Pros and cons of working from home (including the impact on employee wellbeing)

From small businesses to large corporations, 2020 brought big changes to the way we work. For some it meant shutting doors or introducing strict safety protocols for employees until operations could return to normal, for others it was a natural but often difficult adaptation to remote work and daily Zoom meetings. We now face a (not so distant) future of bringing employees back to the office, keeping them at home or finding an option somewhere in between. While that decision ultimately lies with what works best for your business, here are some things for employers (and employees) to consider.

Working from home (the benefits)

Some benefits of a remote workforce are clear. Avoiding a long commute, facing less frequent interruptions and enjoying more flexible working hours seem to top the list of just about every employee (and employer) when considering what works about working from home. While the list is seemingly endless, if you’re a business owner on the fence about a future of remote work, consider these top benefits.

No commute
The impact of a life without a commute reaches past the individual and into the business quite quickly. Less time spent traveling means more engaged with work or home life. Even if employees are working from home just one or two days during the week, they travel less and that time goes right back to them (or to you) in a more fulfilling way.

Time is only the beginning of what you save without a commute. Consider the reduction of fuel, transportation expenses and vehicle maintenance. Less people on the roads also equates to less traffic incidents and road-related stress.

Increased productivity
As a business owner, you really only begin to scratch the surface of saving time and increasing productivity with that eliminated commuting time. There are many other ways in which a workforce finds new and improved ways to work when doing so remotely. 

When people work independently, in a quieter environment, people are often more productive and less distracted. However, a quiet environment does not equal no communication. Businesses have quickly adopted new or improved communication tools to stay in touch including more emails, video calls, chats in messaging platforms, task management softwares and more. All of this has been shown to create more accountability and clearer steps for moving projects and processes forward.

Also, with the added comfort of being at home, moving around freely and taking breaks as needed helps employees step away to stay motivated and reduce burn-out.

Added flexibility
For employees, added flexibility is the biggest benefit to working from home. From location, working hours, attire and more, an employee has the freedom to work where and when they want (within reason of course).

Since working from home offers flexibility, it can also reduce work absences. Whether an employee is sick or needs to schedule around a tricky appointment, working from home offers employees a more flexible choice about whether or not to use that all-to-valuable paid time off.

Improved diversity
If you’re a business that’s able to expand your hiring beyond the radius of your location, you could find the benefit of a candidate pool you never thought possible. Telecommuting can be an advantage when thinking about communicating with individuals in diverse areas, additional paths for business development and organizational growth.

Being able to work with a diverse range of people adds to the reach of your business as well as your professional network. Consider the opportunity to develop professional relationships (for yourself as an owner and for your employees) through networking that could lead to many avenues of advancement.

Working from home (the drawbacks)

It’s true there are a lot of positives small and large businesses should think about when considering a future of working from home. However, depending on an individual’s work style and your business’ culture priorities, these positives could quickly become negatives. Before rushing into this top of mind (and somewhat trendy) topic, review these cons of working from home.

Increased isolation
There’s a fine line being drawn between independence and isolation lately. The mental health impact of employees working from home was even greater throughout the pandemic when social situations were limited as well. It’s common for those individuals working from home to spend the majority of time alone.

With isolation and workplace disconnect comes less face time. Working remotely does not offer employees that collaborative peer-to-peer face time that can often lead to innovation or breakthroughs. It becomes something that leaders and employees must take a stronger hand in being proactive about versus the passive nature of interaction that we’re used to in office.

The key to avoiding loneliness and isolation, as an organization, is to schedule outings or virtual events. As an employer, you’ll need to make an effort to stay connected with employees as well as encourage time away to break up the monotony of staring at a screen alone at home for too long.

Risk of overworking
Speaking of sitting in front of a screen for too long, it is very common for those working from home to work longer than they should. At first, this could feel like a benefit to the business, but it comes with severe risks of burn-out and increased work-related stress.

This is true even with employees working in the office, so be sure to clearly define expectations and guide conversations around schedules and daily routines to set your employees up for success.

Employee disengagement
Although working from home can help increase productivity, it can also be a challenge. With that freedom to take breaks, it can be difficult to stay focused on day to day tasks, ultimately leading to slower productivity. It could be a good idea to add to time trackers or task management apps your technology stack as a way to support employees.

However, there is a balance. Employees still need to feel trusted and prioritized. They want to be part of your business in every way that matters. Whether there’s struggle or success, keep your employees involved in business decisions. Lack of performance reviews are one example of a confusing misstep that happened over the last year of remote work as managers and business owners didn’t know how to do this differently. Contact Approach if you have questions about the right way to handle HR needs.

This list of pros and cons can definitely begin to feel overwhelming, especially as the points often contradict each other. However, it’s up to you as a business owner to keep in mind what is right for your business. It can get easy to get caught up in unknowns and worries of risk or loss of control, but no matter what direction you go when addressing where your workforce does its work, stay focused on what’s important. 

Do you trust your employees? Are they getting work done? Are they happy doing their work? Are they driving your business forward? If you can answer yes, you’re in good shape.