5 Top Benefits of Working Remotely

5 Top Benefits of Working Remotely 5 Top Benefits of Working Remotely A 2017 NY Times story explained that nearly 43% of workers in the United States have spent time working remotely. Since 2012, the remote workforce in the United States has increased by 4% and you should find out why. The benefits of working remotely are explained below. 1. Saves you time and money The average American family spent more than $9500 dollars per year on commuting costs in 2017. Imagine what it would mean to your family budget to have back that money spent on commuting. The cost of commuting can come in the form of gas, public transit, tolls and other miscellaneous costs. Also, added benefits of working remotely include saving time and money on a work wardrobe. A commute from your bed to the home office lasts less than a minute. This gives you more time to run personal errands or take care of home tasks. And you are not spending money on business attire or countless trips to the dry cleaners! 2. Autonomy and avoiding office politics It was not long ago that working in a cubicle lifestyle felt like a career in politics. Office politics, gossip, and posturing often affected productivity or led to job frustration. The toxic people who seem to get ahead unfairly no longer matter when you are working from your own office. Imagine an office without people watching your every move or distracting you with their personal habits. Imagine having the autonomy to be the boss of your own office. You can also simply call these benefits of working remotely, “being your own office manager” and “leadership training”. 3. Your office is anywhere you want Working in an office used to mean dedicating a large chunk of your time and life to that office. A benefit of working remotely is knowing that your office can be anywhere you want or need it to be. Does this mean you can work in a hot tub? No. However, it does mean that all you need is a quiet place, good computer, and great Internet connection to work. After all, workers still have meetings and need to be able to concentrate on tasks. You can find an office anywhere in the world if such things are available. Also, as we get older, the needs of family and work become more urgent. Working remotely allows for people to travel to other locations, states, or countries. This benefit is especially important for those who have loved ones in need of daily attention. 4. You have a flexible schedule Does it matter where you are working, as long as you are meeting deadlines and providing quality work? In the past, a work schedule was often dictated by staff and office hours. If employees left the building, or it was closing, you had to leave. Your work schedule meant you had to be at the office at a certain time. Employees and supervisors around you needed to see you there. You could stay late if you needed it, but the majority of the time you left the office due to a schedule. There was a specific time slot in your day when you were committed to being somewhere, whether you were productive or not. Now, your flexibility of schedule places the focus on “productivity” instead of “just showing up”. Your “9 to 5” work schedule can now be closer to “hours of the day required to complete tasks and meet deadlines”. Truly, this is a benefit of working remotely that helps the employee and the company. 5. You have more time to learn This benefit of working remotely is unique. In the past, working at the office prevented an employee from learning new skills to help improve his/her career. Now, YouTube and e-learning courses make it very easy for remote workers to learn new skills. For example, a person writing a blog post can listen to several webinars on SEO optimization. Remote workers can also take online college courses by having more than one browser tab open. New skills can be learned during the time previously spent commuting. The greatest added benefit of working remotely When you take a look at the details, there are countless benefits of working remotely. Employees have more time to become better at the very job they are passionate about. This is great for both the company and employee.