The gap between the right jobs and skilled workforce is growing day by day. This is also considerably impacting employee productivity and the overall growth of the organizations. The Centre of Economics and Business Research (Cebr) conducted a study in association with Citrix Systems and found out that organizations that are leveraging technology to enable remote work do better than their counterparts in multiple areas.
In addition to enhancing productivity and employee engagement, allowing remote work has the potential to boost the US economy by $2.36 trillion annually.
Tim Minahan, EVP of Strategy and Chief Marketing Officer at Citrix reminded us that the battle for talent is fierce and as a result, growth, and innovation across global organizations are getting hampered. “This research supports the idea that, when harnessed correctly, technology that enables remote work models can empower companies to draw talent from new and untapped pools and leverage their skills to unlock innovation, engage customers and move their business forward,” Minahan quoted.
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How Does Remote Work Help The Cause?
The Home Force in Action
Offering remote work options and providing the required tools to enable them can help organizations connect with the untapped pools of professionals. These may include economically inactive and unemployed individuals.
For instance, allowing remote work can help companies tap into a workforce comprising of stay-at-home parents, retired Baby Boomers, and individuals who had decided to part from their professions in order to take care of ailing relatives or family members.
69% of such individuals indicated that they would be willing to start working again if provided flexible work opportunities. Over $2 trillion coming through the unemployed and economically inactive section alone can bump the nation’s GDP by more than 10%.
Furthermore, 65% of contractual and part-time employees reported their willingness to work extra hours if they were given the option to work remotely.
Cutting Down on the Commute
If employees are provided with the option to work remotely, 95% would use the opportunity and would work from home for 2.4 days every week on average. Between 60 to 70% of the respondents told they would work from other locations, including local coffee shops and co-working spaces. They said that they would be more productive and devote some extra hours. As per the report, if this scenario is actuated, the combined savings in terms of cost and time would amount to $107 billion yearly.
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Work-life Balance
“Life happens. And people need to manage it – even during work hours. In giving employees the flexibility and tools to work when, where and how they want, companies can help them to better integrate their work and lives and ultimately, improve their engagement and productivity,” said Donna Kimmel, EVP and Chief People Officer at Citrix.
As per the study, flexible workplace culture will save 11.9 billion hours annually, or 105 hours per person! This can be utilized by them in personal and leisure activities, as and when required. In the current-day scenario, it is important for employers to understand the economic benefits that technology-enabled remote working can provide. The future of work is dynamic and decentralized, and the companies that want to reap the benefits need to get into action immediately.
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