Senior Communications Specialist for Insperity, specializing in employment branding and recruitment marketing.
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It's hard to believe that we’ve now entered the fifth year of the work-from-home revolution that came out of the Covid-19 pandemic. Remote work was hardly a new concept before, but between 2019 and 2021, the number of employees working from home tripled. As of 2023, 12.7% of employees work remotely, and that's expected to increase to 22% by 2025.
If you ask remote workers about the benefits of working from home, responses you'll likely hear include improved work-life balance, flexible scheduling, increased productivity, and time and money saved by not commuting. These are often what first come to mind because they're top priorities for most employees that directly impact their personal and professional lives.
However, several benefits of remote work may take longer to notice but are no less impactful. As time progresses, we’ll continue to see these positive effects as they extend far beyond the workforce. Let’s look at some of the less obvious but wide-reaching benefits that remote work can provide.
1. Smaller Carbon Footprint
As stated above, one of the primary benefits of working remotely is eliminating the commute to and from the office. Therefore, an ancillary benefit is the environmental implications. According to a recent study, switching to a remote work setup can reduce an employee’s carbon footprint by up to 54%, and working from home two to four days a week can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 29%. Additionally, working remotely can help cut back on office-related expenses like electricity, heating, air conditioning, and water and paper waste. This contributes to a more eco-friendly lifestyle.
2. More Women In The Workplace
The increased flexibility of remote work is positively impacting women. Considering they bear most caregiving and household responsibilities, they often seek jobs that provide the space to handle both their personal and professional lives. Research using pre-pandemic data has shown that from 2009 to 2019, industries that allowed remote work saw a one-to-one correlation in the increase of employment rates for working mothers. Consequently, the widespread acceptance of remote work since the pandemic has allowed many women to thrive in the workforce.
3. Increase In Parenthood
In 2021, U.S. births increased by 71,000 and remained elevated through February 2023. A recent study by EIG suggests that this is attributable to more employees working from home during this period. For 13 years preceding the pandemic, domestic birth rates had been on a decline. One reason is because many Americans report having fewer kids than they would like. But with the increased flexibility that remote work provides, more individuals are able to raise a family while still enjoying a successful career.
4. Reduced Operating Costs
Beyond benefits to employees themselves, employers have been positively impacted by remote work. Because remote and hybrid schedules obviously mean fewer employees in the office, this leads to lower overhead costs for employers. The need for less office space means paying less in rent and utility costs. It also reduces the need for office equipment. According to a recent Stanford study, companies with remote and hybrid work models can save up to $2,000 per employee.
These days, jobs that previously required people to work in an office are now being performed remotely. This has had an immediate impact on business, the workforce and life in general, and such a seismic shift will often have unforeseen benefits that continue to ripple out for years to come. After all, when a company’s employees transition to working from home, schedules and processes change. But when 27 million employees make the transition, the world changes—and quite often for the better.
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