Remote working is growing into a widely accepted industry-standard. This concept entails allowing workers to conduct their roles from anywhere they see fit. According to Choudhury et al. (2019), human capital is an integral source of competitive advantage for companies. As of 2019, 26 million Americans which is equivalent to 16% of the workforce were working remotely either in a part-time or full-time schedule (Abrams, 2019). The number of commuting employees increased by 115%, between 2005 and 2015 (Abrams, 2019). Remote work offers significant benefits to both employers and employees. However, the firm must take its perspective on the issue to determine the potential increase in productivity by implementing remote working programs. Further, the demand for remote working is increasing among employees based on its impact on commuting costs, childcare and eldercare (Choudhury et al. 2019). This proposal entails offering a remote working program for AMEX employees. Implementing remote working is necessary for organizations aiming to adapt in the modern business arena while offering higher cost savings, disaster preparedness, productivity and creativity, job satisfaction and environmental conservation.
Chiefly, remote working offers cost savings for both the employer and employee. A work-from-anywhere (WFA) program allows the firm to save about $10000 per year on real estate costs (OWL Labs, 2019). These are costs incurred in renting office buildings, furniture, cleaners, supplies and bills. The WFA program allows workers to choose a place of their liking, which can be their homes offices or co-working space (Choudhury et al., 2019). Managers have encountered situations in which employees call in sick as a way of evading work. Notably, absenteeism costs firms $1800-$3500 annually, depending on the employee professional level (Schall, 2019). Using the WFA program, the company could realize up to 63% reductions in unscheduled absences (Schall, 2019). Also, recent surveys indicated that most employees would prefer a WFA program rather than a pay raise (OWL Labs, 2019). Most indicated that a considerable amount of pay is budgeted for commute services. Therefore, by choosing to work remotely, employees end up saving the same amount as the pay raise.
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Further, remote working has experienced a recent surge because of stringent measures applied by the government to ensure that citizens are safe from the Covid-19 disease (Belzunegui-Eraso & Garces, 2020). In the first quarter of 2020, many governments required that companies reduce their current workforce to avoid large gatherings in workplaces and ensure adherence to social distancing policies (Belzunegui-Eraso & Garces, 2020). For instance, the Spanish health minister, Mr. Salvador Illa, urged companies to embrace telework as a measure to combat Covid-19 (Belzunegui-Eraso & Garces, 2020). By adopting a WFA program, the firm can be prepared for unprecedented situations such as the current pandemic. Indeed, most organizations were unprepared and had to integrate teleworking strategies within limited periods leading to poor application (Belzunegui-Eraso & Garces, 2020). Some workers lacked prior knowledge of conducting their roles beyond the workplace setting (Belzunegui-Eraso & Garces, 2020). In the case of Madrid, companies had to allocate more resources to purchasing technological material for employees to work from home (Belzunegui-Eraso & Garces, 2020). Implementing teleworking ensures business continuity during challenging situations.
Equally, remote working enhances productivity, creativity and innovation because employees operate within a space that offers desirable comfort. However, to maximize these benefits, employees working in WFA programs must differentiate personal time and work time to prevent one from impeding the other (Choudhury et al., 2019). Employees face fewer distractions in the WFA program since they choose a workspace that offers minimal distractions. The workplace might be crowded and located in noisy business district, which would increase disruptions. Employees customize their workspace with objects that inspire motivation (Abrams, 2019). For example, an employee may add a beanbag chair to their home office to relax whenever they work for long hours. Remote working allows the employees to operate based on their schedule and maximize on their strengths (Abrams, 2019). To ensure the WFA program works, employees must report on an average number of days per month to ensure onsite collaboration, which can be difficult to achieve through teleworking.
Likewise, remote working increases job satisfaction due to the effects of perceived autonomy. Working from home gives employees the flexibility to balance their life commitments with job demands. Schall (2019) found that remote working was positively associated with job satisfaction up to a specific level of 15.1 hours per week. A survey conducted among 89 teleworkers and 103 onsite employees revealed that remote workers were more satisfied with their jobs and found lower work-life conflict to mediate the relationship between remote work and job satisfaction (Schall, 2019). This study indicates that enrolling employees in the WFA program would lead to satisfaction for many employees who struggle with balancing work and life demands (Schall, 2019). For example, Owl Labs took a survey of 1202 full-time workers aged between 22 and 65 (OWL Labs, 2019). The groups comprised of 62% remote workers and 38 onsite workers. Owl Labs found that remote workers were 13% more likely to maintain their current jobs because it suited their needs.
Comparatively, remote working offers environmental benefits by reducing the carbon footprint. Choudhury et al. (2019) indicated that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USTPO) was the best place to work in the federal government. It is estimated that after introducing a remote working program, its teleworkers avoided traveling 84 million miles, reducing emissions by 44000 tons (Choudhury et al., 2019). The agency saved up to $38.2 million in real estate and office maintenance costs (Choudhury et al., 2019). Every business desires to maximize operations while creating environmental awareness. A teleworker reduces the need for transport, centralized offices, both of which consume many resources (Choudhury et al., 2019). By persisting on this trend, employees will purchase more household vehicles and seek better amenities in their offices (Choudhury et al., 2019). Implementing a WFA program saves costs that could be directed to other services such as better houses and vacations.
