The Top 5 Reasons We're All Going Remote (And You Should Join Us)

I’ve written a statement before that may seem hyperbolic to some and strikingly obvious to others: Employees love remote work.

‍Whether you agree with this statement or not, we have all heard this concept touted by business pundits and coworkers alike. But what is it about remote work that employees allegedly love so much? In this article, we’ll dig a little deeper into the five most common reasons why remote workers value their new experience more than their former lives in the office - and make a strong argument for the concept’s merit in the process. 

So, what do employees love about working from home?‍

1. Collaboration and goal-setting becomes more systematic  ‍

Especially for larger teams, projects can be difficult to manage and can lead to long, drawn-out meetings that employees learn to dread. In-person meetings combined with digital tracking platforms often make this worse. Remote work is fundamentally superior in this respect - due to its inherently digital-forward, employee-first nature.

Despite being considered integral to remote work, widely adopted, poorly designed software tools like Zoom and Google Meet fall short of what’s possible in the remote work environment. They aren’t designed  to enable employees to bring themselves into and out of discussions, in real-time, as their professional judgment deems necessary. Instead, if someone schedules a meeting, invited attendees are systematically obliged to attend - even though it may not be a valuable meeting. Moreover, parts of the discussion may be irrelevant to certain attendees - resulting in reduced attention and concentration, and increased time spent reiterating talking points and spinning wheels. This is such a common problem that it has been colloquialized into the phrase “Zoom fatigue”. 

We recommend that you explore how Vocal resolves these issues by allowing you to optimize the way your team collaborates with fully customizable virtual offices and rooms Virtual meeting spaces allow either your entire organization, and specific groups within it, to work together in a variety of configurations to solve problems effectively in ways the physical workspace would complicate or prohibit - and other software tools make more challenging. 

‍2. More agency in problem-solving ‍

Beyond the inherent independence of the digital workspace, remote employees also see the virtual environment as one of increased personal agency when it comes to the work they perform. Regardless of the detail of the instructions they are given by superiors (or the level and frequency of oversight), remote workers feel that they enjoy more freedom and flexibility over how, when, and where they work than their traditional office counterparts.

According to a study conducted in 2020 by London Business School, the amount of desk-based work considered “tiresome” dropped three-fold - from 50% to 16% - during the COVID pandemic (among remote workers that had been displaced to remote work by the pandemic), and the amount that was deemed discretionary or unimportant dropped by more than half -  from 40% to 13%. 

‍3. Control over the work environment‍

The most commonly cited perk listed by remote workers is the freedom to make their workspace their own - and we’re not talking desk lamps and family photos here. Remote workers develop a host of rituals that are essential to their productivity. Access to preferred seating, lighting, decor, music, food, pets, and even the ability to move around freely while working on tasks is a valuable motivator to a significant number of employees.

Remote workspaces often become complex ecosystems of both practical tools and emotional motivators. This level of distinctness is near impossible in the shared, public, and limited environment of the office space - which doesn’t allow employees to fully optimize their workspace for their personality and work style. 

‍4. Workflows are focused and dynamic‍

Remote work does not mean more meetings. In fact, it probably should mean the opposite. By design, remote workers are more self-sufficient, have greater access to real-time objectives, and require less direct shepherding and fewer “touch bases”.

Another study conducted in 2020 - this one by Harvard Business Review - actually found that remote workers are spending 12% less time drawn into large meetings and 9% more time interacting with customers and external partners. A key hallmark of the remote work environment is focus and efficiency. Therefore, remote work saves everybody time and puts those precious work hours to far better use.

‍5. The luxury of time is recovered‍

One of the oldest financial adages is time is money. This maxim is eternally applicable, and also applies to productivity and job satisfaction. In the life of a remote worker, every hour that isn’t spent commuting or seeking public amenities becomes designated for other more important and valuable work and personal tasks. This is very important because it means that remote workers get more of the most finite resource of all: time. They can get more out of their work and work-adjacent time to lead a happier and more productive life.

‍Conclusion‍

These are just five examples of a vast constellation of reasons why remote work is preferred by so many (and has attracted the attention of more employers and employees every year). With that being said, are you prepared to capitalize on the inherent advantages of remote work?

In 2021, McKinsey & Company conducted a study that resulted in a fascinating discovery. McKinsey found that “organizations may have announced a general intent to embrace hybrid virtual work going forward, but too few of them, employees say, have shared detailed guidelines, policies, expectations, and approaches. And the lack of remote-relevant specifics is leaving employees anxious.”

Discover how you can combat that anxiety and provide an innovative workspace for your remote employees by getting started with Vocal for free, or requesting a demo today.   

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