Let Your Employees Work From Home

According to Upwork's "Future of Workforce Pulse Report," 36.2 million Americans will be working remotely by 2025, a roughly 90% increase from before the COVID-19 outbreak. Remote work is not only advantageous for reducing disease spread, but it has also been found to make employees happier and more productive at work. Working totally (or even partially) from home is now possible in a wide range of businesses because of technological advances.

While more research on the long-term consequences of remote work is needed, Upwork's survey demonstrates that benefits of working from home include fewer unnecessary meetings, increased schedule flexibility, commute elimination, less distractions, and better autonomy. Employees will be more productive and happier if they do not have to sit in traffic, worry about child care, or lose production due to scheduling challenges or protracted meetings. Although remote work is unlikely to be a long-term answer for many firms, particularly as more Americans return to work each month, giving flexible work-from-home choices may be an incentive to keep your best employees with your company in the long run.