The four benefits of mobile working

What is mobile working?

Mobile working, whether from a home office or a café, or the beach was becoming increasingly popular with employees long before the pandemic.

With the advance of portable technology and digital platforms to aid mobile collaboration, the mobile workforce continued to grow. Around 43% of Americans said they were working remotely either full or part-time as far back as 2017.

And with global lockdowns came a realisation for business leaders, too.

They saw – in an unprecedented real-time experiment – that remote working could work at scale. Now, as organisations look at hybrid working models as part of the wider return to work, it seems clear that the mobile workforce is here to stay. But how do you keep them engaged? How do you keep them connected?

Here are four reasons why mobile working is beneficial, not only for employees but for businesses too.

The benefits of mobile workforce

1. A mobile workforce keeps costs down

All businesses, particularly small businesses and startups, need to try to keep expenses to a minimum. But hiring enough staff to cope with growing demand means creating more workspace, which costs more money – a catch-22 for an expanding business.

Plus, as well as the expense, there's the time and distraction involved in finding and settling into new premises.

Encouraging employees to work remotely one or two days a week can save on some of these costs. It can reduce bills too, as fewer people will be using workplace utilities.

2. Flexible working boosts employee engagement

Research shows that having the freedom and flexibility to work remotely boosts employee engagement. This can soon be reflected in a company's productivity.

And it's hardly surprising that employees value the option. "Anywhere working" using portable technology means that people can carry out their tasks during the hours that suit them.

This often enables them to cut out the commute to and from work – meaning a less stressful start and end to the day.

3. Mobile working can boost recruitment

According to a Powwownow survey¹, 70% of workers feel that offering flexible working makes a job more attractive to them.

And from an organisation's point of view, allowing mobile working means that a much wider pool of job candidates are available to them.

Geography is less of a barrier if people don't have to come in to the workplace every day. And jobs can be more accessible to people with disabilities, giving employers the chance to benefit from their talents.

4. Mobile working increases productivity

Being able to work on the move means that people can use previously "dead" time, such as travel to offsite meetings, more productively. And mobile collaboration tools, such as Workplace, enable people to take part in meetings, share ideas and stay connected, wherever they are.

When employees work remotely from home, productivity can be boosted even further. A Stanford study² found that voluntary work-from-homers were far less likely to finish work early, begin late, take breaks and full hour-long lunches.

They even took less time off over a 6-month period. Bloom's study proves that just because employees are working offsite, doesn't mean they're off the radar.

In fact, with more and more businesses expanding into different countries, having tools to collaborate with off-site employees is essential.