The world of business is always updating. With advances in technology, an ecommerce company is able to train its employees to do things that would have been impossible only a couple of decades ago. Being able to base headquarters in one place and have employees all over the world is one of these advances. Telecommuting is a growing trend and an effective way to help your entire business grow; as such, here are a few reasons why your ecommerce company should allow its workers to telecommute.
Less Late Work
Image via Flickr by puresolitude
You will have less to worry about as far as assignments showing up on time. With less effort in commuting to work and more on just getting it done, you will be able to focus on what is actually important. Of course, this is dependent on a good Internet connection. You may need to find your satellite Internet plan locally to reap benefits of the fastest connection.
Save on Gas
Image via Flickrby Cory M. Grenier
Possibly the best reason to allow telecommuting is to combat the high fuel prices. For many workers, commutes can take anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour to get to work each day. That adds up to a lot of miles in gas. Without the daily trip to the office, employees will worry about filling their tanks as much. There also won’t be as great a need to reimburse mileage or invest in a company car. This means more money in everyone’s pockets.
Save on Supplies
When you think of an office, among the first things you may think of are supplies. For many employees, these may seem like something that just magically appears, but supply costs will add up over time. By allowing employees to telecommute, most of the work done will be online and without paper.
When most of your business’s work handled remotely from computers, there are fewer supplies to worry about. Instead of large filing cabinets and paperwork that can easily be lost, files will store easier as computer files. With employees working from home, nothing is used carelessly or wasted.
More Talent to Pull From
Perhaps the most beneficial reason for employers to switch to telecommuting is the way it opens up a world of skills and talent. Hiring locally is beneficial, but if you need a specific skill for your latest project that your area doesn’t thrive in, this is where telecommuting employees could change your entire company.
Happier Employees
Image via Flickrby Ed Yourdon
Many people leave the workforce for personal reasons. It’s not that they’ve chosen to stop working because it makes them unhappy, but because of a personal reason. Parents, woman especially, often leave the workforce to raise their families. Telecommuting could save 83% of women their jobs, because they could be home with their children and still complete their jobs.
Less Sick Days
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You won’t have to worry about a virus being brought into the office and infecting half your team. When people get sick, it usually spells trouble for those who have to work around them. It’s bad enough when one member of your team has to miss work while they’re sick, but it’s much more complicated when the sickness spreads and creates an intra-office epidemic.
Some employees also have disabilities or different needs than others. For those who are homebound due to an illness or condition, they can still be an active part of the workforce. We all want to do a good job at work, but sometimes life just gets in the way. With the opportunity to work from home, different abilities don’t have to mean exclusion.
Because It’s Possible
One of the strongest points for telecommuting? Because you can! We live in an age where so many things have become possible thanks to technology. While telecommuting may not work for every ecommerce business, for many it does.
You’ll save on general expenses, reap the benefits of a more talented team and meet the special needs of your employees. With the amount of time and frustration you will save, who knows what your ecommerce business could accomplish?
About the Author:
DJ Miller is a graduate student at the University of Tampa. He is an avid gadget geek who spends most his time writing about the latest tech news. He’s also a contributor to HughesInternet.net and you can follow him on Twitter @MillerHeWrote.