Business Connections by Adams

6 S U MM E R 2 0 2 0 Remote Work is Working Well for Many Working from home was already growing in popularity before the pandemic. Now it’s become the new normal for many people in order to maintain social distancing, and some businesses may decide to continue this practice permanently. Remote work offers economic and social benefits including cost savings, improved work/life balance, and higher productivity. Do you have employees who work remotely or wish they could do so? You’ll find these statistics interesting: • 2/3 of employers report increased productivity for remote workers compared to in-office workers. • Remote workers can save $7,000 a year and employers up to $11,000. • Remote workers report 82% reduced stress. • 57% of the IT industry in the U.S. is now remote. • 50.9% of the U.S. workforce, or 86.5 million people, could be freelancing by 2028. • About one in four Americans are now working remotely on an occasional basis. • The 10 most popular work from home positions in America are accountant, engineer, instructor, writer, consultant, program manager, project manager, customer service representative, business development manager, and account executive. • Upwork’s Future Workforce Report predicts 73% of employers will have some remote employees by 2028. • 1/3 of workers would change jobs for remote work opportunities. • 43% of remote workers consider a flexible schedule to be the biggest benefit. • Companies with female CEOs were four times more likely to offer remote work opportunities than those with men at the helm. • Less than one-third of remote workers have a home office. Instead, 27% say they work from the living room, 16% from the bedroom, 13% from the dining room, and 10% from the kitchen. Adams can equip your home with a reliable high-speed Internet connection to meet the requirements of remote work. We also offer a variety of phone and security solutions. To get details, call 217-214-8708. Tried-and-True Apps for Small Businesses There are thousands of productivity apps out there to help you do everything from managing your to-do list to staying on top of business expenses. If you don’t have the time to wade through a long list of apps, check out this short list of some of the best and most popular ones: • Best for time tracking: RescueTime, Toggl, Eternity Time Log • Best for project management: Basecamp, Trello, Asana • Best for team communication: Slack, Stride, Skype for Business • Best for customer relationship management: Streak, Insightly, Nimble • Best for accepting payments: Square, PayPal Here, Dwolla • Best for accounting: QuickBooks Online, Freshbooks, Wave • Best for creating and sharing to-do lists: Wunderlist, Evernote, OmniFocus Of course, apps are just one category of tools to boost small business efficiency and productivity. Others include the Internet, voice, security, and IT services Adams offers. Visit www.adams.net to learn more. Sources: www.tecla.io/blog/2019-remote-it-workers-stats-companies-should-know www.greatworklife.com/telecommuting-remote-working-statistics-trends www.techrepublic.com/article/73-of-all-teams-will-have-remote-workers-in-the-next-decade