Working From Home: Why Remote Working Is Now Possible More Than Ever

I’m sure we’ve all wondered how nice it would be to work from home. No trudging to work in cramped spaces on public transit or in blizzards or being stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic. In recent years however, this dream has quickly become a reality.

According to a survey done by Virgin Media Business, it is predicted that “60% of office-based employees will regularly work from home by 2022”. That is quite a large percentage! Stanford University also published their findings on remote working, stating that 13% of home-based employees are “more productive, take fewer sick days and enjoy a quieter environment” (The Guardian, 2014).

In a previous NAMTEK blog, we published an infographic, which shows that working remotely is better for your health. Here are a few key health benefits:

• 40% of workers get more sleep
• 32% get more exercise
• 33% spend more time with significant other
• 63% claim a more positive attitude

On top of it all, studies done on remote working have shown that productivity has been known to increase with more remote time!

However, there are some big reasons stopping employees from working from home. Below are some reasons published in The Guardian’s article “Why aren’t we all working from home today?“:

• Lack of trust

Many business executives do not trust their employees to work from home. They fear they will not work the way they should as they cannot keep an eye on them.

• Fear of missed promotion possibilities

Employees fear that they will be overlooked for a promotion if they work from home, since their supervisor cannot see them putting in the extra hours or see them working hard.

• Not ALL jobs can be done remotely

Of course, some jobs do not allow you to work from home, such as a doctor, schoolteacher, construction worker, etc.

• Businesses are slow to implement the appropriate IT solutions

Many businesses are slow to adopt modern IT solutions such as mobile business apps, updated ERP solutions in the cloud, eCommerce stores, Business Continuity solutions, etc. This is unfortunate, since with the right technology your business can expand and grow as it should and allow employees to access company systems from anywhere, at any time and on any device.

Once executives realize that productivity is about an employee’s output rather than their input and that the right IT solutions are necessary in a business, then remote working will surely take off.

Technology has allowed employees to work from anywhere – home, on the road, vacation, etc. The more businesses replace their outdated legacy systems for simple, integrated, mobile, cloud-based ERP solutions, the more remote working will be possible. The greatest advancements to have truly encouraged remote working are cloud computing and enterprise mobility:

Cloud Computing

ERP solutions in the cloud allow employees to access the ERP system via the Internet. Company data is hosted in data centers instead of on a hard drive housed on premises. This allows employees to remotely access data and work on projects and tasks from anywhere, at anytime and on any device.

Enterprise Mobility

ERP applications now exist and are becoming very popular. These business apps allow employees to access their company’s management system from any mobile device, such as a smartphone or tablet.

Having an ERP solution that is accessible to employees, no matter their location or the device they are using, can open many doors. Remote working has become a topic of serious discussion at many organizations rather than simply a distant thought.

What are you waiting for?