The World Health Organization (WHO) just officially labeled COVID-19 a pandemic. And companies, schools and other organizations around the world are now urging their employees and students to work from home. From China to Italy; from the U.K. to the U.S., companies of all sizes are insisting that their workers stay home and telecommute to help stop the spread of the virus. Over the last several years, there have been some companies that continued to promote remote work, but in the end, it may be the coronavirus that finally makes telecommuting mainstream.

Here in the U.S., one very large cluster of COVID-19 cases prompted several large-scale organizations to urge their employees to stay home and telecommute, including Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Facebook. Companies that might have otherwise never considered allowing remote work may now be faced with the cold hard truth: social distancing and working from home may not just be a short-term solution. The fact is that pandemics like the coronavirus are likely to become more common with every passing year. Simply given the fact that so many people travel on a regular basis – whether it’s for business or pleasure – ensures that once a novel virus erupts in one area of the world, it’s only a matter of time before it spreads. And while not every virus will become a pandemic on the scale of COVID-19, it’s predictable that the spring of 2020 won’t be the only occasion when employers encourage their workers to telecommute.

Now for the good news: telecommuting is actually beneficial for both employers and their workers for a variety of reasons. In fact, companies that have allowed their employees to telecommute are not only much more prepared to cope with the current pandemic crisis – they already understand all of the advantages that remote work offers for companies and employees alike. Here are just a few benefits of telecommuting:

• Remote work attracts talented employees. Studies show that millennials value flexible work schedules over virtually any other benefit a company can provide. When you allow employees to work from home, word will spread, and you’ll be much more likely to attract the “cream of the crop” in your hiring process.
• You’ll reduce turnover and employee burnout. Even the best worker will experience burnout after working long hours in an office environment day after day. Allowing employees to work from home means that they’ll have more time with their families, will experience less burnout than they would otherwise, and will remain employed with the same company for a longer period of time.
• Your employees will be happier and healthier. Most of us have heard of work-life balance, and how important it is to achieve that in our day-to-day lives. Telecommuting allows people to experience less stress and balance their private lives with their work lives in a more effective manner. Your workers will be less stressed because they have more time with their families, and less stress means healthier employees.
• You’ll save money. If your staff members are working from home, you’ll be paying less overhead in purchasing or leasing office space. And because your at-home workers are more likely to stay with your company for the long term, you won’t spend as much in hiring and training new employees.
• You’ll help the environment. The less your employees have to commute back and forth to the office, the smaller their carbon footprint will be, and that is a huge plus for the environment.

Now that more companies are forced to allow telecommuting, they will no doubt understand and appreciate the benefits of remote work. That’s why we’re predicting that telecommuting will remain in place long after COVID-19 is a distant memory.

If you’re making preparations to allow your workers to telecommute, sign up today for your free trial of MySammy. Our cloud-based productivity measurement solution is especially designed for company owners and managers of remote teams. We’ll help you to assess how productive your telecommuters are while they’re working away from the office, and we’ll accomplish that without the use of Internet blocking devices or spyware. MySammy will give you to tools you need to manage your remote work force – now and for many years to come.