Employees working from home can benefit companies: Survey
PHOTO: Employees working from home can benefit companies: Survey
PUBLISHED ONOctober 09, 2012 4:00 PM
SINGAPORE - Allowing employees to work from home, instead of making them come into the office, can actually benefit companies.
According to a survey conducted by recruitment firm Robert Half, working from home motivates employees who are better able to manage their commitments.
Companies can also save on infrastructure and other office costs.
Ms Stella Tang, Director, Robert Half Singapore, said offering flexible work arrangements to existing and prospective employees also allows employers to retain talent.
"Offering the opportunity to work from home is an attractive way to attract and retain talent.
"For professionals with family commitments who cannot commit to working in an office full-time, the option to work from home allows them to contribute their skills and continue with their career," Ms Tang said.
The survey also said that 87 per cent of Singapore companies support employees working from home as a way of embracing work-life harmony, as well as improving productivity and employee retention.
This is one of the highest percentages of employees working from home in the world, compared to the global average of 79 per cent.
In Singapore, 91 per cent of public sector employees have the opportunity to work from home, compared to 88 per cent of employees of private companies and 83 per cent of employees of public listed companies.
Those companies that never or only occasionally allow work from home have their reasons; either because the job requires a physical presence (55 per cent) or for security reasons (53 per cent).
48 per cent have reservations that employees will not perform to their capacity due to a lack of supervision.
While the vast majority of companies allow employees to work from home occasionally, a significant number of companies have policies in place to facilitate and formalise the right of employees to work from home.
In Singapore, 60 per cent of companies have a formal policy in place to manage employees who work remotely, compared to a global average of 47 per cent.
The survey of 1,777 human resources directors covered 13 countries and included 100 respondents from Singapore.