Work life balance, wellness benefits of working remote

The start of COVID-19 saw millions of people around the world forced to adapt to working from home. For most people, that meant creating a workspace. Folks gathered equipment and furniture to make the space their own and adapted to the idea of working without commuting. The learning curve was steep, but two years later, companies have reported significant improvements in their team’s performance.

One key advantage was more time to sleep in. With commute time cut to nothing, remote employees can use the time they would have spent traveling to catch up on sleep instead. Employees were benefiting from the extra sleep, reporting a better sense of well-being, and better moods. (And maybe also realizing they could work in their pajama pants.)

Cutting back on commuting comes with other big benefits. Ask anyone who’s done it and they’ll tell you that the daily drive to the office can cause crazy amounts of stress. Periods of stress induce the release of hormones, including cortisol, which is linked to high blood pressure. Late train? Paying daily for parking? Simple stress triggers cause the release of cortisol. Skipping the commute – and its associated costs, like paying for parking or gas – reduces stress and boosts physiological health. Not to mention, the newfound disposable income. Imagine all the money saved from not having to fill up your gas tank every few days!

Benefits that make an impact

Working from home means being able to control many aspects of where we work, from which room in the house to where we travel or even live. Our home can help us regulate emotions in a few different ways. The physical space of the home is stable, but the furniture and decoration are flexible. An example? You can regulate the temperature to your liking. Think about how common petty office disputes over the temperature were – and now they’re gone!

Besides reducing stress, remote work may encourage employees to engage in healthier habits. With more time and fewer distractions, remote workers have more opportunities to build healthy habits into their workday. Lots of Bandalier team members take time to eat lunch outside or take their pets on a walk when they’re hitting a wall during the workday.

Remote work can also help foster creativity! Some suggest that having the option to work at home makes the typical employee happier because of the better work-life balance. This results in increased creativity at work. As a result, remote workers tend to be happier and more loyal employees.

When looking at the wider impact of remote work, the environmental benefit can’t be ignored. During the pandemic, greenhouse gas emissions fell by the equivalent of taking more than 500 million cars off the road for the entire year.

The wellness benefits of being able to work remotely are immense. Many employees reported feeling less stressed, with more time to focus on well-being. Burnout reduced, happiness and productivity increased. We see more and more companies going remote because the benefits are proven. People want flexibility and that’s exactly what a remote job provides them.

Authored by Katie Galioto