The old way of thinking was that remote workers are lazy, unproductive slackers who don’t want to come to an office because they don’t want to work. Over the past few years, the narrative has shifted and companies are beginning to realize the truth: remote workers are more productive than co-located teams. This is a fact backed up by research which has shown that remote employees are happier, more focused, and just straight-up produce better results than their in-house counterparts.
Remote Employees Are More Engaged with Their Jobs
Remote workers don’t get burned out the same way as office employees who are stuck behind a desk for 8+ hours a day. They work when there is work that needs to be done, often totally on their own schedule, and from where they feel most comfortable and productive. This freedom allows remote workers to shape their work days in whatever way makes the most sense for them and allows them to get the most done, without being tied to a strict office schedule.
8 hours in an office does not translate to 8 hours of work; and I’m speaking from personal experience! In my time spent working 9–5 desk jobs, I would estimate that the average number of hours I spent doing actual work each day was no more than 5, yet I still had to be at the office for the other 3 that I would have happily spent doing something else more productive.
This lack of freedom is what leads to burnout and, ultimately, lower productivity. Now that I work 100% remotely, I can get more done in 5 hours than I ever did in a full day of work at my 9–5 jobs. Not only that, but I’m more motivated to be productive so that I can maintain this level of freedom, which is something that I think all remote workers can attest to!
Remote Workers Have a Better Work-Life Balance
The freedom to design your work day as it suits you not only means that you are more productive in your professional life, but in your personal life as well. Remote workers have the freedom to do things like go to the gym, run errands, take a long lunch, or go to the doctor’s office whenever it works best for them, rather than fitting those things in around an office schedule.
A strong work-life balance greatly reduces stress and anxiety, which leads remote employees to be happier and more productive. In-house employees, on the other hand, often feel like they are playing catch-up in their personal lives and never have enough time to do the things that are important to them outside of work. This lack of work-life balance can have very negative effects on both mental and physical health, which hurts productivity.
Remote Communication and Collaboration Are No Longer Issues
One of the old arguments against allowing employees to work remotely was that it makes it harder to communicate and collaborate. That may have been true once, but in this day and age it simply isn’t an issue. There is so much technology at our fingertips that make the ability to communicate remotely a non-issue.
From Slack for instant messaging, to Google Meets for video conferencing, teams spread across the globe can connect instantly in a matter of seconds. In fact, I would argue that communicating with remote team members is no different from communicating with colleagues who you work face-to-face with. In my personal experience, even teammates who sit directly next to or across from each other still use Slack, Google Chat, and even email as their first means of communication.
Remote Workers Don’t Face Any In-Office Distractions
Another argument against remote workers being more productive is that they are more prone to face distractions than if they worked in an office setting. This has been proven wrong by various studies that have determined employees who work in an office setting are the ones who face more distractions.
The rise of tech companies brought along with it many trends in office design and office perks that were meant to make the environment more fun and collaborative. However, many of these trends have simply turned out to be distractions.
Take the open office floor plans for example: the idea was that if employees could see one another they would talk to each other more, collaborate better, and generate more ideas. It’s a nice theory, but the reality is that open office floor plans make the room noisier and employees are more prone to be distracted by what is going on around them. But, what about the collaboration and flow of ideas? Well, as I previously mentioned, employees still prefer to use instant messaging or email over verbal communication.
Another tech office trend: table games and beer kegs. Two more things meant to bring employees closer together, improving moral and productivity. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve taken full advantage of all the free beer in my past jobs in tech offices, but do I think it contributed to my productivity? No. I’m more likely to drink a pint and browse Spotify for the next hour than sit down at my desk to work with a fire under my ass. Not to mention the yells of a teammate who just scored a goal in foosball have never helped anyone concentrate.
Remote Employees Are Naturally Independent
Remote work attracts a certain type of person who tends to be self-motivated and independent. Remote employees naturally have less oversight and management than employees in an office setting, so in order to be successful they must be self-motivated and independent. Because they aren’t punching a time clock, remote workers are largely motivated by results, which equates to higher productivity.
On the other hand, their in-office counterparts have to deal with office politics, micromanagement, busy-work, and stricter schedules, all of which detract from productivity. Since remote workers are typically evaluated on the quality of their work, rather than metrics like being at the office on time everyday, they can focus more on getting things done and producing meaningful work.