Letting your team work from home brings many benefits - whether it’s improved productivity, a wider pool of workers to choose from or easy cost savings on office space. Here OKA’s Jack Stevens details some top tips for how workers can get the most out of their remote working space. 

If you let your employees work from home you’re not alone - with more than 4m people in the UK now working flexibly, an increasing number of firms are embracing the practice. It makes sense. Today’s technology means it’s easy for people to keep in touch with the office wherever they are. We just Skype-in. Or edit that document on the cloud. We’re busier these days, too (or at least we feel like we are) - so we crave a better work-life balance. Cut the commute and make time for family, friends, that doctor’s appointment. So setting up a working-from-home policy can be good for business. Its benefits can include: 

• Improved staff recruitment and retention
• Motivated, productive employees
• Reduced sickness absence
• Cost savings on rent and car-parking spaces

But, of course, there are concerns too - that, with the absence of any on-site management, remote employees could:

• Abuse the policy
• Not work a full shift
• Struggle to stay motivated

Here are some top tips. Why not give these handy hints to your home workers? It could improve their productivity at work.

Better productivity when working from home - three things you could tell your employees:

• Get some new wallpaper up - did you know blue and green colours are linked to higher productivity?
• Take a break - microbreaks (from 30 seconds to five minutes) can improve your thinking.
• Keep an eye on the temperature - 70-73 degrees Fahrenheit is the optimum for productivity.

Did you know? Under recent changes to the law, all employees now have the legal right to request flexible working.

Jack Stevens is ecommerce manager at OKA Direct. Check out this infographic and blog post to find out more about remote working productivity