One of nicest perks about being in the tech industry is the ability for employees/contractors to work remotely.
Obviously, if you own a brick and mortar store, you cannot have your employees work remotely because someone needs to stock the inventory, someone needs to manage the till, and someone needs to ensure the employees are getting their breaks.
However, when your product is virtual, the necessity to have all employees come to a physical location to perform their duties is nonessential. As a remote developer, you can literally work anywhere in the world…so long as you have access to the internet every now and then.
The flexibility of remote work improves quality of life.
Check out this post’s featured image. That’s my foot in my kid’s pool, taken while I was cooling off outside during a ninety degree day. I was able to write some CSS and get work done–all while I got to enjoy my kid’s laughter in the background as she played in the sprinkler. Having a more pleasant work environment is a huge morale boost. I remember thinking to myself, “I can’t believe I get paid to have it this good.”
While every organization wants to have the right employees, the impact of having the right (and conversely, wrong employees) on a small team is magnified.
Allowing employees to work remotely can position employers to expand their selection pool of candidates. This allows more flexibility when searching for a good fit for their company. At Zao, our team is spread out around the world. We have employees in Oregon, North Carolina, and Romania. We’ve tapped into unique skill sets and experience because we aren’t limited by physical proximity to our headquarters.
Remote work is also great for everyone’s bottom line.
Working remotely can also be a great bargaining chip. Lots of small companies have a smaller budget to work with. Many employees are open to taking a smaller salary in exchange for the perks that working remotely brings.
For example, employees can locate to areas where the cost of living is lower or be near an ailing family member. Employees can choose to buy groceries for lunch instead of eating out. Also, let’s not forget skipping the costly and often time expensive daily commute to the office. Working remotely prevents small companies from missing out on great talent because of budget constraints.
If your company values family and wellness, remote work is the way to go.
Most companies have core values that they do business by. It is very easy to have grandiose ideas of the dream organization, but much harder to make it a reality. Family is one of our core values at Zao. All of us have families. Working remotely adds a level of flexibility to our schedule to be present for our families. Even in crunch times, we can tuck our kids in and say goodnight before burning the midnight oil. Additionally, we can prioritize kid plays, sports games, swim lessons, anniversaries, etc., and show up for those moments we don’t want to miss.
To have our actions back up our core values at Zao is worth its weight in gold. Living with integrity, both personally and professionally, has benefits beyond what can easily be quantified. The byproducts include higher team morale, increased productivity, higher job satisfaction, and ownership of results. This equates to a more thriving and powerful team.
Do you work remotely? What are some of the perks you appreciate?