Working from home is a lifestyle choice for an increasing number of people and there are clear benefits for both employers and workers, such as having more time to spend with your family and increased productivity.

There are also a number of unexpected and indirect advantages of remote working.

Some of the unexpected benefits of working from home include lower stress levels, more workplace diversity, greater workplace freedom, and a healthier environment.

Unexpected Benefits of Working From Home

With improving digital technology and increasingly reliable wifi, choosing to be a remote worker will continue to be a popular choice.

This article lists the top 10 unexpected benefits of working from home.

1. Working full-time at home feels like being your own boss with a better work-life balance

For many people, working from home comes with the flexibility to work at a schedule that suits them. Like being your own boss, you can have the opportunity to make your own call and the flexibility to work at a pace that suits your working style.

Working from home is exceptionally beneficial for parents who have children, both school-age and younger. With a flexible work schedule, you can choose to homeschool your kids and need not choose to sacrifice so much family time because of work.

A flexible work schedule comes with a few unexpected benefits.

Complete your work when it suits you

Not everyone is a morning person, and some of us prefer to burn the midnight oil. As long as your deadlines are met when you do the work is left up to you.

Complete discrete tasks

As long as you perform well and complete your work to the deadline, there is no reason why you can’t take a break during the day to pick up the children from school and then get back to work afterward.

Do what works for you

With the flexibility to set yourself up however you want, you can establish a routine that allows you to produce your best.

It doesn’t matter whether it’s a brisk 15-minute walk every couple of hours, or a surround-sound Abba medley repeated throughout the day, you have the freedom to make your workspace your own.

Take time to de-stress

We all need it: the time to unwind after a hectic week or cool down after negative feedback. When we work from home, we can gather our thoughts in private and prepare our timely responses with professionalism.

2. Fewer commute related stresses and frustrations

According to the US Census Bureau, the average American spent 27.6 minutes commuting to work one way. That’s almost an hour each day!

Working from home undoubtedly reduces the costs of commuting thanks to lower fuel bills, cheaper service costs, and less money spent on public transport.

It also reduces the amount of time wasted in traffic jams or packed shoulder-to-shoulder on a crowded train.

For many, commuting is a significant stressor, and not having to perform this task every day has profound benefits on mental health and the ability to perform the job to the best of our ability.

3. Lower office costs for the bosses

Working from home also has unexpected benefits for workplace bosses. If you manage a completely-remote workforce, you can do away with the office altogether!

The amount of rent you pay will depend on where you operate your business, but if you have a high turnover and pay a substantial amount of rent each month, the money you can save in saved rental costs may be enough to hire one or more new employees.

Even if you need to get the team together every now and then, there’s no reason why you can’t hire a temporary, flexible, or co-working office space for a couple of hours, a day, or even a week.

4. More workplace diversity and better work opportunities for the minorities

When workplaces don’t require their employees to spend their workday in the office, they have the flexibility to hire people from different cultural, socio-economic, and even geographical backgrounds.

Not only does this allow workers the security of working within their homes and in communities where they feel the most comfortable, but it gives people who have traditionally found it hard to gain steady employment the ability to join the workforce.

This includes minority workers such as people with disabilities or different abilities and caregivers who need a flexible and convenient schedule. With up to 40% of adults in the United States living with a disability, remote working can benefit millions of people.

5. Staying safer from the unexpected

When you spend less time on the road commuting to work, you’re less likely to get into an accident.

According to the Association for Safe International Road Travel, over 38,000 people are killed on American roads each year and up to 4.4 million are injured, sometimes with life-long consequences.

Road crashes are the leading cause of death for Americans aged between 1 and 54 years of age. With fewer drivers on the roads, fewer accidents will occur.

6. Less exposure to germs floating around you

When people think of germs, they likely think of the flu and other illnesses. It does not matter how well ventilated your office is, you’re more likely to get sick if you work close to your colleagues or have to spend time on public transport.

It’s not just the germs that spread when we talk, cough, sneeze, or shake hands that are a problem. Germs can be found in public places, and these tiny creatures can spread on high-touch areas such as door handles, workbenches, desks, coffee machines, and keyboards.

