Remote working has really come of age in the last two years. Many people love it, while others realize they really do prefer the office environment. But would you hazard a guess at how many people would like to make remote working a permanent option?

According to a new report, a whopping 96% of employees want to solely work from home. And they’d be willing to take a pay cut to make that happen.

But wait – it gets even more shocking.

Of these people, a third said they’d be willing to sacrifice part of their monthly wage to do so. Not only that, but they’d give up their health benefits and even paid time off.

Are you as shocked at those figures as we are?

In terms of work/life balance, some people have never had it better, and many people don’t want to go back to the stress, the distraction, the commuting, …

As an employer, giving the option to make remote or hybrid work permanent seems like an ideal solution. You’ve already seen that you can trust your people to do a great job wherever they work. You may even have seen an increase in motivation and productivity and a cut down on some fixed costs – office space is a significant saving.

Of course, there’s more to consider than how much you trust your team to continue doing a great job. Or how much you could be saving on office space.

If you haven’t already done so, you’ll need to make sure that everyone’s home working set-ups are suitable. If you’ve only had temporary work-from-home measures in place for the last two years, it’s time to make them official. The first priority is to look at data security.

How do your people access your network? Do they have the proper security measures installed on their devices? Are their home networks protected from unauthorized access? Can you stop their children from using company devices?

But it’s not just security that you need to consider.

Reports have found that nearly 2 in 5 people feel ignored in video meetings. Look at the collaboration tools you’re using. If your team is unlikely to be in the same place at the same time, should you invest in a better solution to make sure communication doesn’t suffer?

Upgrading their equipment and devices might be the answer. For example, professional-quality webcams and microphones can help ensure that video quality is high and voices are being heard.

Don’t forget that older laptops or desktops will need to be upgraded every few years to make sure they’re performing well and costing you less to maintain.

If you’d like help making sure your team’s WFH set-ups are suitable for a more permanent work-from-home strategy, call us. We’d be happy to make some suggestions. Again, no obligations, no strings attached; simply contact us to schedule some time to talk.