Work from home options continue to grow in popularity

As technology develops, an increasing number of organizations are discovering the advantages of allowing their teams to work from home. Management's worries about communication, productivity and coordination have been dismissed by the arrival of tools such as videoconferencing and data sharing.

As a result, the number of employees in a work-from-home arrangement has increased 80 percent from 2005 to 2012, despite the recession restricting overall hiring, according to the latest Census information. The trend has spread overseas as well, with the UK reporting a record number of employees working remotely. 

An article by Fast Company exploring the trend found that not only are remote workers more satisfied and engaged in their work, they are also more productive. A study performed by Stanford economics professor Nicholas Bloom on the travel company Ctrip found that when employees were allowed to work from home, they gained a 13.5 percent jump in productivity— almost an extra days worth of productivity. 

Bloom's study also found that the employees working remotely also quit at half the rate of people in the office, and reported "much higher" job satisfaction, according to the source. Ctrip also estimated that they saved approximately $1900 per employee on furniture and supplies over nine months. 

Many employers have become interested in reducing overhead and increasing productivity through allowing a remote workforce, but simply aren't sure of what steps to take. At On Point Executive Center, we hold more than 30 years in the combined experience in the virtual office industry, and can help your organization become more productive and efficient through our virtual office and virtual personal assistant services. 

On Point also offers Tampa meeting rooms in a productive waterfront setting so that staff can still meet regularly, easing the transition to a fully-remote workforce.