Albeit, contrary opinions suggest that remote working contributes to feelings of isolation and inability to cooperate with others. Flores (2019) suggests that feelings of isolation arise when employees are lonely and socially isolated due to lack of face-to-face interactions. Studies form Global Workplace Analytics suggested that 75% of managers trust employees but a third affirm their trust by seeing their employees (Flores, 2019). Most managers feel that having an employee who is out of reach limits productivity and their ability to check their performance. Remote workers can suffer limited access to information from colleagues and feel a perceived lack of support (Larson et al., 2020). Nonetheless, these issues have been alleviated by applying working solutions such as daily check-ins where remote managers schedule calls at the end of the day to address any issues an employee has encountered (Larson et al., 2020). Additionally, the company can provide several communication options such as video conferencing to replicate some of the visual cues found in face-to-face interactions (Larson et al., 2020).
Globally, organizations have recognized that the diminishing workforce posed a major challenge to the future growth of the business. In the same vein, AMEX must realize that, by being unable to attract, recruit and retain the necessary skills and capabilities, there is a significant risk to their ability to sustain and grow their business (Larson et al., 2020). The employees and especially the ones working as casuals and on part-time basis are often targeted by other multinationals such as supermarket chains and other large organizations who like working with employees that prefer flexible schedules (Larson et al., 2020). In AMEX, the majority of such workers are mature females with family responsibilities such as children, aging parents and other family commitments (Larson et al., 2020). Sections of workforce may also be having second jobs due to financial pressures. In that regard, the company should embrace remote working, which will enable employees to report handovers, incidents and feedback in real time using their phones (Larson et al., 2020). An important component of this approach is use of video conferencing technology, which will be useful in bridging the gap between employees and managers in ensuring real time support and supervision (Larson et al., 2020). In summary, the idea of remote working would help to create a teamwork environment despite distance. It would enable more productivity from each team, and it will also help to open the opportunity to find an innovative technology-based service options for AMEX clients.
With the ever-changing environment of doing business, AMEX cannot continue with the operations in the same way it has been doing it in the past. The level of playing has changed significantly (Larson et al., 2020). Remote working is the most appropriate solution in serving clients in the current socio business environment. The world of technology has discovered numerous things that have positively impacted the working environment (Larson et al., 2020). Although some organizations have been reluctant to embrace remote working, AMEX has to be a role model and try the new ideas (Larson et al., 2020). Majority of employees are young people used to technology and the company has to embrace the collaborative technologies as the way of working. In that respect, crucial to retaining and attracting young talent, the company has to embrace remote approach of working. In Cisco, the company has over 80,000 employees, and half of them work remotely (Larson et al., 2020). For that reason, AMEX can embrace the entrance of technological framework, and abolish the ancient idea of walking to the office daily.
Consequently, applying an effective remote working program requires commitment from both employers and employees. This proposal shows numerous benefits of remote working which apply to AMEX. Moreover, Covid-19 pandemic has completely changed how businesses perceive teleworking. Normal working programs will take time to restore. Adopting this proposal ensures that the company invests in disaster management. Further, employees working from home have higher productivity rates because they can customize their workspace to their liking leading to higher job satisfaction. Subsequently, the company retains experienced staff and saves on costs incurred through real estate costs. Overall, the idea is to provide an appropriate work environment where the employee can attain highest productivity levels while maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
References
Abrams, Z. (2019). The future of remote work. American Psychological Association , 50(9), 54. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2019/10/cover-remote-work
Belzunegui-Eraso, A., & Garces, A. E. (2020). Teleworking in the Context of the Covid-19 Crisis. Sustainability , 12(9), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12093662
Choudhury, P. R., Foroughi, C., & Larson, B. (2019). Work-from-anywhere: The Productivity Effects of Geographic Flexibility. Harvard Business School , 1-49. https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Publication%20Files/19-054_2ecb5287-d0bd-4aa0-b3d8-36fb44b757b4.pdf
Flores, M. (2019). Understanding The Challenges Of Remote Working And Its Impact To Workers. IJBMM , 4(11), 40-44. http://www.ijbmm.com/paper/Nov2019/824043604.pdf
Larson, B., Vroman, S., & Makarius, E. (2020, March 18). A Guide to Managing Your (Newly) Remote Workers. Harvard Business Review . https://hbr.org/2020/03/a-guide-to-managing-your-newly-remote-workers
OWL Labs. (2019). State of Remote Work 2019 . Global Workplace Analytics. https://www.owllabs.com/state-of-remote-work/2019?hs_preview=jWDXIXgj-13385250578
Schall, M. A. (2019). The Relationship Between Remote Work and Job Satisfaction: The Mediating Roles of Perceived Autonomy, Work-Family Conflict, and Telecommuting Intensity. SJSU ScholarWorks , 1-59. https://doi.org/10.31979/etd.2x82-58pg
