With the tremendous risks COVID-19 creates, especially for workers in offices or business travelers, many employers are switching to a full remote work model. While on the surface, flex work might appear to only benefit the employee, the good news is that it’s very much a win-win for companies, too.
The Evolution of Flex Work
First, let’s define flex work, because it really can mean different things to different teams. In most cases, flex work is an agreement between employer and employee that allows the employee to decide where they work from and when they work (such as specific hours during the day or days of the week).
In the past, flex work has mostly applied to remote freelancers or part-time contractors. While freelancing is certainly a type of flexible work arrangement, it’s not the only kind. Flex work applies to any work-from-anywhere arrangement—compressed workweeks in which an employee works 40 hours over four days instead of five, temporary work and seasonal jobs to name a few.
Cost Efficiency
Truth in numbers. When it comes to flex work, everyone wins.
Employees save money on out-of-pocket costs, such as commuting expenses, work clothes and lunches. From a day-to-day lens, this might not seem like a lot, but if you add these up weekly or monthly, it’s significant. Saving money is great and so is saving time. Eliminating daily commutes has been linked to higher overall happiness levels (more on that later).
As a company, you save on overhead costs. Renting a smaller office, for example, translates to lower electricity and water bills. In the case of coworking, companies eliminate high, long-term lease agreements altogether.
For startups and early-stage companies, this can be a real game changer. Imagine that you sign a 5-year lease on an office but then don’t grow your team at the speed that you anticipated?
Over the past six months, we’ve seen many companies make the shift from traditional office space to flex work. At Deskpass, companies of all sizes benefit from our pay-as-you-go, no commitment model. Teams gain access to 600+ spaces, all of which offer one fixed price, discounted hourly conference rooms and meetings rooms.
It’s also scalable. With our new Teams feature, your Deskpass membership can grow with your company to accommodate every member of your team. One Deskpass membership gives you access to spaces in all of our cities across the country, with more in the works.
Employee Happiness
Employees are more likely to report being satisfied, increase their productivity, and stick around longer if they like where they work. With the tools and resources available for remote working, you can empower your team to work from a well-appointed coworking space while building a company culture you can be proud of.
OWL Labs recently ran a study on how remote work affects productivity and overall happiness at work. Here’s what they found:
- 80% of employees believe being able to continue to work remotely, post pandemic would make them feel like their employer cares about them
- 75% of people are the same or more productive working remotely
- 72% believe remote work offers better work-life balance and makes them happier.
- 67% of employees feel less stressed working remotely and 66% are more likely to recommend remote work to their employer.
Increased Productivity
With happiness comes better performance. Stanford released findings from a two-year study where call center workers using the same equipment were split into two groups—one in a traditional office setup and the other at a designated space at home—and measured.
They found a 13% increase in improved performance and 9% increase in total minutes worked among the group working from home. There was also a 50% reduction in attrition leading to lower recruitment and training needs.
Of course, working from home and staying productive isn’t for everyone. Coworking empowers workers to find spaces that are convenient (cuts down on commute time), inspiring (mood does affect productivity) and requires little setup. Unlike a home office, coworking spaces offer meeting space and are equipped with printers and projectors.
Over the past six months, we’ve seen many companies make the shift from traditional office space to flex work. At Deskpass, companies of all sizes benefit from our pay-as-you-go, no commitment model. Teams gain access to thousands of locations, all of which offer one fixed price, discounted hourly conference rooms and meetings rooms.
It’s also scalable. With our new Teams feature, your Deskpass membership can grow with your company to accommodate every member of your team. One Deskpass membership gives you access to spaces in all of our cities across the country, with more in the works. It's also pay-as-you-go, so you're never locked into a long-term commitment upfront.
Get a complimentary $250 Deskpass credit when you sign up for a Teams account today.
