Choosing between returning to the office or working remotely is one of the main decisions companies are currently facing. Digital nomads are taking over the place. Whether working from home, using a laptop at a coffee shop, or delivering a presentation through a tablet, remote work and cloud-based applications have given workers the opportunity to work as if they were in their office.

Remote employees can now work all hours of the day and can communicate with coworkers all over the world. It has given laborers the freedom that most were looking for, and has allowed companies to cut expenses. That’s why remote work continues to be so popular.

Why is remote work thriving?

As far as the 20th century goes, the number of people owning laptops has increased exponentially, connecting a larger number of homes to the internet.

More and more public spaces have offered WiFi as their hook for digital nomads, and this has been ideal for remote work to thrive. Nevertheless, the main turning point of remote work has been the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

Productivity at its finest.

Productivity increases dramatically when employees work from home; remote workers are less likely to be interrupted by colleagues or other workplace distractions. Working from home also helps minimize tardiness, as employees don't have to deal with uncontrolled traffic and commuting.

Companies have reduced expenses.

Employees who work from home are also less likely to take sick leave. This cost savings add up quickly, as employers lose $1,800 per employee annually to unscheduled absences.

Sun Microsystems introduced a work-from-home policy in 2007. The policy eliminated 7,700  physical office seats and saved the company more than $255 million over four years, bringing in $68 million annually.

People will not return to their jobs if remote work is not an option.

In Owl Labs’ 4th annual State of Remote Work, 77% of respondents said they would be happier if they continued working from home after the Covid-19 pandemic.

The same survey also found that 1 in 2 women will not return to work if remote work is not offered.

Most remote workers aren't going to quit working from home, and that's how companies are retaining employees and spending less on training new hires.

To conclude, the survey also showed that 90% of remote workers plan to work remotely for the rest of their careers, which makes us think that once employees transition to remote work, they are unlikely to return.

On-site vs. remote work

Unlike working in an office,  a remote work policy allows companies to:

• Improve the physical and mental health of employees.
• Allow workers to trade stressful commuting for an early morning workout.
• Allow employees more time to focus on their health, improving productivity and overall well-being.
• Give more flexibility in terms of family time and personal commitments.
• Spend more money on team-building activities instead of retreats, extra phone lines, break room snacks, and office supplies.

But what about remote work infrastructure?

Team collaboration tools like Slack can be considered as a virtual office and a water cooler rolled into one. Everyone on the team can get in touch as quickly as possible with anyone else working around the world.

Project management tools like Trello also create digital to-do lists to keep everyone on the same page, even though they're never in the same place.

Virtual conference calls (Zoom, Meet, or Teams) also ensure that no one is behind a computer screen. By collaborating in face-to-face meetings, virtual workplaces remain more human than AI.

Are productivity rates the same for remote workers?

Remote workers tend to have higher engagement rates and increased productivity levels as they complete their job duties out of the office and generally on their own schedules.

The New York Times states, "People who spend between 60-80% of their working hours remote for at least 3-4 days out of the week report the highest engagement rates compared to those who never work off-site.”

The future of remote work

According to a new study by the Pew Research Center, two years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 6 in 10 (59%) of U.S. workers say their work can be done primarily from home most of the time. The same study states that the majority (83%) of these workers worked from home even before the Omicron variant started spreading across the United States.
This is significantly higher than the 23% who said they worked from home when the outbreak started.

What’s the workforce opinion on remote work?

According to a Gallup study in The New York Times, “43 percent of employed Americans said they spent at least some time working remotely.”

Since 2020, the perspective of working from home has changed significantly. Today, more workers say they do it voluntarily, not out of necessity.

The Pew Research Center study says that, out of those who have an office job, 61% chose not to go to work, and 38% said they work from home because their workplace is closed or unavailable.

When the pandemic started, it was the opposite, with 64% saying they were working from home because their offices were closed and 36% saying they were choosing to work from home.

This not only shows that employees are choosing remote work because of the freedom it represents, but it has also become a significant factor companies are evaluating because “Flexible scheduling and work-from-home opportunities play a major role in an employee’s decision to take or leave a job now,” according to The New York Times.

What impact will remote working have on the U.S. job market?

The global skills gap is emerging as a long-term economic problem. An in-depth report from Korn Ferry has predicted that more than 85 million jobs in the US could go unfilled by 2030 due to a lack of skilled workers. Importing talent from abroad is an obvious solution to this shortage, but coronavirus and strict immigration policies have made it harder to bring foreign workers to the US.

Which companies are providing a solution for the staff shortage in the U.S.?

Against this backdrop, using remote workers abroad is an attractive option for startups. Teilur ensures this is done in a way that builds long-term, collaborative relationships that benefit both parties.

One scenario is that more companies will outsource tasks at a lower cost. But for Teilur, "outsourcing" is a dirty word associated with short-term business relationships.

Instead, the talent platform is focused on helping US tech startups build meaningful, long-term relationships with Latin American developers who share their mission and values.

What’s in it for U.S. tech companies?

At the heart of Teilur’s platform is a network of 400+ pre-vetted data professionals, software developers, and growth marketers. U.S. tech companies can dip into these talent pools to find their next valued team member.

Is this business model stable?

It is! To incentivize long-term relationships, candidates on the Teilur platform get paid salaries two to three times higher than what the big tech companies offer locally.

Crucially, for US firms, Latin America can provide workers who operate in the same time zone as their US-based counterparts, making collaboration easier.

What does Teilur have that no competitor already offers?

Teilur’s platform benefits both startups and developers. Companies can save up to 60% in salaries, while candidates receive better pay than is available elsewhere in their local market.

Teilur is also committed to pricing transparency with a promise to never charge more than 25% of what the hiring company pays for a candidate – a competitive rate in a market where agencies routinely charge up to 50%.