Employers that offered flexible working options before the COVID-19 pandemic experienced greater retention, a reduction of employee stress, and an increased likelihood that they would be recommended as an employer. Despite these benefits, 44% of employees in a 2018 Owl Labs survey said that their employers did not allow remote work.
In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic will we see a dramatic spike in employers offering flexible working options? According to the 2020 Owl Labs survey, 80% of full-time workers expect to work from home at least three times per week after COVID-19 guidelines are lifted and companies and workspaces are able to re-open
Our infographic outlines the benefits of a remote workforce that employers should consider when deciding whether or not to let their employees continue to work from home after COVID-19.
Want to use this infographic on your website or blog? Feel free, just provide a link back to our website when citing your sources.
The Benefits of a Remote Workforce
2018 – 44% of employees surveyed by Owl Labs said that their employers did not allow employees to work remotely 1
2020 – 80% of employees expect to work remotely at least 3x per week after COVID-19 guidelines are lifted 2
95% of employers say remote working has a high impact on employee retention 3
$10K saved in real estate costs per year for every full-time remote worker 3
Flexible hours allow for errands and appointments without losing a full work day
Remote workers save on the costs associated with meals, wardrobes, and commuting
Remote workers save 11 days per year thanks to their lack of time spent commuting 5
50% of employees said that working remotely reduced their amount of sick days 6
Context switches kill productivity! Interruptions can cost as much as 40 percent of productive time 7
Proper rest aids productivity An average of 8 hours rest makes workers nearly twice as productive as those that get 5 8
77% of businesses use flexible working options to attract and retain talent 9
4 out of 5 workers would decline the job that didn’t offer flexible working options when given two similar offers 9
Canadians With Access to Broadband Internet 10 – 97% in urban areas, 37% in rural areas.
Remote workers need access to reliable high-speed Internet connections for video conferencing, file sharing, and emails
Workplaces that are not prepared to support remote workers lack the policies, tools, and training to successfully accommodate them
36% of respondents in an OpenVPN survey have had a security incident occur due to unsecured remote workers 11
Employers worry that remote workers are not working. 70% polled thought that personal tasks were being done during work hours 12
Before the COVID-19 video conferencing boom employers worried that effective meetings couldn’t be performed remotely
31% of remote workers said the thing they missed the most about working in an office was social interaction 12
Remote workers can inadvertently be forgotten or neglected from social inclusion. 14% of remote workers said they did not feel they were a part of the team 12
1 “Global State of Remote Work 2018 – Owl Labs.” https://resources.owllabs.com/state-of-remote-work/2018
2 “Global State of Remote Work 2020 – Owl Labs.” https://www.owllabs.com/state-of-remote-work/2020
3 “Costs and Benefits – Global Workplace Analytics.” https://globalworkplaceanalytics.com/resources/costs-benefits
4 “6 Ways Working Remotely Will Save You $4000 Annually, or More – FlexJobs.” https://www.flexjobs.com/blog/post/6-ways-working-remotely-will-save-you-money/
5 “2017 State of Telecommuting in the U.S. Employee Workforce – FlexJobs.” https://www.flexjobs.com/2017-State-of-Telecommuting-US
6 “REPORT: Remote Work Brings Benefits, but Attitudes Are Divided – Indeed Blog.” http://blog.indeed.com/2018/11/14/remote-work-survey/
7 “APA: Executive Control of Cognitive Processes in Task Switching.” https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/xhp274763.pdf
8 “New StayWell Sleep Study Examines the Effect of Sleep on the Modern Workplace.” https://www.krames.com/news/new-staywell-sleep-study-examines-effect-sleep-modern-workplace
9 “IWG Global Workspace Survey – Flexible Working – IWG plc.” https://www.iwgplc.com/global-workspace-survey-2019
10 “High-Speed Access for All: Canada’s Connectivity Strategy” https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/139.nsf/eng/h_00002.html
11 “Remote Workforce Cybersecurity Survey | OpenVPN.” https://openvpn.net/remote-workforce-cybersecurity-quick-poll/
12 “Are Remote Workers Actually Working? – Quickbooks.” https://quickbooks.intuit.com/time-tracking/resources/remote-productivity-survey/
1 “Global State of Remote Work 2018 – Owl Labs.”
2 “Costs and Benefits – Global Workplace Analytics.”
3 “6 Ways Working Remotely Will Save You $4000 Annually, or More – FlexJobs.”
4 “2017 State of Telecommuting in the U.S. Employee Workforce – FlexJobs.”
5 “REPORT: Remote Work Brings Benefits, but Attitudes Are Divided – Indeed Blog.”
6 “APA: Executive Control of Cognitive Processes in Task Switching.”
7 “New StayWell Sleep Study Examines the Effect of Sleep on the Modern Workplace.”
8 “IWG Global Workspace Survey – Flexible Working – IWG plc.”
9 “High-Speed Access for All: Canada’s Connectivity Strategy”
10 “Remote Workforce Cybersecurity Survey | OpenVPN.”
11 “Are Remote Workers Actually Working? – Quickbooks.”
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