Working from home is something that many jobs can now offer, but not every business has caught on to the benefits yet and many still tend to be reluctant to let people work remotely. There are obvious benefits to working from home for employees, reducing their cost in both time Working from home is something that many jobs can now offer, but not every business has caught on to the benefits yet and many still tend to be reluctant to let people work remotely. There are obvious benefits to working from home for employees, reducing their cost in both time and money for getting to work, and allowing them to be more flexible when it comes to things like childcare, but what a lot of employers don’t consider is the benefits that they can also gain by allowing, or even encouraging, home working for people in roles that can comfortably be carried out outside of the business location.

Here are just three reasons employers (including recruitment agencies) should offer home working wherever they can:

Reduce Overheads
If your business is growing, your office space may be feeling the strain. Do you worry about where you are actually going to put new starters or find it hard to get a meeting room on-site when you need one because you don’t have enough for the size of your team? Having remote working means fewer people in the office every day, which means you don’t actually need a desk per employee (if you use a hot desk system), and there is less demand for meeting spaces. Fewer people in the office also reduces overhead spending on the things you might not have thought about, but which add up over the year – like printer toner and other supplies.

Staff Retention and Attraction
If you want to attract the best talent and hold on to the people you have developed, then offering the flexibility of home working is one of the best things you can do. No matter how dedicated someone is to their job, getting in to the office every day can be a horrible grind if they have to commute, and having the option to manage their work life balance more independently is a benefit that is hugely attractive to most people – even young, single professionals you might think don’t really ‘need’ the option to be at home for personal reasons. It costs you nothing but can be even more effective than extra pay for attracting and keeping staff.

More Flexibility for You and Your Clients
Allowing staff to work from home and to choose more flexible working patterns means you get more flexibility in return. If you need to make calls at odd times because of demanding clients or people in different time zones, staff who have the chance to work to their own schedule or don’t have to be at the office for their work time to be recognised are going to be far more available to put in work to meet those needs. You, as a business, become more flexible and are able to easily accommodate what your customers want from you in terms of availability.

Businesses that offer home working get a lot out of the arrangement, but perhaps the best thing of all is having staff who feel they are trusted and fairly treated – something that will boost morale and give you a great company culture.