Chances are that, if you’re in a business that’s conducive to flexibility, you’ve had employees express a desire for work options that include more than coming to the office every day. Employers often worry that not having their staff in the office will decrease productivity, but studies have shown that more job flexibility can actually increase productivity.
The studies attribute increased productivity to several things. For one, employees will be less distracted by their coworkers. Fewer face-to-face interactions with coworkers also keep employees healthier, as germs aren't being freely passed around. Less stress and more sleep due to a lack of commuting also mean healthier employees.
Many people don’t thrive in a traditional 8:00-5:00 atmosphere. If possible, allowing employees to complete their work during their most productive times gives them the freedom of working when they feel best – which means you’ll receive higher quality output.
Other benefits include the possibility of improving your bottom line – when employees work away from the office, you’ll spend less money maintaining office space. You’ll also see decreased energy, janitorial, office supply/furniture, and other associated costs.
It also opens up the pool of possible employees. If you are willing to allow employees to work remotely 100% of the time, you no longer have to limit your job candidates to those who are willing to commute or relocate.
Of course, allowing your employees to work remotely means that you’ll need the right software to support such an environment. That often means an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system and/or cloud access. These tools may seem expensive at first glance, but in reality, they’re tools that you should have no matter where your employees are working.
For more information on how you can get an ERP system and offer your employees a more flexible, mobile workplace, please contact Oates & Company.
