Many companies (especially in the IT industry) allowed their employees to ‘work from home’ even before the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19). But, it has now forced businesses of almost every industry into a ‘new normal’ globally since then. Many of those are first-timers who don’t find remote working or working from home easy.
Industries such as travel, hospitality, aviation etc where remote working is obviously not easy, will continue to struggle.
Along with benefits, working from home has its own challenges such as:
- How to effectively communicate with team members
- Prevent being distracted while working from home
- Not having appropriate home office setup to stay productive
- Managing working hours
- Staying focused and self motivated
Here are some interesting global remote working statistics that tell us that remote work is here to stay.
Key Remote Working Statistics (2022)
- 55% of brands around the world offer some opportunities for remote work
- 16% of companies globally are fully remote
- People who work remotely earn on average $4000 more every year
- 37% of remote workers believe the best way to increase productivity is to have regular breaks
- 99% of people would choose to work remotely for the rest of their life, even if it was just part-time
- 97.6% of respondents want to work remotely for at least some of the time
- 97% of respondents recommend remote working as a preferred option
In this blog post – which is part #1 of your Work From Home (WFH) Series, we focus on Productivity – one of the key benefits of “home working”. Here, we’ll see how working from home office helps in increasing productivity.
Work From Home (WFH) UK Statistics (2022)
As per CIPD Report,
- 63% of employers planned to introduce or expand the use of hybrid working to some degree
- 71% of employers said having staff at home either boosted productivity or made little difference
As per WISERD Report,
- 40.9% of homeworkers reported that they were able to get as much work done in June 2020 as they were six months earlier
- 65.5% of employees who reported that they were able to produce much more per hour while working at home in lockdown wanted to work mainly at home in the future
As per Finder.com,
- 60% of the UK’s adult population are currently working from home during the Coronavirus lockdown
- 26% of Brits plan to continue to work from home permanently or occasionally after lockdown
- Before the lockdown more than 1.54 million people work from home for their main job, up from 884,000 10 years ago
- 65% of workers said they would be more productive in a home office than a normal office
- 75% of workers say they will be more productive due to reduced distractions
- 83% of employees feel they do not need an office to be productive
- Two-thirds of employers report increased productivity for remote workers compared to in-office workers
Above statistics clearly indicates that homeworking is being widely accepted and helps in attaining a perfect work-life balance, which in turn boosts employee productivity.
Are Remote Workers More Productive?
Do you know that the employees that work from home are more productive as compared to those that work in offices? Yes, this is true. Above statistics indicate the same.
Despite known challenges, your team can stay productive while working from home, if they know how to deal with it.
Of course, you need a well-defined work from home policy with some advanced tools to be productive.
Remote working offers great comfort, flexibility and convenience. At the same time, it reduces corporate expenses, facilitates hiring of global talent and enhances employer-employee relationships.
Additionally, it allows remote workers to go an extra mile, take breaks as required to freshen up, bring in more creative ideas and deliver better while working without any pressure.
Yes, it’s true having a healthy and happier team helps to maximise business returns.
Work From Home : Which Industries, Which Jobs
The top 7 industries that offers high paying, flexible or remote working job opportunities:
- Computer and IT (Developers, Security Engineers, Data Analysts, Solution Architects)
- Medical and Health (Research Scientists, Patient Advocates, Pharmaceutical Representatives)
- Sales (Marketing Managers, Lead Generation Specialists, Account Executives)
- Education and Training (Trainers, Teachers, Curriculum Developers, Program Directors)
- Customer Service (Customer Care Associates, Contact Agents, Client Service Representatives)
- HR and Recruiting (Personnel Managers, Staffing Consultants, Head Hunters, Interviewers)
- Accounting and Finance (Finance Manager, Auditors, Business Analysts)
Source: https://www.chanty.com/blog/industries-for-work-from-home-jobs/
10 Work From Home (WFH) Productivity Tips
If you are working remotely for the first-time then this section is especially for you. Read our top 10 tips on how you can stay focused, motivated and productive while working from home:
- Setup your home workspace: Find a suitable corner at your home that has decent natural lighting. Most importantly it should be a calm area so that you can focus better on your work. Get a comfortable chair placed next to your desk with some necessary stationary materials, water bottle, lamp etc. Other remote work setup essentials you may need is a good background if you want to get on a quick video call with a colleague or a client, wear smart casuals to make you feel confident, indoor plants near your desk to filter the air and good quality speakers / headphones.
- Turn-off all unwanted notifications: To stay focused and be productive, it’s required that you turn-off your email, social media & call notifications for specific time slots to avoid distractions.
- Prepare your daily routine: Know the timings of your family members, neighbourhood and others – when they are likely to come and when they will leave. Make your work schedule accordingly so that you get less interruptions while working. Get properly dressed if you normally do. Share your schedule with everyone so that they respect the fact that you are working from home.
- Add break times in your schedules: It’s equally important to include break times (for lunch, coffee breaks, snacks, power nap, walk) in your schedule. This will help you get recharged and work more efficiently.
- Make best use of technology and productivity apps: Clear communication is an integral part of any effective remote working strategy. Ensure that you have a fast and reliable internet connection so that you can use cloud based remote working apps effectively. For team communications, you can use Skype, Zoom, Google Hangouts, Slack, Microsoft Teams etc. Use Trello, Asana, Basecamp, Dropbox, MS OneDrive etc for project collaboration along with other business productivity that your company uses internally to enhance productivity.
- Manage your working hours: Remote working gives you flexibility but at the same time ensure that you don’t work excessive overtime which can impact your next day schedule, unless it’s critical.
- Get a backup plan: Having an additional internet connection as a backup can be a good idea to keep your work going. Similarly, a spare laptop, taking regular backups or knowing someone who can fix your IT issues remotely can be very handy.
- Stay fit and healthy: Yes, this is something that we least bother while working remotely. Eat healthy, do regular exercise and meditation and take enough sleep to keep your body relaxed.
- Get time for yourself: Listen to music, watch movies, play games, learn something new etc to stay relaxed and manage stress.
- Stay connected: Don’t start feeling isolated or disconnected. Talk over the phone, do video calls, play online games, brainstorm on new ideas, connect on social media with your friends and colleagues.
