Pros and Cons of Remote vs In-House Employees

2 min read

Fri, Dec 18, 2020

With the coronavirus vaccine being rolled out across the country in the months to come, employers may be grappling with the decision to bring remote employees back to the office. Some business models have shifted to the remote option completely due to lower overhead costs and an uptick in employee productivity. Others are still examining if their pandemic response in 2020 has worked out for them.

For your consideration, here are some pros and cons of remote versus in-house employees.

Remote Pros & Cons:

Remote Employees

In-House Employees

PROS	CONS
Lower overhead - Global Workplace Analytics estimates that employers save an average of $11,000 per year on those who work remotely half the time.	Invest in new technology - Many organizations were forced to invest in remote collaboration technology earlier in 2020 so this could also be a "pro" to continue to see a return on that investment.
ROI on new technology - Many organizations were forced to buy new tools already. Why not continue to use them?	Mental Health suffers - Isolation and "Zoom-fatigue" is adding more of a burden to employee mental health.
Larger talent pool - There's no question that hiring remote employees removes the location limitations.	Slacking Off - Some employees are not being honest about their distracted or idle activity while on the clock.
High productivity - Some employees are excelling working from home and in fact, are happy to use their daily hour-long commute for work-related projects.	Work-Life Balance - A 2020 Wallet-Hub survey reveals that half of parents with young children are too distracted to be productive working from home.

PROS	CONS
Collaboration with Coworkers - One of the top things missed by remote workers is their coworkers.	Slacking off at the watercooler - While at the office, coworker chats or long lunches can reduce the amount of time actually working.
Less Meetings - The number of meetings per person has increased 13% during the pandemic as compared to before.	The commute keeps getting longer - The average American worker spent over 9 days commuting to work in 2018.
Distracted parents get a break - With parents becoming overwhelmed with childcare and work, being in the office would be a welcome break.	Childcare may still be a challenge - Unless schools reopen full-time, obtaining childcare for working parents may prove difficult.
Focused environment - Being in-house means that individual employees and teams can focus, brainstorm and work towards goals more efficiently.	Reduces retention - Two thirds of in-house employees do want to work from home and would choose it over a pay raise.

The good news is that employers now have experience of what works and what doesn't. There's also the choice of a hybrid option, rather than only remote or in-house. Employers must examine the above pros and cons, as well as many of the lessons learned during the pandemic. Some jobs may just not be cut out for remote employees. For others, it simply makes sense. The employers that have survived and thrived thus far were adaptable and flexible. Listen to your employees to determine what's right for you.