Setting up a virtual office is something that American businesses are still getting used to. The traditional American office was brought to us by the Industrial Revolution. When factories ceased becoming a necessity and technology advanced, the workday did not. Instead, the workman’s uniforms changed to suits, the machinery changed to computers, and the factory changed to a dull, fluorescently lit box, into which people shuffled into their own little boxes. They kept similar Industrial Revolution hours, too. It’s a wonder a bell doesn’t ring or a whistle doesn’t blow when it’s lunchtime.
As the job market has evolved, so have the ways businesses go about working. Coworking spaces, virtual offices, working remotely, and telecommuting have spread through growing businesses like wildfire, and it’s doing well. A recent study polled 1,000 professionals, and 65% of them allow remote work from their employees.
Still, the skeptics are out there. Let’s look at some perks of working remotely that’ll have your business and your employees in a better place (which might literally be anywhere).
Nix The Rent, Invest In Talent
Productivity isn’t established by doing work in a particular place. In fact, it might be doing the opposite. While operating an entirely remote company may seem difficult, the problems and cost of having a brick and mortar building are just as prevalent. Instead of spending on a place where your workers don’t need to be, invest in the employees themselves. Workers with incentive will produce results and you’ll eradicate the perceived necessity of checking into an expensive address.
Kill The Commute
Not only is this a time killer, but it’s an environment killer. A stressful commute to and from work crushes time, attitude, and productivity (not to mention the greenhouse gases). Many workers change jobs because of shortened commutes. They’re annoying struggles that can be eliminated by employees setting up a virtual office. Getting rid of the time taken to get from point A to point B and vice versa would increase productivity time in the long run.
Happy Employees Just Do Better
The co-founders of a company called Basecamp wrote the book on remote work (literally, their book is called Remote: Office Not Required). They make a wonderful point worth quoting: “As an employer, restricting your hiring to a small geographic region means you’re not getting the best people you can. As an employee, restricting your job search to companies within a reasonable commute means you’re not working for the best company you can.”
Job satisfaction can’t be bound by brick and mortar. While setting up a virtual office can seem like a challenge right out of the gate, the reward greatly outweighs the cost.
