Since this epidemic has continued for a long time, people are used to working remotely.
However, a new study by software company OSlash shows that remote work actually costs more than you might think. The report surveyed 800 remote workers and 200 business leaders.
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What you need to know…
- 35% of remote workers spend an average of 104 minutes per week watching TV when they should be working;
- More than 70% of respondents said they have more than one job and spend up to 16 hours a week at another job.
- Hybrid working help to find the balance between freedom and profits
Office time for non-work-related activities
The OSlash study shows that remote workers often engage in non-work-related activities during the working period, especially the new generation workers. These activities include streaming music, watching TV, cleaning, and exercising.
35% of remote workers spend an average of 104 minutes per week watching TV when they should be working;
About 38% of respondents spend an average of 76 minutes per week exercising during work hours. In fact, more than 70% of respondents said they have more than one job and spend up to 16 hours a week at another job.
As a result, employees only work for a short working period, thus it has a bad impact on productivity.
Paying extra high costs for remote work
When employees do non-work-related activities during their office time, it must affect their productivity and will bring additional high costs to their employers. The reason is that workers need to work overtime due to low productivity, and companies have to pay overtime for these employees.
According to the study, spending an average of 104 minutes a week watching TV when you should be working costs companies up to $2,251 per employee. And spending an average of 76 minutes per week exercising during work hours also costs their employers $1,651 per employee.
Additionally, the study noted that these activities might cost employers up to thousands of dollars.
Remote workers want more autonomy
A large part of the reasons why employees don’t want to return to the office is because of the freedom they already have. Working remotely gives them more control over their day-to-day work.
- 28% said they would miss out on exercise if they went back to the office;
- 28% said they would miss streaming music;
- 26% said they would miss spending time with their families.
If they were forced to return to work in an office, the ADP survey found that 64% of employees would consider leaving their current company for another.
Employees who work from home value their better work-life balance and will not give it up easily.
Returning to the office would entail foregoing flexible hours and spending less time with their families. It might also mean spending more time commuting, sharing public restrooms, and working in quiet (or worse: having to listen to bad music).
Returning to the office may also result in less sleep, as remote workers can take an afternoon nap to increase their productivity.
These are some of the reasons why most remote workers are hesitant to give up their independence; 78% stated they would rather take a wage loss to stay from home than return to the office. Respondents from Generation Z were the most willing to do so.
By OSlash study, flexible scheduling is one of the strongest incentives to sway them back to the office.
Measures to encourage employees to return to the office
Some organizations understand how expensive it is to recruit new talents, so 42% of business leaders are willing to increase salaries for non-remote workers, and 38 % even said they would offer travel allowances to attract employees to return to work in the office.
The OSlash study notes that while remote work offers a relaxed work atmosphere, bosses need to take the risk of paying high costs and it is difficult to monitor. The result is there is still a certain necessity to return to the office.
If you want your employees to return to the office, you must take some incentive measures to entice them back, and these measures must meet the needs of workers.
According to the OSlash study,
- 62% of leaders say they offer employees the flexible work hours they need;
- 56% of leaders say they offer employees a hybrid work schedule that works for them; and
- 35% would give employees extra vacation time.
These leaders believe that hybrid work can improve productivity and provide employees with sufficient flexibility at work. In fact, many reports indicate that hybrid work is the best choice for the future of work.
Finding the balance between freedom and profits
Remote employees may be able to retain some of the independence they like as more organizations experiment with hybrid work patterns and four-day workweeks.
With more employees back at work (even if not for the full nine-to-five), employers should see increased productivity, restoring a positive return on investment in their staff. Employees that have a better work-life balance are more productive, focused, and innovative at work. This leads to an increase in employer profits.
Moreover, if your office uses hybrid working, you can have a smaller workspace as office resources would be shared, so your rent will be reduced.
Using office management systems, such as hot desking and meeting room systems, can help to improve resource usage efficiency. Most business leaders are willing to implement office management systems in their hybrid offices.
Advantages of implementing office management systems
Users use the meeting room system to quickly check available rooms and make real-time reservations, and ensure their room is not double booked.
When a user is absent from a meeting, the sensor of the room notifies the system that the room is empty, and the system will auto-cancel the reservation and releases the vacant space. This prevents the resources from being wasted.
ONES is one of the famous all-in-one smart office systems that can help you to easily implement hybrid working at ease. You can easily perform virtual meetings, desk hoteling, and digital office management with our Room Booking, Desk Booking, and Visitor Management features.
Contact us: hello@ones.software, or visit ONES Software official website for more information: https://ones.software/.