70% of Your Employees May Want to Work From Home this Holiday Season

In between opening Christmas presents and cooking the turkey, a whopping 66 percent of employees will be checking work emails on Christmas Day. This was the finding of a survey by West Unified Communications Services on remote workers and changing working patterns.

The study, which surveyed more than 600 full-time U.S. employees about their holiday work plans, found that 70 percent of employees who are able to work remotely, plan to do so for at least one day during the holidays. Half of the employees surveyed said they plan to combine remote with paid time off over the festive season, with just 16 percent saying they would take paid time off only.

Giving employees the power, freedom and flexibility to work from home during holiday time comes with many benefits to small businesses and their employees. Enabling remote, out-of-office employees to collaborate with colleagues or clients during the holidays, check in with work, or solve any issues that arise, will help a business’s professionalism and productiveness.

Giving employees the freedom and flexibility of being able to work from home can boost morale within a workforce, ultimately helping to increase staff loyalty and retention rates.

As Kevin McMahon, Technology Marketing Executive of West Unified Communications Services, said in a blog post about the survey:

“While some might perceive checking your email so often or during non-work hours as an intrusion on personal time, others enjoy the ability to stay connected while getting more time out of the office. The key for today’s innovative companies is being able to provide the collaboration tools for both preferences.”

The company’s research reveals the significant shifts in working patterns and habits, as the traditional 9 to 5 workday is becoming increasingly replaced with a more flexible, though often longer-lasting work schedule.

Holiday Emails Photo via Shutterstock

This article, "70% of Your Employees May Want to Work From Home this Holiday Season" was first published on Small Business Trends