More people are telecommuting than ever before. There are great benefits to remote working for employees and employers.

Here are 5 reasons that the remote working trend will continue in the future.

1. The Gig Economy

With more people supplementing their income with freelance work, there are more opportunities to work from home. Some people are even considering starting full-time home businesses.

Many of the jobs offered online have flexible hours and work, making it easy for people to earn additional money in their spare time. There are companies that seek anything from writers and tutors to programmers and designers. The jobs are sometimes long term, but many are one-time gigs.

2. Reduces Sick Days

Employees will get sick whether they’re in the office or not. But they are less likely to take a day off because they’re sick if they’re working from home.

There’s no need to worry about coworkers catching your cold if you stay home and telecommute. And if the illness isn’t severe, it’s easy enough to remain productive at home.

CIPD found that absenteeism was reduced by half when companies offered flexible work arrangements.

3. Offers Employers More Options

Remote working means that employers don’t have to hire local employees to come into the office. They can hire people from around the world.

If the best-qualified candidate for a position in Dallas happens to live in rural Minnesota, the company can still make arrangements to hire him/her. Having the option of hiring employees from anywhere makes the hiring process easier as well.

4. Offers Employees Greater Work/Life Balance

Employees want a better work/life balance. There’s nothing worse than coming home from work and being too exhausted to cook dinner or do any household chores. When people work from home, it’s easier to get those household chores accomplished.

It’s also beneficial for employees with young children. Those parents don’t have to take a day off from work when their kids don’t have school or are sick.

It even allows employees greater freedom to take some time off to visit a doctor or head to Dentisterie VMR.

5. Improved Productivity

Studies have shown that working from home can improve productivity. Of course, this is not true for everyone.

A majority of managers have reported an increase in productivity from remote workers. This is attributed to the lack of distractions for remote workers.

However, some remote employees may not be as productive without a supervisor around. In such cases, companies can monitor productivity of employees or even use apps to track work habits. And those same employees can benefit from some advice on improving their productivity at home.

Remote Working Will Drive the Economy

The more companies adapt to the mobile economy, the more common remote working will become. And as more employees desire the freedom to work from wherever they choose, more companies will see the benefits.

By eliminating the commute, working from home saves employees money. And by improving productivity, it increases company profits. There is little reason for companies to not shift toward telecommuting for their business model.

For more helpful tips, check out our other posts about working from home.