus, they’ll have more time to spend on other things such as being with their family.
  3. Distractions from other members of staff are reduced.
  4. Staff can be more flexible with their working times/hours. This is a great benefit for parents for example, who may need to collect their children from school or could have other responsibilities during normal office hours such as appointments. They can also work when they feel they are most productive – for some that might be very early in the morning or later in the evening.
  5. More choice of where you work e.g. in a café, – a new environment can help productivity and creativity.
  6. Staff might accept reduced pay, because of the financial and other benefits they get as a result of working from home.
  7. Staff feel valued to work and trusted without being watched over, which is believed can improve their motivation.
  8. Reduces the chance of staff being off work unwell as they won’t be exposed to other staff members’ bacteria/viruses – a major reason this year. There are also other viruses that cause people to need time off e.g. influenza – even with a vaccine (it’s only 40-60% reliable and not everyone has flu jabs), it is a big cause of people having to take time off work.

Cons:

  1. Remote management can be more challenging. How do you keep track of what staff are doing? Can they be trusted to work productively, getting the tasks done which they are responsible for?
  2. Missing the social benefits of working with others and a feeling of isolation from working alone.
  3. The distractions at home e.g. family/children/pets.
  4. Procrastination – home displacement activities can be tempting such as emptying the dishwasher or quickly hanging the washing out. Small tasks like these can break your train of thought, unless they are purposely scheduled to give you a break from your desk.
  5. Friends and family may think it’s fine to contact you as you are not in an office, interrupting your concentration and focus.
  6. Some staff may not have the space to make room for a desk or work area.
  7. It’s tempting for staff to work longer hours than they should, which could cause burnout.

Working in the office

Pros: 

  1. Instant communication with other staff members on projects.
  2. Work time can be more structured.
  3. It is easier to check staff are doing what they are meant to be doing.
  4. People are less likely to be distracted by personal calls, texts and social media.
  5. Training new staff in an office with other staff members is easier than remotely.
  6. Gives your business credibility when contacts and clients visit for meetings.
  7. More likely to brainstorm and collaborate with other people.

Cons: 

  1. As mentioned, running an office involves more overheads/costs.
  2. To grow and expand, you may need larger office space, which could mean relocating.
  3. Staff disagreements can be tricky.
  4. Can lead to romantic relationships with one another which can mean one or both might want to leave the department (or even the company) if it doesn’t work out.

Summary

Whichever way you choose to go with your business long term, it’s important to discuss it with your staff to get their feedback. The above pointers might be useful for that discussion. Some companies can offer their staff both options, or there is the option of providing staff the flexibility of working partly in the office and partly from.

Another option is to primarily work from home, but hire a meeting room once a week, fortnight or month so you can have a face to face, brainstorming session as well as catch up, which can give your staff a boost and create something more social to look forward to.