Working from home has pros and cons in terms of corporate wellness, but when it comes to environmental wellness there’s nothing better. This is according to a new survey conducted by online market research firm USamp, who found that having employees who work from home cuts down on your company’s waste and electricity.
Funded by 13 year old telepresence software maker TeamViewer, the study revealed that you are more likely to care for the planet’s wellbeing when you work from home as you are less likely to leave the lights on all day and more likely to recycle in your own home. However, when you’re in the office you tend to care less if you chuck a paper cup into the bin instead of the recycling, or leave the lights on all night (probably because you’re not footing the electricity bill!)
When working at home, 74% of us turn the lights off when we leave the room, while 56% keep the heating and air-conditioning low to save energy. At 53%, at least half of us print using minimal amounts of paper, and 50% power down our computers at night. A decent 39% of respondents said that they recycle at home, and, presumably because they work right next to the kitchen sink, 34% reported that they avoid bottled water.
According to the survey results, a surprising number of bosses think that environmental concerns matter when deciding to whether or not to allow telecommuting. An impressive 42% reported that they strongly or very strongly consider environmental concerns when deciding on allowing employees to work from home. This rises to an even more impressive 62% when you include those who said that environment considerations were considered at least somewhat strongly.
The study was produced in honour of Earth Day, which was last Monday, in order to determine the environmental impact of working from home. Holger Felgner, General Manager at TeamViewer, commented, ‘The study shows that not only do employees stand to save money when they are able to work from home, but the specific behavioural changes that people exhibit contribute significantly to the conservation of our environment.’