Working at the Office Has Its Benefits, Too

It’s incredible how working from home has become the new normal. Just a short time ago most business owners wouldn’t have batted an eye at shutting down the dreams of remote work, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, they were forced to adjust the way they looked at the situation. Employees in several industries have been working from home ever since. Now that most places have begun to re-open, we thought we would remind you that there are actually some benefits to coming to the office. 

Back to Normal

With much of the U.S. facing a phased reopening schedule, offices will be back in business. Many businesses will be recalling their employees, while many others will use the wait-and-see approach; especially if their workforce has proven to be productive during the pandemic. For business owners that plan on restoring their pre-pandemic employment strategies, they may be surprised to find that not all of their employees will have to be dragged back kicking and screaming. Many workers who have been working remotely love it, but many don’t feel like they can be as productive as they need to be and find that by coming into the office they are able to focus on the task at hand a little better than they can from home. 

Three benefits include:

Collaboration

Now, collaboration is more than working on a task or project with other people. It is communicating the best way to get things done. When your team works remotely, they exclusively depend on collaboration software to get what needs to be done, done. While the collaboration tools help with efficiency and boost teamwork, some of the best collaboration is done by people having face-to-face conversations. Without the constant contact with colleagues, the intricacies that make your product or service special, won’t be there. 

Work/Life Balance

Working at an office allows you to actually differentiate between work and home. This may not have been the biggest selling point three months ago, but today many people are getting stir crazy from working all day at their own PC and then trying to relax in the same space. By working in the office, workers can separate their home life from their work life.

Improved Engagement

It stands to reason that someone who goes into the office will be more engaged in the goings on there than someone that is working remotely. People will be more motivated to do their best if they are actively working alongside other people in a social setting. Whether it is the competition or the camaraderie, people that work in an office are more apt to be motivated to achieve for your company.

Other Considerations

For the workers, there is some debate on whether working remotely or in the office produces a better product or service, but there are some who suggest that, depending on the job, the office setting allows businesses to more succinctly track the productivity of their staff. If yours is like millions of other businesses that are working with small margins, getting the most out of your staff has to be a priority. Having them in one location can help you manage that.

Another consideration business owners like about having a physical office is that they can then control the security of their business much better. Not only can they maintain physical security better, they can control the business’ network security much more thoroughly than they can if people are working remotely. 

These are turbulent times, and no office should reopen until its state says they can but getting your office back up and running could be a major benefit for you as you look to navigate the current market. Call the IT professionals at Washington Works at 301-571-5040 to learn more about what you need to do to open your office and get back to normal.