Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared on FlexJobs.com.
Working from home has evolved from a niche perk to an integral part of the modern work landscape.
With benefits for employees and employers alike, as well as economic and environmental benefits, the conveniences and rewards of remote and work-from-home jobs are considerable and wide-reaching.
Whether you’re on the hunt for a remote job or are already working remotely, check out this list of the advantages of working from home, along with some of the top companies that hire for remote jobs.
1. Better Work-Life Balance
Many remote jobs also come with flexible schedules, which means that workers can start and end their day as they choose, as long as their work is complete and leads to strong outcomes.
This control over your work schedule can be invaluable when it comes to attending to the needs of your personal life.
Whether it’s dropping kids off at school, running some errands, attending an online fitness class in the morning, or being home for a contractor, these tasks (and more!) are all easier to balance when you work from home.
Flexible schedules aren’t the only options, however. To find your ideal fit, you can also explore:
- Evening jobs
- Four-day workweek jobs
- Morning jobs
- Part-time jobs
- Weekend jobs
2. Less Commute Stress
The average one-way commuting time in the U.S. is 26.8 minutes — that’s nearly an hour each day spent getting to and from work, and it really adds up. Some “extreme” commuters face much longer commute times of 90 minutes or more each way.
But wasting time commuting is just one of the downsides of getting to and from work.
More than 30 minutes of daily one-way commuting is associated with increased levels of stress and anxiety, and research shows that commuting 10 miles to work each day is associated with health issues like:
- Higher cholesterol
- Elevated blood sugar
- Increased risk of depression
Ditching the commute helps you support your mental and physical health. The time savings can allow you to focus on priorities outside of work, like getting extra sleep in the morning, spending more time with family, getting in a workout or eating a healthy breakfast.
3. Location Independence
One of the considerable benefits of working remotely is having access to a broader range of job opportunities that aren’t limited by geographic location.
This can be especially helpful for job seekers living in rural communities and small towns where there may not be many available local positions.
Having no set job location means that fully remote workers could also travel and live as digital nomads while having a meaningful career.
People who have to move frequently, such as military spouses, can also benefit from having a remote job that can be done from anywhere, without having to start over at the bottom of a new company with each move.
In addition, remote work is a great way to avoid high-rent and high-mortgage areas, especially for positions (like tech) that used to require living in a city with a high cost of living.
With remote work, you no longer have to live near a major metropolitan area to have a career you love. In fact, some remote jobs are work-from-anywhere jobs that allow you to work remotely from any global location.
4. Improved Inclusivity
Remote work enables companies to embrace diversity and inclusion by hiring people from different socioeconomic, geographic, and cultural backgrounds and with different perspectives — which can be challenging to accomplish when recruiting is restricted to a specific locale that not everyone wants, or can afford, to live near.
And by hiring employees who can work from home in the communities where they feel the most comfortable and supported, companies choose to support diversity, community, and family.
Remote jobs also give people who may have a hard time finding steady employment at an on-site job (like individuals with disabilities or caregivers who need flexibility) the opportunity to follow their career goals without having to worry about commuting back and forth to an office.
Moreover, it gives workers the flexibility to get to doctor’s and other health care appointments when needed.
5. Money Savings
People who work from home half time can save around $6,000 per year. Gas, car maintenance, transportation, parking fees, a professional wardrobe, lunches bought out, and more can all be reduced or eliminated from your spending entirely.
These savings add up and put more money back into your pocket.
And the savings aren’t just for employees, either. As more and more companies allow employees to continue working remotely, they’ll also see significant long-term cost savings.
According to Global Workplace Analytics, a typical company can save around $11,000 per year for every employee who works from home at least half of the time.
In fact, FlexJobs has saved more than $5 million from remote work on things like:
- Continuity of operations
- Overhead costs
- Real estate costs
- Transit subsidies
6. Positive Environmental Impact
Working entirely from home has the potential to reduce an individual’s carbon footprint by more than half, according to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
While hybrid workers who work from home two to four days per week can reduce their greenhouse gas emissions anywhere from 11% to 29%, fully remote workers can reduce their carbon footprint by up to 54% when compared to in-office workers.
Furthermore, by making environmentally sound choices — like opting to use less paper and monitoring their air-conditioning, heating, and lighting — remote workers have the same potential impact on air quality as planting an entire forest of 91 million trees.
7. Impact on Sustainability
Remote work supports a variety of sustainability initiatives, from economic growth and reduced inequalities, to sustainable cities, climate change, and responsible consumption.
One of the fastest, cheapest ways for employers and employees to reduce their carbon footprint and to affect climate change is by reducing commuter travel.
