Like it or not, telecommuting’s a big draw for job candidates
Seems like a lot of companies are balking at allowing employees to telecommute — for a number of reasons. But new research indicates that instituting such a program could help recruiting big-time.
The third annual telecommuting survey by Staples shows that telecommuting is increasingly attractive to employees – with 71% of telecommuters saying it’s an important benefit when considering a new job. Ten percent of respondents even say they would take a salary reduction to keep the telecommuting benefit – recruiters, take note.
Achieving a better work/life balance ranks as the number one reason employees like telecommuting (74%) – up from number two last year. Transportation savings (69%) and green benefits (47%) are also cited as top reasons.
Employees also cite reduced stress as a major telecommuting benefit (69%) – up significantly from 48% in 2013. In fact, an overwhelming majority of employees (88%) believe telecommuting is a win-win for both them and their company – and employers agree:
- 65% of employers who allow their workers to telecommute report happier employees, and
- 33% of employers report less absenteeism in the workforce when telecommuting is allowed.
Solving the challenges
Even with these benefits and the growing popularity of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies (50% of organizations surveyed offer BYOD), companies are still doing a poor job of educating employees around proper security measures and providing them with appropriate tech services:
- Only 25% of employees have been trained on data backup/security best practices
- 64% of employees name a poor VPN connection as their biggest tech challenge when working from home, and
- 58% of employers report that their telecommuters have connectivity problems several times per month or more.
Staples conducted the online survey of 137 “decisionmakers” and 174 office workers at organizations of all sizes across the U.S. and Canada in March, 2014.
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