How do telecommuters affect a workforce?

Telecommuters who work from home are healthier, happier, more loyal, and have a much better work-life balance. The regular, work-at-home, non-self-employed population has grown 103% in the last 10 years. While there is no real census bureau or government data, global workplace analytics research shows that 50% of the U.S. workforce is already compatible to work remotely.

Furthermore, 80% to 90% of the workforce would love to do it. Their preference would be to work this way part-time (meaning generally two to three days a week), which they feel would give them a great balance of concentrative work at home and collaborative work at the office.

Fortune 1,000 companies have already started revamping their offices globally to support the people that already work mobile. Within every company, studies have shown that employees are only at their desk 50% to 60% of the time. I know companies are worried about whether people actually work when they work from home, but we’ve found that 76% of telecommuters say they actually put in more work and work harder when companies support their position. They are also more loyal to that organization.

On average, work-from-home programs for businesses save $2,000 per person, per year. They’ve also reduced the turnover rate by 50%. We all know that when turnover is reduced, it saves a company exponential amounts of money.

“The companies that are growing the fastest are the ones embracing telecommuters.”

This move toward telecommuting can be either a blessing or a curse to the office furniture industry. I think companies that have perfected or are moving toward being able to sell 1,000 home workstations in the same amount of time that they’re selling 1,000 workstations for an office space are going to have tremendous opportunities in the future.

The bottom line is companies who are growing the most aggressively are the ones able to make the shift and have the ability to support telecommuters. Keep in mind, though, that you still have to hire the right person with the right mindset and the right capability to work remotely and still be effective. It’s still an adjustment for many people.

If you have any questions about the emergence of telecommuters in the workforce, please don’t hesitate to give us a call. We’d be happy to speak with you!