Remote work is growing with increasing speed. Businesses of all sizes are adjusting to the reality of working from home and are discovering that it’s beneficial to their business as well as their employees. Certain studies have demonstrated that businesses with a solid policy on remote work attain higher levels in key performance indicators.
The term “remote work” refers to any arrangement where an employee or team doesn’t report to a central office on a daily basis. This means they may work at home, coworking spaces, cafes or even in a van down along the river.
Some teams of employees are permanently remote, which is often a result of a culture of trust and communication that exists among the team members. Sometimes, a team might comprise a mix of permanent and flexible remote employees. Some of these workers will visit the office on specific days, while others work from home.
Many jobs have a high remote work potential, including owners of cottage industries, food services professionals, coders, e-commerce workers in-house career advisors and federal employees. It is important to prepare in the event of an emergency or shutdowns, for example COVID-19. This could include investing in cybersecurity or having an offsite backup for all data. It could also mean making sure that employees have the tools needed to work at home, which might include things like a virtual Private Network (VPN) and software that is HIPAA-compliant for managing customer relationships.