The Case for Telework

 

 

Teleworking is a hot topic these days.  During the pandemic it was absolutely essential for both businesses and people's incomes.  But now there seems to always be a debate about it.  Today, I'm pleading the case FOR telework and focusing on the benefits and why it's a great option when a company and an employee can utilize it.
I love telework. It's changed my life and given me back happiness I never knew I was missing.  I had no idea how ragged I ran myself just for my job until we were all forced to telework.  

Suddenly, work became a thing I do and not so much a place I go.  No more stressful commute, spending money on clothing, eating poorly because I was impulse buying vending machine snacks, and my work output skyrocketed because there were less distractions. 

Telework can save money for both employers and employees.  For employees you aren't spending money on clothing and gas to get to work.  Employers save money because most telework employees aren't using office supplies like they used to. We save things digitally now instead of hard copy filing in cabinets with expensive filing systems and folders. Employers can lease out buildings or condense multiple offices into one small central location that can be set up as a collaboration space when needed.  Employees are eating food from their home and choosing healthier options rather than eating out for lunch everyday.  Of course the businesses that used to get lunch rush customers have lost those customers and I recognize that but for me personally, my food budget and eating habits are priority.  

Telework saves space and creates less waste in a lot of cases.  We think twice before we write things down on paper and instead choose to set a reminder as a task on our Outlook calendar.  Employers aren't spending as much money on electric bills because we are no longer trapped in dark offices with no natural light. Instead, I don't even turn on the light in my home office because I'm next to a window so I have plenty of bright natural light even on cloudy days.   

Telework is safer for employees especially in cities.  There's less stress walking several blocks to work and dealing with the race to cross a street when distracted drivers speed by.  Traffic accidents are less of a risk...since you're on the road less and I mean, come on...I hate the idea that you can lose your life in an accident at someone else's poor choices when all you were doing was trying to get to your job.  No more parking your car in a shady city parking lot and coming out to find the windows broken and items have been stolen.  

Obviously telework saves a lot of money for employees with parking.  Parking is an insane expense where I live because the city that a lot of people work in has raised prices so much that it's even more than major cities around us.  Cutting out the cost of parking is basically like getting a pay raise.  

Time is a very valuable resource and one of the greatest benefits for employees because you get SO MUCH time back.  You can throw a load of laundry in between meetings instead of waiting till you get home from work and having to handle it as you try to relax and unwind.  Instead of commuting, when your work day ends, you can sign off and go sit outside in the sun to relax and decompress. 

Mental health has improved for many teleworkers because they are able to concentrate better and feel less overwhelmed trying to get everything done during work hours.  No more distractions of people coming up to your desk for small talk and then when they walk away you have 15 emails and can't get your focus back on the task you were just working intensively on before they interrupted you.  

Obviously for some people these things aren't the case and that's okay but for a lot of us who used to be confined to outdated stuffy dark offices with no privacy, insane parking costs, and a treacherous drive on bad weather days, telework has changed our lives and it's hard to imagine ever going back to how we were before. 

What are your thoughts on telework?

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