Is Remote Working Healthier?

It’s no secret at this point that remote working has been reported as being more productive than taking a typical, in-office position… but what about health? Is remote working healthier? It’s the latest debate on the table, and we’ve got a few thoughts about it.

While new stats are coming in every day, there are quite a few factors that are already contributing to the argument that remote working is healthier for humans than commuting to and working from an office. From cutting out the commute to getting more sleep, here’s what the numbers are telling us so far.

While cutting out the daily commute to work may seem like more of a convenience factor than anything else, it could actually be contributing to worker health. According to the Department of Transportation, the average American spends an average of 38 hours a year commuting in a vehicle. So why is this a big deal? A Gallup survey reveals that longer commutes correlate with more recurrent neck and back problems. And the trouble doesn’t stop there. Those who have long commutes are also more likely to have been diagnosed with high cholesterol and obese BMIs, two factors which certainly aren’t doing the body any favors.

There’s no denying that a healthy diet and plenty of sleep work wonders in improving one’s health. Well, as it turns out, remote workers are doing that better than their in-office counterparts. CoSo Cloud, the trusted private-cloud solutions provider for Adobe Connect, found in a recent study that 42% of remote workers reported eating healthier than they do while working from a traditional office environment. To further the argument that remote workers are living healthier lives, the same study found that 45% of remote workers are getting more sleep.

When you don’t have to go into the office to get your paycheck, do you really have to get up at all? That’s the thought of many non-remote workers who see telecommuting as an excuse for employees to remain in their pajamas all day and never leave their bed. But guess what? They’re wrong. The aforementioned CoSo Cloud survey reported that a whopping 35% of remote workers are getting more physical exercise than they did when they worked in an office. We weren’t surprised. After all, when you cut out the commute and can take those middle-of-the-day yoga classes you’ve always dreamt about taking, why wouldn’t you want to exercise more?

How many coworkers do you know that would still show up to work even if they were on the verge of getting sick? In today’s workforce, probably quite a few. While it might seem like coming into work sick points to a strong work ethic (and maybe it does), it also increases the likelihood of bringing germs into the workplace. A survey conducted by Wakefield Research found that 69% of working Americans don’t take sick days, even when they’re ill. To further make you cringe, the Wakefield Research also found that 62% of employees have gone to work sick. Ever caught a cold from a cubicle mate? Yup, that doesn’t happen with remote working.

Stress can arise from a number of factors, and it can also wreak havoc on the body, mind, and overall lifespan of a human if it becomes extreme. Simply put, sleep-depriving stress is not a healthy thing. PGi, a leading global provider of collaboration software and services, revealed that 82% of remote workers reported lower stress levels according to their study. Makes sense to us. It’s amazing the amount of stress that glides off of one’s shoulders when someone isn’t constantly looking over them, right? Right.