Most probably assume that the remote workers, themselves, reap all of the benefits of working from home (and they certainly do benefit), but the company hiring these workers is rewarded, as well. Here’s how:
✔Productivity of Workers
According to Jason Fried, co-founder of 37signals,
If you ask people where they go when they really need to get work done, very few will respond “the office.” If they do say the office, they’ll include a qualifier such as “super-early in the morning before anyone gets in,” or “I stay late at night after everyone’s left,” or “I sneak in on the weekend.” (Fried 2013)
The reason for this, he argues, is that there are too many distractions in the “buzzing swarm at headquarters” and that when workers have the ability to quietly think in their own space, work can actually get done much faster.
✔Quality of Work
Fried also comments on the quality of work that results from working remotely.
When you can’t see someone all day long, the only thing you have to evaluate is the work. A lot of the petty evaluation stats just melt away. Criteria like “Was she here at 9?” or “Did she take too many breaks today?” or “Man, every time I walk by his desk he’s got Facebook up” aren’t even possible to tally.
Talk about a blessing in disguise.
What you’re left with is “what did this person actually do today?” (Fried 2013)
Forcing the evaluation to become about the work itself sets different expectations both in the minds of the employer and the employee, which has proven to boost the quality of work at 37signals.
✔Larger Talent Pool
Opting to hire remote workers gives employers a much larger talent pool to pull from. Instead of looking for candidates that live within 60 miles or less from the office, any city, state, or country is at your hiring manager’s disposal.
In Zendesk‘s article on How to Successfully Build and Manage a Virtual Team they further explain that,
It may sound a little Hollywood, but the No. 1 benefit to building a virtual team is The Talent. Managers of virtual teams consistently emphasize the importance of being able to hire the best candidate for the role, regardless of their physical location. (Zendesk)
✔Can Potentially Pay Less
A survey conducted by GetVoIP in September of 2013 shows that fifty percent of tech employees would trade some amount of their pay to be able to telecommute (Kawamoto 2013)
Zendesk also points out that it may be possible to cut back costs traditionally allotted to physical office space, but warns that while this may sound like an attractive incentive for employers,
…cost savings are generally not a good reason for considering a virtual team. It may be possible to adjust salaries according to the regional cost of living, but remember that all team members will be doing equitable work, and that the goal is to hire the best and brightest talent, not the cheapest. (Zendesk)
Going Remote 