Home is Where the Office is

The average monthly cost to a small business for rent is estimated to be anywhere between $100 – $1,000 per employee depending on the office type and location. Let’s be conservative and say that an average employer could save $300 per month for every employee that they allow to work from home. That equates to annual company savings of $3,600 per employee, and that’s not taking into account the savings to the employee for commuting expenses. On top of that, employee’s tend to show more loyalty to their employer when they are given the opportunity to work from home.

 

Despite these seemingly clear benefits, only 10% of the US workforce is said to work from home full-time, according to a study conducted by a Stanford University Professor. The study points out that many employers hold the notion that those who are in the office will perform more efficiently than those who are being distracted at home by children or domestic chores. However, the data contradicts this view and instead finds the opposite, that those who work from home actually make more calls on average than their office counterparts. They also seem to have a higher level of overall job satisfaction compared to their peers.

 

Of course, some jobs cater more to the home office possibility than others, but companies such as gotomeeting.com are making it easier to connect from anywhere in the world. If you are in the restaurant or retail business, it unfortunately isn’t an option for the workers on the floor.

 

Are you still not sure if this would work for your business? Run your own experiment and allow one employee per day to work from home and if results look good, then try to slowly expand the program to include a more flexible schedule. Even if you want everyone to be physically in the office on most days, having a back up option for business continuity in case of a storm or other emergency is always a good idea.

 

Until next week!

 

Cheers,

Dan B.