The coronavirus pandemic has put a lot of things in perspective. Businesses want bigger financial buffers. They want to cut on expenses right now because they need to prepare for the dark days of economic depressions. People want to focus on their health and well-being. Aside from that fact, they also realized that work-from-home setups are more economical and convenient. It also allows them to take better care of themselves and their families.
Imagine how many hours you spent slouched in the office chair in the past years. These hours have even pushed you to seek chiropractor care because that dull lower-back pain has not given you a good night’s sleep for years. Unknowingly, you have sacrificed your health and well-being because offices require that you complete an eight-hour shift at work.
Thankfully, that’s a thing of the past now. The pandemic has pushed at least half of the American workforce to work from home. In the United Kingdom, the same thing is being predicted. And this is not temporary. This is bound to be the new norm now that businesses finally understood the benefits of offering flexible working hours to their employees.
More Sleep
According to research, more than 74% of Americans don’t get eight hours of sleep. They barely get six hours. After working an eight-to-five job, most Americans have to do the grocery, laundry, clean the house, help the children with their homework, prepare for dinner, and get ready for bed. By the time they hit the sack, their bodies are so exhausted that they find it even harder to focus on sleeping. As a result, people have weak immune systems and less productive at work.
But if people are working from home, they can get more sleep. They get the option of getting extra hours of sleep instead of using those hours to prep for work and commute. Or, they can do their errands and still be able to sleep eight hours every day.
Access to Healthy Food
It’s difficult to eat healthy food when you’re rushing to work in the morning. You grab whatever there is on the kitchen counter and munch on it while you drive or commute to work. That’s no way of eating healthily. Even in the office, healthy food is inaccessible or expensive. So, people tend to drown themselves in coffee and fast food.
Working from home gives you the advantage of grabbing healthier options from your kitchen. As long as you stock the kitchen with fruits and vegetables, you can lead a healthier lifestyle. You also have more time to whip up healthy dishes.
Less Stress
The most stressful part of working in the office isn’t even dealing with your boss and co-workers. It’s the commute. On average, Americans spend 19 full workdays a year stuck in traffic. Those are 19 days you could’ve spent vacationing or spending time with the family. Commuting to work—whether you take your car or use public transport—is so stressful that doctors are advising people with preconditions to avoid it at all costs.
Germ Avoidance
If you have learned anything from this pandemic, it’s that people should not go to work while sick. That’s not laudable. That’s a death sentence. People are supposed to stay home when they are sick, and not spread germs around. But if you’re working from home, you can avoid getting sick. You’re also less likely to contract viruses and diseases from commuting with the general public.
Working from home will also let you move around more. That’s something most employees cannot do while in a tiny office cubicle. This kind of setup is a long time coming. The past months should have taught companies that aside from revenues, it is also important to focus on their employees’ well-being.