Are Offices a Thing of the Past?

Remote work has been rising at a dramatic pace over the last decade. The American Census Bureau reported in 2010 the number of Americans that worked from home at least one day a week grew from 7% in 1997 to 9.5% in 2010. A more recent study found that 36% of Americans now work from home at least one day a week.

Remote work has become more popular over the last decade for multiple reasons: convenience, flexibility, and lower costs for both workers and businesses. With the steep rise of telework, one can’t help but wonder “Is an office lifestyle a thing of the past?” Read these reasons why more Americans and corporations are switching to telework.

Increased Productivity

Several large corporations have found that teleworkers show a significant increase in productivity when switching from an office setting.

A recent survey completed by FlexJobs showed that 95% of employees are more productive when working from home. Some of the top responses from the study included:

✅ Improved ability to focus
✅ Fewer interruptions
✅ Quieter work environment
✅ More comfortable workspace
✅ Not being involved in office politics

Best Buy, American Express, JD Edwards, and Dow Chemicals have seen an increase in productivity anywhere from 25-43% in teleworkers compared to their office counterpart.

Reduced Unscheduled Absence

When employees are expected to come into the office, health and wellness become important factors. When an office employee is sick, they need utilize a sick day, whether paid or unpaid, to keep from spreading germs and viruses that could infect others. Unscheduled absences cost employers $1,800/employee/year. Not only this, but necessary errands and appointments often cause disruption during the day for most office employees due to the lack of the flexibility that teleworkers have.

Many companies have seen a decrease in unscheduled absences with their teleworkers. The American Management Association found a 63% reduction in unscheduled absences among their teleworkers. Most teleworkers typically continue to work while sick and are able to return to work more quickly following surgery or other medical issues.

Increased Mental Health

Mental Health America found that employees without access to flexible work are nearly two times more likely to have poor or very poor mental health. Among other findings:

✅ 82% found telework helps them take better care of their mental health
✅ 83% found flexible work schedules decreasing their level of stress
✅ 63% found telework increasing the time they spend exercising
✅ 92% think having a flexible job makes them (or could make them) a happier person in general.

New Technology Makes It Easier than Ever

Working from home has never been easier. Technology has made mobility a priority with new devices and applications coming out yearly with this mindset present. It is estimated that 56% of the non-self-employed workforce could work from home at least part time.

Laptops, mobile phones, email, cloud-based solutions, and video conferencing allow employees to be mobile and on the go whenever they need. Our team here at Travis Voice & Data found a significant increase in businesses looking for hosted phone solutions that allow their employees to work from home when needed for a myriad of reasons from bad weather to illness or even from the lockdown.

Saves Employees and Businesses Money

Both businesses and employees come out on top in terms of the cost savings that telework can bring.

Employee Savings

Employees are able to save money in several areas when working from home. Telework means increased savings in transportation, business attire, food, and (most importantly) time. As gas prices and the cost of vehicle maintenance continues to rise, this can put stress on many employees as they continue to spend money just to get to work.

Teleworkers do not have to worry about beating the morning traffic or finding a living situation down the street from their job. They are also not having to order take out or meal prep their lunches and can now simply just whip up a sandwich in their kitchen.

Business Savings

Businesses are also seeing dramatic savings by utilizing teleworking employees. Nearly 60% of employers have seen a cost saving from their telework programs. They have seen savings in both real estate and non-real estate costs. The average real estate savings with full-time telework is $10,000/employee/year. Remote work helps companies save on brick and mortar costs, utilities, office benefits such as coffee and copiers, as well as PTO.

Businesses also saw an improvement in areas besides monetary. Alpine Access Remote Agents close 30% more sales than traditional agents the year before. Customer complaints decreased by 90%. And turnover decreased by 88%.

What Does This Mean?

It is clear that the workforce is moving towards the work from home lifestyle. Telework has become easier than ever with a dramatic shift in this direction, and the climb is only getting steeper. Even though there was over a 28% jump from 1997 to 2010 in telework, there was an even more substantial jump from 2010 to 2021 with over a 287% increase.

While offices do have some benefits such as face to face interactions that some employees crave, it’s inevitable that most of the workforce will be working from home at least one day a week in the next few years.