I bet you didn’t write “global pandemic” in your SWOT analyses back in business school assignments. I know I didn’t.
With the current circumstances forcing companies to have people work from their homes, many organizations are still skeptical about the impact this is having on their operation and are anxious for the results of the upcoming quarters, but for those companies which had already mastered the bits and bolts of an efficient remote work model, being able to continue doing so brought nothing but relief once things started shutting down. And then we have those who have quickly figured out that they could have been doing this a long time ago, and are already tapping into the benefits.
Let’s get something out of the way first, not everyone can work remotely. Unless you are one of the Jetsons reading this in 2062, until we develop the technology to receive packages over a computer screen, get a physical checkup while sitting on the couch, or build a house entirely with robots, people will have to mobilize to get to work, this is not what we are discussing here.
But in the face of disruption, we quickly realized a lot more people than we thought, can work from their homes (or anywhere for that matter), which begs the question:
Why do we spend so much money on maintaining an office?
That is not a rhetorical question, it’s a legitimate business dilemma, and we aim to bring some clarity.
For starters, there is one main reason companies still use offices: tradition. It’s hard to pinpoint the exact moment in history the first office was created, but we know it goes back to at least the 18th century when organizations like The East India Company and the Royal Navy grew so large and complex that we needed a dedicated place to get bureaucratic work done.
Over time the office space evolved, and ever since, there have been multiple reasons we’ve kept going, up until recent decades we didn’t have the infrastructure, amenities, or technology needed to do our jobs from our homes. As that progressively changes, more and more companies have slowly realized the dedicated physical space has gradually lost its relevance, and remote work has skyrocketed—before the pandemic hit, 4.7 million people in the US were already working from their homes, and as of the end of 2020, 80% of the organizations worldwide have now encouraged employees to work from home.
We can’t pretend working from an office doesn’t still have certain benefits, for some people, managing time is much easier when working from a dedicated space, especially those who have kids at home; for others, physical connectivity with their peers and colleagues makes work more enjoyable and engaging; from the leadership perspective, the argument can be made that operational roles are more productive when under direct supervision, but that’s a whole other topic.
Do these benefits outweigh the cost?
A private office in the US costs an organization an average of $300–500 per employee, per month, which is paid regardless of how many days these employees actually come to the office. That’s $3600 per year for every person, this doesn’t include utilities and amenities, which vary a lot depending on the nature and size of the business, not to mention the time investment in managing all of these utilities plus maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO). Ask your office manager and you’ll realize we have barely scratched the surface. It adds up.
Whether the cost is worth it or not is entirely up to the particularities and variables of your operation, which no one understands better than you, our goal is to encourage you take this information and reflect, so that you can mix up what works best for your particular venture before rushing to reopen. Let me briefly lay out the benefits remote work brings, how to leverage them to their highest potential, and then a few alternatives to the traditional office model that can do wonders for your budget and your people.
Remote work increases morale
No other benefit surpasses this one: employees feeling trusted. Surveys conducted in the US show that between 60–80% of workers prefer to work remotely as much as possible, and would rather continue doing so even after the pandemic fades away. Letting your employees work from their home sends a clear message that you trust them to manage their time efficiently.
Working remotely brings unmatched flexibility when it comes to balancing work with personal life, commuting times are reduced to zero, giving people some of their day back and cutting on transportation expenses.
According to some studies, remote employees work 1.4 more days per month on average than their office-based peers, resulting in more than three additional weeks of work per year and increased overall productivity.
The list goes on. But some of these “benefits” may backfire on you if you neglect how your employees are working from their homes.
We have two recommendations for implementing a successful remote work model:
- Reallocate dedicated budget: We know a person at home is one less space taken at the office and in turn, lower utility rates, but dumping all of that into the pocket isn’t totally fair, your employees still need an adequate space to work from, some of the most common approaches include providing coverage for employees to incur on ergonomics or equipment related expenses, or paying the costs related to their internet and electricity consumption.
- Invest in better enablement: The flexibility of remote work could cause certain employees to have trouble managing time efficiently, for others balancing work with household obligations could be a source of stress or distraction, and for others the lack of social exposure to their teammates could hinder their engagement or even their happiness, a good way to ensure this model works for your team is by actively investing in coaching and education on topics such as time management, guidance on mental health and work–life balance, and opportunities to do regular virtual team activities.
100% remote work is not doable for a lot of organizations, perhaps there are crucial aspects of your business that need to be carried out in an office, or you are just not ready to make the move just yet, if this is the case, there are alternatives available to you.
You can start by making the option available to your employees, allow them to choose, or give them the option to work two or three days from home and the rest from the office, this mixed format brings together some of the greatest perks of both worlds. Avoid excluding groups or individuals from this possibility as much as possible, it is proven that this can foster negativity and jealously among the teams.
If you are a startup considering opening an office, try renting a coworking space first, you stand to save between 30 – 50% on location costs.
Most importantly, keep an eye out on results and deliverables, correlation doesn’t mean causality, a drop in productivity immediately following a new remote work policy could lead to executive boards jumping to question the effectiveness of the model, when there may not have been enough time for a seamless transition to occur, on the other end of the spectrum, an increase in productivity as a result of people working from home doesn’t guarantee it will be sustained if the right support isn’t provided to employees timely.
At Oceans Consulting, teams work 100% remotely, the maturity and professionalism of colleagues have made this a successful and rewarding experience for everyone involved. The future of work demands becoming adaptable to this change, be prepared not just to survive it, but to embrace it and make the most out of it.
