By: Connor Gillivan

It seems pretty obvious why people prefer to work at places they feel most comfortable – aka NOT in an office. The strong desire to achieve that work-life balance urges people to choose the telecommuting life. If you try to compare working from home with working onsite, you will see why remote work makes people happier than ever.

Over the last few years, going remote has become increasingly popular for freelancers and business owners across the globe. More and more people choose the life of a digital nomad while more leaders are looking for skilled workers that they can hire adaptably. As of last year, 3.7 million workers do their tasks from home at least half of the time. That is 2.8% of the US workforce telecommuting. Large companies offering more flexible options for workers has also become a trend.

Why Choose to Work Remotely

New work opportunities that can be done remotely are growing rapidly in 2018. Hence, professionals are starting to embrace the benefits of remote work. The ability to work from home – or anywhere, really – makes people more efficient at work and makes their everyday lives a whole lot better. Here are some of the reasons why working remotely is more productive than working in a traditional office. 

Flexibility

Having control over a flexible schedule is one of the main factors that make people prefer to work remotely.

Working in an office means sitting at least 8 hours at your desk trying to finish piled-up tasks that never seem to get done. Not to mention strictly adhering to break schedules. Working remotely allows people to decide which hours are the most productive for them. It clears their minds of that parent-teacher conference they need to attend in the morning, or maybe finally getting the time to fix the old washing machine, or get into that yoga class needed for a healthier lifestyle.

Telecommuting offers flexibility to balance work with personal needs, family obligations, and other responsibilities in a convenient and effective way.

Save Time Commuting

Working in a traditional office means that coming in late is a salary deduction. You are already frazzled from trying to make it on time, and now you have the same amount of work to do, an angry manager, and less time. Who hasn’t experienced being stuck in traffic on the way to the office? By 2020, cities all over the world will be highly congested, making daily commuting increasingly difficult for everyone. Not to mention the hike in fuel costs. Whether you drive or commute by public transportation, traffic is not something you can control. Neither is a 3-year-old’s temper tantrum or feeling unwell.

Working from home is definitely a cost-effective way of doing business. Instead of traveling 2 hours to work, why not use the additional time at home to get things settled, set it aside for emergencies, or even get more work done? Plus, for people who used to drive to work, a remote setup saves them stress and also gas and maintenance from the wear and tear of the everyday commute.

Location Independence

Many freelancers have embraced the digital nomad life. Being able to work from anywhere is a huge perk that most career freelancers will not give up. We know that Millennials make up a large portion of the workforce today, and for these creative and skilled people, a workplace should not be limited to a windowless cubicle with a large screen monitor you have to stare at all day.

Financial freedom is one thing – that’s why we work – but genuine freedom is quite another. For many remote workers, combining work and travel is what drives them to do well. However, responsibility comes with that kind of flexibility. This is where professionalism and skills are developed from experience.

Having the liberty to work from anywhere you feel comfortable beats the 9 to 5 clock-in & clock-out any time. Just being able to reschedule work to make way for other needs without getting stressed about it is one of the ultimate reasons remote work makes people happier.

Casual and Comfortable

Wardrobe has a significant impact on expenses for workers. Professional attire can cost from $100 up to $1,200 depending on title or position one holds, and the dress code policy of the company. Most often, a worker with their own office at home is fine in sweats or even pyjamas. Someone who goes to a nice café with good Wifi is still better off, able to wear a pair of jeans and flip-flops. What a load off the budget!

Working in a traditional office will require workers to buy top-end shirts, tailored skirts, heels, and suits. It’s a separate wardrobe for work that sometimes occupies more than half of one’s closet space. Working happily from a remote place, however, allows for casual clothes in a comfortable setting, and just a few formal pieces for important meetings. The ease of this burden further frees the mind of stress and allows the worker to focus more on doing awesome work.

Stay Remote, Stay Happy

A happy worker is a productive worker. There are plenty of remote work success stories, which means that telecommuting really works! Everyone just has a different strategy for how to make it happen. But in a nutshell, remote work makes people happier, and that’s why more and more people choose to do it.

Opportunities from Both Sides

Remote work has moved from being just a simple perk to a business strategy. Working with remote workers presents start-up businesses with a lot of opportunities.  As many benefits that a worker gains from the flexibility of working independently, there are at least the same number of rewards for a business taking the same road.

You can even make hiring a remote worker an easier choice with so many available online resources and platforms like FreeeUp that pre-vet and network with only the best of the best in the market.

Connor Gillivan is the CMO and Owner of EcomBalance and Outsource School. He has 10+ years of experience as an entrepreneur, is an active investor, and writes on his own personal blog, ConnorGillivan.com. He lives in Denver, CO.