By avoiding close contact with others, we can reduce our exposure to germs and protect ourselves from potential health problems.

According to a study by the American Society of Microbiology, a single contamination location can spread to up to 60% of workers within 2-4 hours. So you’re less likely to get ill and call in sick if you work from home.

7. Less office gossip

We all love our daily water cooler chats but most of us recognize that workplace gossip can have toxic consequences.

Although there are plenty of ways to interact with your colleagues online, both privately and as a group, there’s less opportunity to foster negative workplace communication when everyone is working from home.

8. Workplace freedom

When you work remotely, you have the freedom to work wherever you want, as long as you can get the job done on time and under budget. If you are one of these ‘digital nomads’, you are happy to know that this work arrangement will give you the freedom to travel and live – and work – on the fly.

Workplace freedom is strongly linked to economic freedom because you no longer need to live in an expensive city to get a competitive job.

If you want, you can even spend your days relaxing in rural areas and small towns.

9. Working from home is good for the environment

Working from home has many unexpected advantages that actually benefit our environment. In fact, working from home is one of the best ways we can protect our mother nature from further pollution due to our human footprint.

Fewer emissions of greenhouse gases

With fewer of us driving our cars to work and back home, there are fewer pollutants in the air including carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter (dust and soot).

According to cleanenergy.org, for every mile driven, a car emits an average of 404 grams of carbon dioxide. That adds up to a massive average of 4.6 metric tons per year!

With an average commuter traveling over 9,776 miles per year (2/5 around the circumference of the Earth).

Reducing the amount of commute to work would have an enormous impact on the health of our lungs and the planet.

Fewer fossil fuels

When we work from home, we use less gas. In 2020, Americans used an average of 123 billion gallons of motor gasoline. That’s about 337 million gallons per day.

If we include aviation fuel in that amount, that’s a further 166 million gallons!

When fewer people commute in their cars and by plane for work, that’s less pollution for us and the environment.

Less paper

Remote work has shown us that our reliance on paper is an outdated mode of working. In the past, we might have reached for the print-outs to distribute in a meeting, while now we provide online presentations.

When we use less paper we:

  • Reduce the market for tree-felling and save the energy it uses
  • Reduce the amount of waste paper that goes to landfill
  • Reduce the amount of storage space needed for paper files
  • Reduce the money spent on printers and ink cartridges.

Lower global power consumption

Even though we use our household’s electricity, gas, and water when we work from home, our offices guzzle far more resources.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, global electricity consumption in June 2020 was 10% below the average from 2019, thanks, in a large part, to lower office power consumption.

Less plastic is being used

When we work from home, we consume less plastic. We don’t buy our daily coffee, nor use a paper cup to drink water from the bubbler.

10. Increased productivity and performance

When you work from home, you are 13% more productive as you aren’t distracted by your colleagues’ conversations, background office noise, or multiple meetings. You’re also less likely to start work stressed from your daily commute, which means that you are able to complete your work with fewer distractions and a healthier mindset.

If you get the balance right in terms of scheduling, communication, and your home office setup, there is nothing preventing remote workers from performing at their best.

Why are there unexpected benefits of working from home?

Companies have long denied their workers the choice of working from home because they feared that it would have a negative effect on company morale, productivity, and communication.

In fact, the opposite had proven to be the case, with Harvard Business Review indicating that remote workers have proved to be more productive than their office-bound counterparts.

With more people choosing to work from home, more surprising benefits are coming to the fore including a more family-friendly relationship to work (work-life balance), more social and economic diversity in the workplace, and less malicious office gossip.

As we continue to work from home, more long-term and unusual benefits are likely to emerge, including the ones listed in this article.

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Antony C.

Founder & Career Development Expert

Antony C. is the founder & career development expert of HQHIRE.com who writes about real-world career advice on remote work, job search, interview, career success, and hiring the right people for the team. With over years of management and hiring experience. He is a published author and has been featured in Irish Times, WikiHow and Chron as well as a certified PMP® holder.

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