COVID-19 has caused a lot of changes to day-to-day life across the world. One of the biggest has been a shift from working in offices to working from home. Many businesses, from law offices to marketing companies, have been forced to learn how to work remotely. This has had all kinds of effects on the world, including just how eco-friendly working from home can be. In a world where energy use is doubling every 20 years, saving as much energy and keeping our carbon footprints light is extremely important.
The benefits of working from home are many. Employees don’t have to worry about spending money on gas for commuting. There’s no worrying about office politics getting in the way of work efficacy. Stress surrounding dress-codes and lunches can be relieved and employees can start and end their days in a way that’s more efficient and more comfortable for them. Working from home is very appealing to employees, with more than half of remote workers saying they would leave their current job for a full-time remote position, even if there wasn’t a change in pay. Remote working often increases efficiency and productivity as well, but if none of those is a sufficient argument for remote working, then there’s more.
Not only does working from home mean less carbon being generated by commuting cars and public transport but it also means less carbon being produced by entire companies. About 50% of the energy used in a typical commercial building is consumed by the HVAC system, meaning half of the energy a business uses is spent heating or cooling the office space for workers. Companies can save a lot of money by reducing heating and cooling costs, which can only be done if employees work remotely.
Companies can also reduce waste by switching to remote working, even for just part of the year. Not only does remote work mean less use of paper products, printer ink, and other heavily used office supplies, it also means less money spent on these things. This could save companies a lot of money. It could be a huge boost to companies’ reputations if they are willing to change business practices even after COVID-19 passes to make employees more comfortable and help the planet.
The capital statement surrounding eco-friendless is to reduce, reuse, and recycle, which classify waste management strategies according to their desirability in terms of waste minimization. Working from home might seem like a lazy thing or be the dream of many homebound millennials, but it should be something companies should be willing to try. Not only will employees be happier and more efficient, but companies can save money and save the world.
