I ll Never Work in a Factory Again

Opinions expressed past Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Watching Silicon Valley giants race to create bigger and ameliorate headquarters is stressful to me for two reasons:

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1. I know that I'll probably never in my life piece of work anywhere that nice.
2. I don't really get it.

Related: These ten Tools for Remote Workers Volition Make Function Life a Permanent Affair of the Past

No, seriously, hear me out. These mega-companies are constantly competing to offer meliorate amenities for their thousands of employees: Everything from in-firm chefs to nap rooms and fitness centers is being thrown at new hires. Information technology'due south no secret that many of these companies sort of desire their workers to alive at work. Facebook, for example, pays employees $10,000 to move closer to Menlo Park.

But, hither'south a empty-headed question: Why not save billions of dollars and just let more workers work from home? That modify costs absolutely nothing (every bit opposed to Apple's new 1-band-like headquarters, which comes with a hefty $5 billion price tag.)

Why everyone should piece of work from home

I've been working from abode to some degree for about three years now, and about i.5 years "full-fourth dimension." Quite frankly, I couldn't be happier. I honestly don't desire to become back to working in an part ever over again. And, yes, I know I'm young -- then what do I know? But my uncle has been working from home for Oracle for well-nigh 20 years. Guess what? He nonetheless gets his bonuses.

In 2015, the average worker telecommuted only 2 days per month. This should go up. Simply a few more days each month could make a big difference to your quality of life. Here are 3 reasons you should consider working from abode more often if you lot tin manage it:

one. Y'all'll be more productive.

Worker satisfaction surveys have shown fourth dimension and again that remote workers are not just happier, they're also more productive compared to their office counterparts.

Harvard Business Review recently profiled Ctrip, a Chinese travel website. The company asked half of its workers to piece of work from home for 9 months, while the other half worked in the office. The visitor's determination was that its remote workers were not simply happier, they were also less probable to quit and were more productive.

How much more productive? Ctrip's remote workers completed 13.5 percent more calls than role staff -- amounting tonearly an extra workday each week.

Related: Office, Schmoffice: How 3 Big-Name Companies Succeed With Remote Working

2. You can take more than breaks.

On the flip side, working from home means yous won't accept to deal with looming managers monitoring your every move. You can take breaks whenever you want, equally long as yous become your work done.

Studies have shown that taking regular breaks improves overall productivity and creativity and helps y'all stay on schedule. Not taking breaks, on the other hand, leads to stress and exhaustion.

Ideally, y'all should take breaks every l-to-90 minutes, for fifteen-to-twenty minutes at a fourth dimension. That means nigh an hr's worth of breaks exterior of lunch (on the low end of this range). The chances that you lot did that today in the part? Zero.

3. You can wake up afterwards.

"Early to bed and early to rise makes a homo happy, salubrious, and wise."

I'm sure most of usa have questioned this Franklinism (otherwise coffee wouldn't be necessary). Who amid united states wouldn't desire to roll out of bed ane hour after than we do correct now? Beingness an early bird or a dark owl is sort of like beingness an introvert or an extrovert. To an extent, you're simply born that way. For example, night owls have been shown to:

• Function but too during the day (because they've been forced to adapt their unabridged lives)

• Remain more mentally alert in the tardily afternoon and evening than early birds

• Be more creative in general (they often stay up late to take breakthroughs or piece of work through complex problems)

• Score better on general intelligence tests

I'chiliad not saying that there are no advantages to waking up early -- there most certainly are. Merely if yous're a night owl, try to sleep in a bit more for your ain sake. You lot'll exist more productive, and happier, besides.

4. You won't have to commute.

You don't need a written report to tell you that not wasting fourth dimension commuting every day is a good thing. Only have you ever really thought about the true price of commuting? Here are some actually disheartening stats:

• The average American spends $ii,600 a twelvemonth commuting.

• If your commute is 45 minutes long, yous waste 16 days each year commuting. If it'due south ninety minutes? A whole month gone, just like that.

• Yous probably spend 38 hours a year just stuck in traffic.

• Commuting is absolutely awful for your wellness.

Granted, you can do things while commuting (like listen to a podcast or volume or read a newspaper on the train). But, the sad truth is that by the time you retire, you could have spent over a year of your life just commuting.

Do whatever you lot can to either shorten your commute or do away with it entirely.

5. Remote work but makes business sense.

Many employers are afraid that the more workers they allow work from home, the more fractured and decentralized their company volition become. But this doesn't have to exist the case. Plenty of successful startups are 100 pct remote, and worth billions.

Related: iv Ways to Manage Remote Employees

And so, take charge of your life and stand upwards for your own wellness, health, and productivity. Enquire your employer if you can work just ane day more from home each calendar month. If yous can swing it, endeavour one solar day each week. You'll be surprised at how much happier -- and more productive -- you lot'll go.

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Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/275294

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