In the past year, the number of marketers working from home increased a full 8 percent. This number is predicted to go up as more people work from home in the future.
Why is it that people taking marketing director jobs in particular choose to work from home? We investigated the answers to this question by surveying remote marketing workers. Over a third provided the same basic reasons for working in this way. Here are those reasons in greater detail.
1. No Commute or Travel Time
The number one reason workers chose to do marketing from home was to avoid commuting and travel time. Those of the participants who “WFH” or who work from home live in London, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, and Oxfordshire. Clearly, not having to endure a busy commute through London traffic is a huge benefit to them. Most WFH also appreciate not needing to put up with train or tube delays.
Any city employer offering WFH will improve their chances of retaining their staff. If an employee does not need to be physically present every day, then reducing traffic for the city as a whole is beneficial to everyone. Workers also enjoy staying home to balance work and life responsibilities. They can maintain the roles that they have at home without compromising their employment.
2. Better Productivity
The next most popular reason was being more productive. Even a WFH who stays at home once a week finds that they do better when they can stay home. Marketing involves a good deal of creativity. Giving employees more flexibility by staying home when they like is one part of promoting that creativity. Workers can enjoy fewer distractions at home and become more inspired. It is a natural part of their creative process. When in an open office space, they might be interrupted by distracting co-workers, impromptu meetings or office gossip.
3. Childcare Responsibilities
The third reason many people like doing marketing work at home is their children or other family members who they care for. When they are home they can handle picking up or dropping off the children at school or manage caring for a sick family member. All the while, they can do their work full-time around these responsibilities.
WFH enjoy flexible working arrangements especially if they have to take care of a sick or disabled partner, friend, or elderly relative. Carers Trust reports one in eight employees are carers. This number is going to rise year over year.
4. Mental Health Benefits
One more reason that participants state that working from home was beneficial was their mental well-being. People feel happier at home than in the office. A study by OnePoll.com found this to be true from 54 percent of those surveyed. Another two-thirds found they loved the lower stress levels.
Personnel Today conducted its own survey. They found workers from home felt free, in control and calm. For some people, the opposite was true. They felt lonely or isolated. A good balance between WFH time at home and time at the office is essential. One or two days of work at home is good for improving mental well-being as long as it is balanced with time spent in the office.
5. Freedom to Conduct Personal Business
Going to appointments, going to further education classes or keeping health and fitness commitments were other reasons WFH love working at home. People also like being available for postal deliveries.
The above findings show how beneficial working from home is, even if it is only one or two days a week. Employers are becoming aware that offering WFH is a great way to attract and hold onto employees. Working from home is certain to remain popular for marketing professionals who need to have both work and family life balanced as well as time to inspire their creativity.