If you, your company, or organization haven’t already, you must follow the growing trend of telecommuting or working from home and moving more jobs online, not because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but because this is the way businesses will be operated in the future.
The government has led the way by being adaptable and prepared to conduct itself amidst any threat to continue to have work done remotely from home in case of a major terrorist attack, biological warfare, or natural disaster.
Many businesses who are refusing to adapt or are unable to adjust their business model to accommodate shelter in place and pandemic restrictions are rapidly falling by the wayside, allowing only the powerful evolutionaries to survive.
Before the lockdowns were initiated, 75 percent of all workers were confident, that if they were required to stay home, they could effectively perform most, if not all, of their work from home.
For the companies, businesses, organizations, municipal, and federal government agencies that have quickly adopted telecommuting and working from home, they report increases in employee productivity anywhere from 15% to 55%.
Overhead costs to accommodate workers telecommuting during the lockdown been greatly reduced as having to pay for brick-and-mortar facilities for workers can be nearly eliminated, while workers are taking more responsibility for their own performance, requiring less management.
And for the most part, the teleworkers are loving it.
Are teleworkers here to stay?
Teleworkers, just as much as their contemporaries, were growing tired of being among the frantic rat race, and found a sense of empowerment from gaining more control over their quality of life, as they claim to be able to maintain an effective balance between life and work by telecommuting.
Being able to make adjustments to one’s work schedule to make room for appointments, family issues, or errands, offers sensible satisfaction to workers with families. They eat healthier, have less stress, are able to spend more time with family and friends, as well as more leisure time.
Employers who are allowing their employees to work from home are enjoying the fact that unscheduled and sick leave numbers are down 75%. And it’s no surprise because you could continue to work from home with a cold without the fear of spreading it to coworkers. In fact, you could still telecommute while on quarantine. And if you go out for a surgery or treatment, you are apt to return to telework much sooner than a job on campus.
While most people are feeling relief from the daily struggle of life, 80% of those who are confined to their homes without work, would rather be working from home, are willing to take a pay cut to do so, and they are envious of those who are teleworking in these unprecedented times.
The lockdown has placed undue stress on local law enforcement with the rise in domestic violence calls, but this has been offset by a huge reduction is traffic accidents due to the huge reduction in commuting traffic to and from work.
It is likely that this is the new normal, that telecommuting will replace archaic commuting to and from work following the pandemic. Look at the benefits.
Rural employees can work for metro-area employers with no problem, greatly expanding HR’s access to new and emerging talent. Disabled workers may be as much, or more, productive as their non-disabled peers. Discrimination is nearly non-existent. Personality conflicts among the workforce are all but eliminated.
Employee performance is evaluated on performance only.
Employees may continue to interface with their families or act as caregivers without affecting their work status. Disabled workers need not fret over figuring out how to make travel considerations.
Telecommuters enjoy an extra two to three weeks’ worth of free time every year, simply due to working from home and not having to commute.