Developing teleworking in your company: advantages and disadvantages

During the health crisis, the number of teleworkers in France reached an unprecedented record, with, during the first lockdown in May 2020, 41% of employees working from home 1. Today, according to the same study, the vast majority of managers (67%) are In favour of the implementation of teleworking in their business in the long term, in the wake of the health crisis. But while this fashionable practice has demonstrated many benefits, both for the company and for employees, it can also come with certain obstacles. Here is an overview of the advantages and disadvantages of developing teleworking in your company.

 

What are the advantages of developing teleworking in your company?

Implementing teleworking in your company over the long term, whether part-time or full-time, has a number of advantages on an economic, human, commercial and environmental level.

The economic benefits of teleworking

By working from home, the company can make a number of savings related to transport, rental and maintenance of the premises, supplies and other overheads. Costs related to absenteeism and tardiness are also reduced.

In addition, this practice also contributes to strengthening well-being at work, the employee’s motivation and commitment. Employees are more loyal, which is reflected in A drop in turnover. It is therefore another source of savings for the company.

Finally, the home office would allow employees to be more efficient. During the various lockdowns, The productivity of French employees is thus estimated to have increased by 22% 3. This therefore improves the company’s performance and profitability.

According to the same study, teleworking has saved between 216 and 230 billion euros in GDP in France.

It should be added that the generalization of teleworking will also facilitate recruitment for society, which will no longer have to take into consideration the geographical location of the candidates. This can be decisive for professions in short supply that can be carried out remotely. On the other hand, remote work allows the company to strengthen its attractiveness to talent, and position itself in the market as a company in line with current and future trends.

 

The human benefits of working from home

On a human level, remote work would also improve the quality of life at work for employees.

For example, teleworkers feel less tired (72%), and more autonomous and empowered (69%) when they work from home rather than on site 1.

A large proportion of employees also find that teleworking promotes concentration (60.1%), stress management (63.1%), productivity (53.4%), and that it would allow a better work-life balance (58.7%) 2.

Thus, 86% of teleworkers would like to continue this practice beyond the health crisis 1.

There are several reasons for these figures. First of all, the teleworker does not have to take transport on a daily basis, which saves him a lot of time and energy. And he or she benefits, more often than not, from a greater flexibility in working hours.

In addition, the employee is not confronted with noise pollution from the open space, to interruptions from colleagues, and other unforeseen events related to office life. He is also less tempted to take too frequent and too long breaks. This translates into better concentration and greater efficiency on a daily basis.

However, it remains difficult to generalize these advantages, because well-being in teleworking depends on a large number of factors (quality of the home workspace, constraints imposed by the company, personalities and individual needs, etc.).

 

The environmental benefits of teleworking

Finally, by developing remote work, the company is also making a gesture for the environment. In fact, 2.9 days of teleworking per week would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 0.5%, the equivalent of annual emissions of 366,000 people in France 2.

The implementation of remote work is therefore perfectly integrated into a CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) approach.

 

Developing teleworking in your company: what are the disadvantages?

While the benefits of remote work are very numerous, this mode of organization also has certain limitations, both for the company and for the employees.

The disadvantages of teleworking for the company

For employers, the home office presents several challenges, such as: maintaining team spirit and collective bonds, developing skills, monitoring performance and controlling tasks, mobilizing teams, etc. Despite regular communication and the use of innovative and collaborative intranet tools, it can sometimes be difficult to ensure employee efficiency, engagement and motivation on a daily basis.

Managers are also less and less in favour of teleworking (50% at the end of 2020, compared to 55% at the end of 2018), and many of them admit to encountering difficulties with this practice (40% at the end of 2020 compared to 18% at the end of 2018) 1.

 

The disadvantages of teleworking for employees

Many employees have also discovered, during the health crisis, the hidden face of working from home.

Here are some of the disadvantages of teleworking for employees:

• isolation, loneliness, lack of social ties and sense of belonging,
• too heavy a workload, which can lead to overwork, burnout and other psychosocial disorders,
• difficulty disconnecting completely, and a tendency not to count working hours,
• difficulties in reconciling professional and personal life,
• an unsuitable work environment, sometimes without a dedicated space.

In addition, working remotely can sometimes lead to a loss of meaning, and a professional disengagement among employees. In fact, 56% of remote workers say they feel more engaged when working on-site 1.

Faced with these disadvantages, could hybrid work, a clever balance between remote and face-to-face work, be the solution?

 

In any case, it seems inevitable today to take an interest in the possibility of developing this way of working in one’s company. 66% of managers are convinced that teleworking will continue to become widespread in the years to come 1.

 

Sources:

1. 4th edition of Malakoff Humanis’ annual Telework Barometer, carried out in December 2020.
2. Study “Teleworking, (im)mobility, and lifestyles”, by ADEME (Agency for Ecological Transition), carried out in July 2020
3. Study by the Sapiens Institute Think Tank, published in March 2021