How Employers Save on Telecommuting Employees

On the surface, telecommuting might appear to only benefit employees.

After all, people who work from home have a non-existent commute, save oodles of cash (upwards of $7000 or more annually!) by not having to shell out for transportation, office attire, and have a decidedly better work life balance.

But telecommuting also offers big savings for employers, too. Here’s how companies can save—in time, money and more—when their staff telecommutes.

Office space and supplies.

Having staffers do their 9-5 in the office all the time equals needing adequate space.

Office space doesn’t come cheap, nor does office equipment such as top-of-the-line computers, printers, and scanners. Heating (and cooling) an office space can also quadruple a company’s electric bill.

When staffers work virtually, all of these expenses are, well, virtually eliminated.

And when you calculate all those added costs, companies can save, on average, about $10,000 annually per telecommuting employee.

Now, that makes sense…in dollars and cents.

Increased employee productivity.

When a working parent has her child’s Open House smack dab in the middle of the workweek, she’s most likely to use a sick day so she can attend it.

Every time an employee calls in sick (when they’re not really ill) can cost a company millions annually in lost revenue.

Studies show that employees have a 15%-45% increase in productivity when they work from home.

Employees who work from home can plow through their workload and still make it to their child’s school by adjusting their schedule as needed.

So smart employers are realizing that it’s better to offer flexible schedules to their employees—and allow them to customize their work day as they need to—in order to get their work done and still have the work life balance they need.

Higher employee retention rates.  

Let’s say an employee is caring for an elderly parent who has frequent doctors’ visits.

Scrambling to constantly cover his workload while at the same time attending to his family’s needs is a recipe for disaster—and for an employee to start searching for a job that offers better work life balance.

Flexible schedules aid in making employees more balanced and invested in the company’s successes.

Invested staffers will ultimately reduce the company’s overall employee turnover rate, which can be costly, in both money and time spent.

A better talent pool.

Offering a flexible schedule is considered a great work perk for many employees.

So when candidates are clicking through ads looking for a potential job, an option to telecommute is bound to garner greater responses.

And by making the position a telecommuting one, companies are encouraging candidates from anywhere in the world to apply.

In turn, this gives employers better candidates to choose from, based on their expertise and dedication, not their immediate location.

A greener way to work.

Sure, employees who work from home save their companies in money and time. But they also help save something else—Mother Earth.

It’s estimated that the majority of people drive to work, which greatly increases a worker’s carbon footprint. Eliminating a daily drive to work equals less fuel consumption and, as such, less air pollution.

When people work from home, every job, regardless of industry, becomes a green job.

From using natural window light in their offices to using energy-efficient office equipment—even eating leftovers, as opposed to going out for lunch—telecommuters greatly help the environment by practicing eco-friendly work strategies.

Employers save in time, money and a better, happier staff when they offer a work from home option to their employees.

This perk costs virtually nothing for employers, but overall saves both employers and employees in ways both big and small.

Jennifer Parris is a Career Writer for FlexJobs.com, which specializes in flexible work options including telecommuting, part-time, and freelance.