Work Remotely for a Flexible Schedule and Work-life Balance

When asking any business staff or owner what are ways to improve the work environment, or what they would like to implement to make their jobs more efficient and productive, telecommuting arrangements are often mentioned. To persuade a skeptical boss about the possibility of letting personnel work remotely might be hard because of the clash between staff preferences and business needs, but it is important that flexibility is offered to prevent employee burnout, poor morale, lack of motivation and high attrition. Lucky for reluctant bosses, telecommuting systems are easy to implement, thanks to business VoIP solutions.

People who work remotely, commonly called telecommuters or teleworkers, regularly work at a remote worksite (such as home or a detached office space) for a specified portion of the workweek; such arrangements are intended to create flexible conditions that might just help to improve morale, increase job satisfaction and strengthen employees’ commitment to the organization. It is also an effort to help employees improve work-life balance.

Besides the obvious benefit of sanity or less stress in an increasingly hectic business world, there are pragmatic, bottom-line impacts from achieving a work-life balance: reduce absenteeism (and sick leave use), and resignation of staff abandoning their positions, while gaining employees’ well-being and satisfaction.

It has been observed through research that when flexible working options and work-life balance initiatives are introduced in organizations, attendance rises and staff turnover is significantly lower. Having a remote team of workers can help workforce optimization and ensure staff availability at the right times to meet both the business’ and their customers’ demands. This while still allow employees the “freedom to pursue outside interests, whether leisurely pursuits or family commitments, and to schedule work around these activities.”

A flextime arrangement—the ability to work a flexible schedule—can be desirable to today's overworked employees. It can be a cheap way also for companies to "reward" workers; something that can lead to more job satisfaction. Besides, it might be a motivator for staying at a company, and it can even increase loyalty to the employer.

Managing a remote team can be challenging, explains a Business 2 Community (B2C) post on Monday that puts bosses to the test to see if they can do just that. Three out of five bosses are able to see remote working as a huge benefit for both employees and managers. Two indicated that they were not in favor of a remote team because many times employees are asked to come back to the office anyway.

Remote working can be managed. However, if a worker’s pattern changes, it may not always be productive if designed hastily or improperly; therefore, it is important to employ sound workforce management (WFM); WFM can offer a solution to help organizations strike the optimal balance between workload and staffing.

In today’s ever-changing society, flexibility is becoming essential and can bring rewards for all that implement it. In view of the fact that employees have responsibilities and lives outside of work, flextime arrangements (that can be initiated on a trial basis) can really improve the workforce productivity.

The general benefit of offering remote working is happier, more efficient workers. It is known that when people enjoy their work environment, they are not as stressed out about getting other things done, as they feel more in control of their day; thus, leaving them be most productive. The only question that remains is if telecommuting will be part the future of work. For now, research reports account that about two-thirds of employers offer occasional telecommuting, which improves employee retention and satisfaction, the B2C post (about ways to boost morale) affirms. 

Edited by Alisen Downey