A large study conducted by the University of Cardiff has revealed that people who work remotely from home can get significantly more work done than their in-office equivalents.
Investigators believe that it is most likely due to employees working extra hard to prevent accusations of laziness by colleagues or even themselves, as well as a reduction in distractions that come from being in your own working environment.
The study examined the responses of 15,000 working people in 2001, 2006 and 2012, comparing and contrasting those from employees working in fixed workplaces, such as offices, with remotely employed workers.
In every case, it seemed that remote workers were more productive. 39% of remote workers said it was 'very true’ that ‘I often have to work extra time, over and above the formal hours of my job, to get through the work or to help out', compared to 24% of fixed workplace employees.
As well as being 15% more likely to put in overtime, remote workers are 4.5% more likely to put in more effort than is actually required by their role.
Professor Felstead, the head of the study, stated: "The evidence suggests that remote workers are over-compensating to prove to their colleagues they are not in their pyjamas at home, and prove to their employers they are a safe pair of hands willing to go the extra mile in return for the discretion an employer gives them to work at home or in a remote location."
Not only does working from home seem like the best way to go about your business, it is also an increasingly popular one. The study pointed out that the number of people working in a fixed workplace has fallen from 74.8% in 2001 to 66.4% in 2012, with remote working increasing in popularity to pick up the slack.
This trend is set to continue, with a new report by OddsMonkey suggesting that half of the UK workforce will work remotely by 2020.
In this environment, GoCloud's Hosted Desktop also becomes a networking solution, connecting your customers with the increasing number of clients and organisations that are on board with remote working.
Even without these studies, you need only look around to see that remote working is becoming a more popular choice for workforces across the UK, and indeed across the world. This is hardly surprising given the productivity advantages it provides, not to mention the lower commuting costs and carbon footprints.
Whether you consider the stat or the trends, remote working is a big part of the future of work in the UK, and employers in all sectors need to be prepared to get on board with it. That means companies need to consider remote working solutions such as GoCloud now. This way, they can maximise their workforce’s productivity and put their brand at the forefront of a new way of doing business,
Becoming a GoCloud Partner is the first step to a bright and lucrative future. If you're looking to diversify your business and raise profits, request a free test drive today.