In fact, the world is already seeing markedly reduced pollution, congestion, and traffic during the pandemic response, and being able to experience the results firsthand may be a driver of remote work for everyone involved.
8. A Customizable Office
Being able to create a comfortable home office is an excellent benefit of remote work.
Whether you simply want a more ergonomic chair, or you have health issues that lead to needing specialized office equipment, you can set up your home office and make it whatever you want.
9. Increased Productivity and Performance
Working remotely usually leads to fewer interruptions, less office politics, a quieter noise level, and less (or more efficient) meetings.
Add in the lack of a commute, and remote workers typically have more time and fewer distractions, which leads to increased productivity — a huge benefit of working from home for both employees and employers alike.
When done right, remote work allows employees and companies to focus on what really matters — performance.
Unfortunately, the office environment can create “false positives” that can lead to bias and favoritism. After all, coming in early and leaving late may “look” like more work, but actual performance is a much better indicator of productivity.
A recent FlexJobs survey found that not only do 54% of working professionals prefer online meetings over in-person meetings, but 77% feel more productive when working remotely versus in a traditional office.
10. A Happier, Healthier Work Life
Remote workers tend to be happier and more loyal employees, in part because working from home has been shown to lower stress, provide more time for hobbies and interests, and improve personal relationships, among other things.
In addition to personal health and well-being, coworker and manager relationships can be more positive without the distractions and politics that come along with an in-office job.
A reported 72% of employers say remote work has a high impact on employee retention. In other words, employees are sticking with their employer when they have remote work options.
Working from home can also lead to better health in a variety of ways:
- Ability to eat healthier
- Can recover from illness or surgery at home
- Ease of caring for a health issue or disability
- Less exposure to illnesses
- More time for physical activity
- Option to create a comfortable and ergonomic workspace
Working remotely can give employees the time and environment needed to make healthy choices.
Best Companies for Remote Work
Many leading companies offer remote work. These are some of the top companies that post the most remote jobs here at FlexJobs:
- AECOM
- Cardinal Health
- Creative Financial Staffing (CFS)
- CVS Health
- Everlight Solar
- GovCIO
- Insight Global
- JLL (Jones Lang LaSalle)
- Kelly
- LHH (Lee Hecht Harrison)
- Lumen Technologies
- Motion Recruitment
- NTT Group (Nippon Telephone and Telegraph Corp.)
- Prime Therapeutics
- Robert Half International
- Samsara
- Thermo Fisher Scientific
- UnitedHealth Group
- Veeva
- Zscaler
Our company guide can also be a great way to find the best companies for remote work, broken down by industry or location.
Common Questions About Working Remotely
Job seekers new to remote work often have questions about the pros and cons of working from home and its impact on their overall well-being.
Here are answers to some of the most common questions about working from home.
1. Is working from home healthier?
Thanks to the flexible nature of remote jobs, working from home empowers people to make healthier choices that can provide a wide variety of physical and mental health benefits.
For example, working from home means you can prepare healthier lunches and snacks, as opposed to relying on whatever food options are near your office, which will also save you money!
Furthermore, with the time you’ll save commuting, you can more easily fit an exercise routine into your day, or even use that extra time to get a full eight hours of sleep each night.
2. Are employees happier working from home?
Many successful FlexJobs members report feeling happier when working from home.
Their reasons vary, but some ways working from home has contributed to greater overall happiness include less commuting stress, more flexibility and independence, and feeling more comfortable and at ease in their own at-home workspace.
3. Is working from home good for your mental health?
The mental health effects of working from home vary from person to person, but according to a recent FlexJobs report, the majority of professionals agree that remote work is best for their mental health.
Most workers (56%) said fully remote work is best for their mental health, while 43% agree that hybrid work — a combination of on-site and remote work — is best for them.
Notably, only 1% said working full-time in an office was best for their mental health, reinforcing the notion that working from home is good for your mental health.
4. What are the pros and cons of working from home?
While there are many advantages to working from home, such as saving money, boosting productivity, and improving work-life balance, there are also some challenges of remote work to overcome.
As such, it’s important to get ahead of potential issues by taking proactive steps. For instance, working and living in the same space can result in an inability to unplug from work when it’s time to “clock out.”
To protect your time, establish clear boundaries between work and home. Communicate to colleagues and members of your household when you’re available and, more importantly, when you’re not.
For some, remote work can also create feelings of isolation and loneliness. To combat these feelings, you’ll need to make more of an effort to incorporate socialization into your workweek.
You might consider working from a different location on occasion (such as a coffee shop), participating in virtual company events, or catching up with a friend during your lunch hour.
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