Working remotely: It does the environment, body and business good

According to FlexJobs’ 2019 Annual Survey, 78 per cent of people said having a flexible job would allow them to be healthier and 86 per cent said they’d be less stressed (Westend61/Getty Image)

Working from home is the new norm due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Overnight, remote work became a requirement as many offices closed. Prior to the pandemic, just 43 per cent of Canadian professionals were doing so, according to a survey conducted in January by global human resource consulting firm, Robert Half.

This abrupt shift is not only impacting how we live and work, but the environment as well. What will this look like once the restrictions related to COVID-19 ease? These experts weigh in with their post-pandemic predictions. 

DIMINISHED CARBON FOOTPRINTS

It isn’t news that working remotely is good for the environment. Research shows it reduces emissions, fuel and energy consumption, and even office waste. 

With travel restrictions, cities locked down and factories brought to a halt around the world due to COVID-19, reports indicate that nitrogen dioxide and carbon emissions have dropped in several countries including China, South Korea and Italy.

“We’ve had a thousand and one excuses as to why we can’t deal with climate change,” says Canadian bioethicist and conservationist Kerry Bowman, assistant professor, faculty of medicine, University of Toronto. “I’m not saying it’s an easy thing. But what we are seeing with this global pandemic are changes, metaphorically, literally overnight.”

Though full data is pending, existing research certainly suggests that the environmental impacts of COVID-19 could be substantial. 

According to Global Workplace Analytics, part-time remote work in the U.S. could slow carbon emissions by more than 51 million metric tonnes annually. Carbon footprints also diminish with reduced office energy, less business travel, and paper usage, it says. Meanwhile—with idling traffic accounting for three billion gallons of fuel and 26 million extra tons of emitted greenhouse gases—a one per cent reduction in vehicles on the roads could yield a three-fold decrease in congestion. Even roadway construction from wear and tear could be reduced by 112 billion miles a year, it says.

“When this [pandemic] ends, our massive climate change problem will not have gone away…what I really hope is that the environmental lens of this will stay focused,” says Bowman. “The good news would be, if we can change behaviour that quickly, we can do it on other environmental fronts.”

BETTER WORK-LIFE BALANCE

Working remotely can have immediate benefits to people’s health and well-being. This recent shift, for example, has forced us to slow down, leaving us to focus more on everyday life, perhaps even adjusting our professional ones.   

According to FlexJobs’ 2019 Annual Survey, 78 per cent of people said having a flexible job would allow them to be healthier (eat better, exercise more, and so on) and 86 per cent said they’d be less stressed.

“You get benefits from increased physical activity, mental-health benefits from reduced stress, increased family time,” says Trevor Hancock, retired professor and senior scholar, school of public health and social policy, University of Victoria. “Once we stop running like hamsters on a wheel, [we can] look around and almost literally smell the roses.”

In the long-term, Hancock sees the remote work experience being less of an isolated “work from home” scenario and more a community-driven initiative. His vision comes in the form of telecommuting centres located in communities outside of downtown cores, that would allow groups of employees, from various industries and organizations, to work in a central location, keeping their commuting times down and social engagement up. 

“If you could get 20 per cent of people not commuting in a day, that’s a massive drop in your commuter traffic,” he says. 

“You could have a telecommuting centre for public agencies and government ministries, NGOs and the private sector. You start to build links to people outside of the usual realm of contact … as a way to build community.”

INCREASED EMPLOYEE PRODUCTIVITY

From a business perspective, the advantages of remote work also hold up. A few companies that have led the way include Dell, Xerox, and Aetna, which implemented remote work programs in recent years. 

Not only do these companies reduce their carbon footprint, adhere to climate change standards and boost competitiveness, but they also increase employee productivity, retention and job satisfaction. According to the FlexJobs survey, 80 per cent of respondents said they were more loyal to employers that offered remote work options, 28 per cent said they would take a pay cut for flexibility and 65 per cent said they were more productive working from home than in an office. 

Moving forward, out of this pandemic there is an opportunity, agree Bowman and Hancock. If COVID-19 teaches us one thing, they add, it’s that we’re able to shift gears quickly, and that “business as usual” may look quite different down the line. 

“We’re going to have data for the first time to see just how effective remote work can be,” says Bowman. “What I hope is that there’ll be a lot of take-home lessons from this.”

Hancock agrees, adding that real “resilience means bouncing forward not back to where we were before.”

“That’s not going to happen overnight. We may end up going back to the way things were in the short term,” adds Hancock. “[But this] might be the spur that leads us to say, well, maybe there’s a better way to do this … Yes, we can shift the way we do things.”

MORE SUSTAINABILITY AND COVID-19 UPDATES

Learn why businesses need to respond to climate change now and how CPAs can play a role in developing robust standards and practices related to sustainable finance.

Also, stay productive while working from home, even if you have the kids in tow. Get tips on how to keep your small business running and take full advantage of government funding during the pandemic. And be on top of the latest news related to COVID-19, including a compilation of external resources and online news articles.