Want Remote Working? Tell Your Boss Companies with Flexible Remote Work Policies Make More Money
While it has been clear for some time that Covid-19 is, thankfully, no longer deemed a public health emergency (the WHO chief said as much last May), the pandemic still has some distance left to run before it is declared officially over.
In work terms, that means the great debate over the long-term viability of remote work is yet to be settled. The problem is that the rush to remote in 2020 has given way to opposing ways of thinking between advocates for WFH, and those who would see a return to the 9-5 of old (or something close to it).
Millions, if not hundreds of millions of workers around the world have settled into a new working paradigm and a new lifestyle where they believe, with good reason, that remote or hybrid work enables them to be equally productive as if they were in-office, while providing them with a healthy work-life balance and the other benefits that come with it.
In the other camp, there are the leaders who feel that their business will be better served by a workforce fully tuned into its responsibilities, while culture, productivity and innovation inevitably suffer in a remote environment. In fact, a recent NLRB study found that individuals working from home are up to 18% less productive than those on-site.
The argument for remote work
If you are campaigning for your employer to either embrace or retain a flexible remote policy in the face of the great return to offices, you may need only this one main point at the center of your logic: companies with such policies make more money.
A recent report by hybrid work management platform Scoop explores remote work policies and outcomes among 554 companies over the past three years. The report, compiled in partnership with the Boston Consulting Group, found that the average company that gives employees the choice of their working location, outperformed those with more restrictive policies by 16%.
It should come as no surprise that companies most likely to provide flexibility in this area can be found in tech, finance and media.
The report is one of the first to reliably compare revenue figures with remote policy; prior research tends to focus on individual experiences as a marker of the viability of remote policy. The research reveals that the adjusted revenue growth rate of companies with a “fully flexible” policy is even stronger, at 21%.
On the other end of the scale, companies which provide for hybrid work, but with a more restrictive policy, e.g. a mandate to be present in the office for two or more days per week, enjoyed a growth rate of just 5%.
If your boss is on the fence, the results of the report should provide interesting food for thought: 97% of tech companies and 87% of professional services companies offer flexible work policies, and overall the share of companies providing the option is growing. Do they really want to be the outlier?
Of course, it can really depend on the industry when it comes to arguing your remote work case. There are some sectoral holdouts such as food service and hospitality, which are the lowest performers for obvious reasons. Even corporate workers in these industries are most likely to be required on-site at all times, at 70%.
If your manager isn’t impressed with your remote working business case, you may consider looking for a new job at a company that has seen the light. Check the now at the nextpit Job Board now for thousands of open roles, like the three below.
The NBA is seeking a Software Engineer to join the organization and contribute to the development of large-scale cloud architecture. In this role, you will work alongside machine learning engineers, building basketball ML algorithms to integrate into live workflows and further develop the Association’s expertise in the science of basketball, driving the business further into the 21st century.
ASML, a global leader in the design and manufacture of microchips and semiconductors, is growing its team in Wilton, Connecticut, and is seeking a Team Lead in its data analytics and manufacturing vertical. In this role, you will join some of the most creative minds in science and technology to work at the cutting edge of lithography. You will help to unlock critical data and information, drive analyses and insights, and set up reporting and dashboards.
In North Charleston, SAIC is seeking a Software Architect to contribute to a new contract with the US Navy. Specializing in digital transformation in armed forces and defense, the company provides support and innovation in R&D, field-testing, evaluation, engineering, training and more. In this exciting and varied role, you will play a part in all of these areas, helping to provide the highest-quality systems and software for deployment.
Start your job search today via the nextpit Job Board. This article was written by Doug Whelan.
