Remote workers continue to flood the job market, which is a rather surprising twist for this vocational classification. That may be surprising to some, in part because remote positions seem commonplace today and in part due to many of those individuals being Millennials. It’s hard to believe there was once a time when taboos were attached to the “work from home” label.
Although that may seem somewhat inexplicable in the marketplace now, the classified job sections of papers and online publications were once inundated with, essentially, scams. Even today, you can look on any job site and likely stumble across those too-good-to-be-true remote job positions. Plenty of job seekers have either seen or unfortunately investigated these types of “get rich from home” schemes. So that once-dreaded taboo on remote work, work from home and no-commute opportunities was understandable, even justifiable.
Sometimes you have to look past the clutter, chaos, and noise to see the truth.
The Remote Worker
The simple truth is that remote workers have become an essential component of today’s evolving workforce. The irony here may be that remote work isn’t necessarily a new concept. One recent Forbes article talking about the future of remote work began this way:
“Remote work has been a small part of the employment landscape throughout history. Thanks to the internet, those opportunities are now abundant, spurring many new companies.”
There are freight brokers, insurance agents, IT professionals and countless other roles that have been staffed by remote workers for decades. Some of these positions are remote by job definition and others (the vast majority) have been created over time by shifting organizational structures and needs.
The driving force behind the growing popularity of working remotely can be traced to the multiple benefits that remote workers afford companies:
- Cost Effective Solutions: The considerable expense of insurance, office space overhead costs, and the necessity of supplies are all examples of expenses that companies can reduce or cut out entirely via remote workers. (American Express reported annual savings of $10 million to $15 million thanks to its remote work options). The amount of worker’s compensation required can be reduced. The amount of space needed can be minimized and the supplies like computers, ink, paper and more can be all but eliminated. For a company with a few employees, these savings can aid growth, profit, and success. For a company employing large numbers, these savings can become quite significant (just ask American Express).
- Bigger, More Talented Employee Pool: More isn’t always better but in the case of businesses having job candidates to choose from – it is always better. Having more job candidates improves the odds of getting more qualified and more diverse people. Being able to interview candidates from entire regions, countries, or even the entire world means that your company has an opportunity to find the very best people available – anywhere.
- Better Business Model: We have discussed the advantage of having plenty of qualified candidates. We have also talked about the many and considerable financial benefits of employing remote workers. Another advantage of using remote workers is the ability to be more personal as a company. Businesses have done amazing work in recent years on humanizing and personalizing their companies and brands, and these businesses understand that there will never be a replacement for an actual human being. A friendly face, a real person working behind the scenes – this goes a long way to facilitate positive customer experiences. Many industries that have the structure to do so have employed that advantage, delivering their services via remote, human workers. What begins to take shape here is a new and better business model.
All of this is technology driven.
