While many people have been working from home for decades, remote work has recently taken the world by storm. Due to necessity, many people have had to work from home for one reason or another.
Now that the situation is improving, employers and employees are grappling with the idea that working from home might be here to stay.
Among the reasons why this is the case are the following ten health benefits of working from home remotely.
Did you know? – 30 percent of those who responded to the survey stated that they work for a fully remote company. Source 1
Table of Contents
01. More Time for Exercise
With the average commute taking sixty minutes, many people find that their time for exercise is severely diminished when working outside of the home.
This all changes with remote work. With the time savings from the commute alone, individuals now find more time for exercise and doing the types of physical activities they enjoy the most.
02. Better Posture and Office Configuration
Working in an office often dictates the type of furniture one can use. Remote work offers far more flexibility in this regard.
Workers can often use stand-up desks, chairs that encourage better posture, and more. This improves work configuration and leads to a healthier overall lifestyle.
03. Healthier Eating Options
Another way working remotely benefits employees from a health perspective is related to eating habits.
Consuming a nutritional diet at home is more accessible than on the road. Over an average year, workers will eat fast food and other items far less frequently at home than at the office.
04. Fewer Temptations
Working in an office environment leads to a sedentary lifestyle with many temptations that lead to an unhealthy lifestyle.
Many of these are reduced when working from home. Taking away the temptations and improved health is bound to follow.
05. Less Exposure to Illness
Office complexes are full of people, many of whom might be disease carriers on an average day. The less exposure we have to people outside our homes, the less likely we are to become ill.
This means that people who work remotely use far fewer sick days than those who work in the office.
06. Fewer Occupational Hazards
Working at home tends to be much safer as well. There are far fewer hazards to contend with.
This means that we are less likely to become injured when working remotely than when forced to contend with the occupational hazards that often come with working on-site.
06. Less Emotional Baggage
Dealing with people outside of our own family can be draining. To do that in an intimate environment daily can be unhealthy. Working from home will bring less emotional baggage and improve our health.
07. More Time with Family
Because of many factors, working remotely means more time with family. This leads to improved emotional health as well.
08. Reduced Stress on Interpersonal Relationships
Individuals who work from home tend to have stronger interpersonal relationships. This often results from the reduced stress from not having to be so physically close to others regularly. When encountering others, we feel freer to be ourselves and enjoy the interaction.
09. Increased Sense of Autonomy and Independence
Working remotely allows us to take more risks and tackle projects we might not feel comfortable with within an office environment.
This leads to a renewed sense of autonomy and independence that can benefit both the employer and the employee.
10. Less exposure to Covid or infections
Due to the high infection rate of pandemics like COVID-19, Flu, etc., it is always better to reduce contact with too many people. If you travel by public transport, the chances of catching an infection are even higher.
Working from home remotely reduces the chance of catching an infection.
11. Stress of traveling
The stress of traveling is reduced as you will no longer need to travel to the office and spend time traveling back. While this does not directly benefit your health, it reduces the stress of traveling, especially if your office is far away and using public transport like train and bus.
12. Away from Pollution
Working from the office would make you travel on public transport and increase exposure to dust and other Pollutants. Staying at home and working allows you to choose the place and environment to work in.
Also, many people not going to the office would reduce carbon footprint emissions as there would be vehicular traffic on the road.
Conclusion
There are many benefits to working from home remotely. Heath is a benefit that you will reap in the long run. While you get more time to spend with your family, the other benefits, like less stress and low exposure to infection, will undoubtedly motivate you to find a job that you can work from home.