The abundance of conference call services like Web conferencing have given the workforce new found freedom and benefits. Working moms can be present for their children; remote workers aren’t sitting in traffic jams for the morning commute or spending money on gas as well as other transportation expenses. But let’s take a look at why office life as we know it may soon be coming to end, management beware.
Remote workers are proven to be less stressed. According to Group Head of Digital Development at Nationwide Building Society Darly Wilkinson, "There's less stress in the office and the workplace – people feel empowered to work in a way that suits them and suits the business."
Today’s technology provides the remote worker with a bevy of connectivity options. BYOD and conference call services offer a full portfolio of options for a worker to connect the way they wish, and this helps to bread choice. Remote working provides the employee with the ability to work when and how they please. In turn they will be more engaged. Wilkinson noted, "When you're tweeting with people in your team close to midnight, it brings home that people are experiencing something beyond 'doing work' – they're engaged in a different way."
According to Jonathan Swan, policy and research officer for Working Families, "It's about working with the grain of people's lives.” By offering the freedom of working from a place of their choosing, the worker is simply happier. Maybe at 9:30 am I am feeling distracted, so I go throw a load of laundry in and take the dog out before I head back to work. It adds a distressing element to the day while still remaining ‘productive.’
In addition, by implementing telecommuting polices the applicant pool is vastly expanded, as location for commuting becomes less of an issue with the use of conference call services and the high levels of collaboration and communication they provide.
Lastly, did you know that commuting is actually bad for you? Aside from saving the planet by reducing one’s carbon footprint, according to the UK Office of National Statistics, "Commuters have lower life satisfaction, a lower sense that their daily activities are worthwhile, lower levels of happiness and higher anxiety on average than non- commuters."
If your company offers the option, try telecommuting for a day. Take it for a test drive and see how it feels. You may never look at office life the same again.
Edited by Alisen Downey