Experience tells us that being productive and healthy is a direct precursor to saving more money (and earning more money as well) – so how does this relate to remote workers?
For many professionals, the benefits of having a remote job are associated with productivity and well-being rather than personal finance. Indeed, working from home or a local cafe/library is a dream scenario for people with all income levels.
A study by Stanford University shows: remote workers perform 13% better than their in-office counterparts, finally addressing the “lazy freelancer on a beach” myth. What factors can this statistic be attributed to?
- Fewer breaks.
- Less sick days.
- Independence from the weather.
However, the worker’s mindset also plays a huge role: the office environment can contain all sorts of distractions which are absent in the remote workplace.
Remote Work = Cost Savings
As evidenced by DoughRoller’s study, remote workers can save more than $7000 annually — and the industry’s statistics about remote work prove it quite well. The main saving points include:
Food and drinks. Remote workers avoid daily Starbucks rituals and prefer to home-cook instead. Eating out and drinking out — relatively benign spending categories on the surface — can add up and turn into real sinkholes that bring chaos to your budget. For many people, so-called “social spending” is a problem that is difficult to unearth: grabbing a coffee and visiting bars seems essential for socializing, so even slightly cutting on this category presents a challenge.
Commute. “Time is money” is a good phrase to remember while waiting for yet another traffic jam to clear up. With the average commute time reaching 52 minutes, you cannot help but muse over commute-associated costs like car and gas prices. More important, however, are these 52 minutes that are quite hard to capitalize on: although podcasts can help to fill this space, more quality activities (e.g. spending time with family or doing something creative) are out of reach.
Child care. The rising cost of child care is impacting parents in most western countries. As reported by the Federal Government of the US, full-time childcare costs average between $4,600 to $15,000 annually — a piece of information which many remote workers will probably glance over as they can cut these costs significantly, if not completely.
Location. This is arguably the biggest money-saving aspect — the ability to escape cities with a high cost of living — having choice around where one lives, and being able to reside in more affordable locations while still working for a company regardless of their headquarters.
However, trying to cut costs by not going out presents an opposite caveat: it is equally important to keep socializing. For many aggressive savers, it is difficult to accept that social drinking, for instance, is increasingly becoming a part of the work culture — and there is no magic formula on how to balance this kind of saving with this kind of spending (although one solution would be to budget for fun activities).
Remote Companies Save More As Well
Lastly, a study by the Global Workplace Analytics reveals: companies can save around $11,000 by preferring to go full-on remote: in this case, the main saving point concerns offices which consume the capital via utility bills, equipment, insurance, and office supplies.
Additionally, these companies are no longer limited to local talent — and this is something job seekers can take advantage of when advancing their career. In our business, for instance, remote work is essential: we get access to the best remote web developers from all around the world.
Is remote work the panacea for all financial problems? Hardly so. But when choosing how to manage your personal finances, keep in mind the perks of having a remote job and the money it might help you save.
Photo by Anton Shuvalov on Unsplash
About the Author
Denis Kryukov is an author at Soshace, an online hiring platform that connects IT professionals and companies.
Vishant Khare
June 11, 2019 at 4:17 pmI still, don’t understand how some organizations and employees don’t see the benefits of working remotely. With the technology that we have today, there is no reason why people would still be stuck inside four walls to operate a business.
In the coming years, most of the jobs & organizations will move to remote working. Hiring, on-boarding, company culture & entire operations will be a part of the virtual world. As we reach closer to the future of work, it is essential for all of us to understand the remote work environment in depth, not just as an organization but also as employees seeking flexible opportunities.