The Blog /
Working From Home vs Smaller Business Offices: Which Is Best for Downsizing Your Business?
A decline in the global economy is highly consequential for any business. According to Market Business News, some of the top reasons behind downsizing businesses are:
- To reduce costs
- Improve on efficiency with automation
- Increase profits while reducing overhead costs
- A response to a company's reduced demand rate
Downsizing office space means that you have to 'trim the fat' for maximum profitability of your business. The goal behind any reduction is to restructure your company to make it more competitive.
However, albeit the significant benefits it holds for the employer, employees face severe impacts, with some suffering a layoff while others get to work remotely.
Remote Working
Advantages
Below are some of the advantages of remote working:
Cost Saving
As your employees work from home, you get to save on utilities and maintenance costs of equipment in your office. More so, your employees get to save on time and money spent during a commute to work.
Positivity
Working from home promotes positivity among employees. Teamwork is an essential component in remote working which induces positive feelings towards work. Your staff will have to maintain communication and also coordination to accomplish their routine tasks.
Flexible Schedule
Working from home gives your employees the chance to have a flexible working schedule, therefore boosting creativity and innovation due to your employees' comfortable working environment.
Makes Business More Competitive
Despite having set missions and goals, the success of your company is highly dependent on your employees. With remote working, you can retain and recruit valuable talent in making your business competitive.
According to statistics, 35% of employees are willing to change their jobs to favour companies offering full-time remote working.
Promotes Productivity
With the absence of pressure and continuous interruptions, your employee’s productivity is set to increase with remote working. According to statistics, productivity is higher in employees who don’t have to go through a long commute to work. Also, it reduces the rate of sick days.
Improves on Wellbeing of Employees
Remote working gives your employees a comfortable working environment and less stress. Without the stressful work conditions and need to commute, your teams’ wellness and health are set to improve.
It is essential that you also insist on a company wellness program to be adopted by your employees while they work remotely.
Disadvantages
Despite this, remote working also has a handful of disadvantages:
Reduced or No Teamwork
Although most employees marvel at lone working, remote working takes away the chance to conceptualize with team members affecting work productivity.
Unmonitored Performance
Working at home means that your employees have to self-regulate and monitor their performance. As a result, your employees may end up taking frequent breaks and working less.
More Distractions
According to a survey by Glassdoor, binge-watching accounts for 32% of distractions when working from home, while child care accounts for 27%.
Bearing this in mind, you can consider having smaller business offices for your operations. However, before making that decision, you need to assess the advantages and disadvantages of migrating to a smaller office.
Moving to a Smaller Office
Advantages
Improved Productivity
As you downsize your office, one significant move would be to maintain your frontline employees. Your remaining staff will have to acquire new skills and knowledge in place of the employees laid off.
Better Facilities
When working in an office the most notable thing is the facilities. Most modern offices will come with improved broadband, a kitchen area, and desks with office utilities. Most people will not have a home office to separate themselves from home life and working life so it’s difficult to maintain a healthy working environment at home compared to an office.
Improved Communication
Less staff means less bureaucracy. With downsizing, you get to handle a handful of employees with a singular channel of communication.
Work Culture
An appealing trait for any workplace is its work culture. With a small office, maintaining and promoting a solid workplace culture becomes manageable.
Room for Innovation
Working with a small workforce makes it easier for you to innovate and transform your product line. It becomes easier to respond to market changes. Investing in both technology, research and development are highly rewarding.
Bonuses
With a small workforce, you can get creative with how you reward your employees. For example, not only can you offer salary bonuses, but you can also include travelling or spa treatments to appreciate your employees.
Such incentives will promote productivity among your employees.
Disadvantages
Some of the disadvantages you are likely to face are:
Loss of Skills and Knowledge
Downsizing relates to the loss of employees. Losing your long-term staff means that you will likely lose a considerable amount of knowledge and skillsets that would have been advantageous to your company.
With the right public consultant, you can get advice on managing your public image as you restructure.
Communication
Moving to a smaller office means that some employees are likely to face termination. Doing this will significantly impact the communication structure, disrupting the internal communication process and overall morale.
Stress on Employees
With the layoff of employees, the quantity of work in your business will remain the same. However, the remaining employees will have to take up more tasks and responsibilities, affecting their efficiency and working hours.
In addition, your staff may experience survivor remorse due to constant worry about their ex-colleagues fate.
Negative Image on Business
Massive layoffs may seem attractive to your investors, but it portrays a negative image to the public eye. Your business's social impact is vital for client retention and popularity. Ergo, laying off your employees during challenging economic times can harm your public image.
With the right public consultant, you can get advice on managing your public image as you restructure.
Moving to a smaller office can be a boon and a bane. However, it'd be best to consider downsizing office space for maximum profitability.
Improve Employee Productivity and Wellbeing With a Smaller Office
As you migrate to smaller office spaces, you need to note that the change can impact your staffs' productivity. You can include the following items to boost your employees' performance:
- Introduce incentive programs: Reward your employees for their achievement.
- Improve communication: It is easy to keep track of your team's performance with a smaller office. Ensure continuous communication by providing feedback, both positive and negative.
- Wellbeing: With a smaller group, you can invest in various programs to improve your employees' wellbeing. You can offer healthy meal options and include gym memberships as part of their benefits package.
Conclusion
How stressful can it be to find the best office space for your smaller business? Click here to find out why Kinverpoint is the best for businesses that need a smaller office space.
Get in touch