Prolinx Services

Working remotely – a polarizing topic, even in the Silicon Valley where almost everyone is constantly connected. Some organizations believe that assembling their employees in a common space creates an environment that cultivates collaboration and productivity. Others believe that allowing employees to work from the comfort of their own space allows them to be more effective.

A recent study conducted by Wrike (www.twitter.com/wrike) shows that 83% of employees say that they spend at least part of the day working from home and 66% believe that their office will go completely virtual in the next 1-5 years. The survey further goes to show that the higher the position in a company, the more time that person spends working outside the office. Employees also consider the flexibility to work remotely one of the three main perks of a position, along with salary and reputation and a majority would even go so far as foregoing free meals (78%) or subsidized cell phones (54%).

There are a number of companies that have dedicated their service offering towards increasing productivity remotely with Cisco being at the forefront with their VPN and conferencing tools (WebEx). More recently companies such as Evernote and Google (with Google Docs) have entered the game and enhanced virtual collaboration. It goes to show that the manner in which we conduct business may be shifting.

What are your thoughts on working remotely? Do you agree with the respondents of the survey in regards to the importance of being able to work remote?

HH 

See the full infographic results of Wrike’s survey here: http://5.mshcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/telecommuting-infographic.jpg