Companies are now seriously exploring the option of permanent remote working for some of their employees, to see how they can get continued savings even after the pandemic ends. According to Global WorkplaceAnalytics, 6 out of 10 companies have experienced huge cost savings as a direct result of online collaboration in terms of lower costs from office rent, utilities, and other office expenses. Companies like Microsystems, Dow Chemical, and Nortel reported huge savings in real estate and non-real estate costs.
Even going by the study conducted during the pre-pandemic era, the benefits from online collaboration were quite significant. British Telecom company 02 experimented with telecommuting for a day and the company received 1,000 additional work hours from employees. Employees were richer by $11,000 that year due to lower fuel expenses and other costs such as childcare among others. No one can deny that online collaboration has reduced wasteful travel time and provided better work-life balance.