Advantages

• Some advantages of allowing a work from home policy include better retention, improved work-life balance, relocation possibilities, a wider talent pool, increased diversity, and better productivity.
• Approximately 34% of workers say they would take a pay cut of up to 5% in order to work remotely, and 24% say they would take a pay cut of up to 5% in order to work remotely.
• Over 80% of respondents to a survey about working remotely said that working remotely would make them happier, feel more trusted at work, and allow them to better manage work-life conflicts.
• A 2019 study of teleworkers in various occupations found that employees whose jobs were highly complex but required little collaboration performed better when telecommuting than when in the company's office.
• A 2015 research review found that on the whole telecommuting increased job satisfaction, performance, and feelings of commitment to an organization among employees.
• A meta-analysis found that a telecommuter's relationships with colleagues usually only suffered if they worked remotely three or more days each week.

Disadvantages

• Some disadvantages of allowing a work from home policy include the reliance on trust, potential security threats, poor communication, and awkward flexibility.
• According to a survey of Canadian businesses, some obstacles to implementing flexible work options include management resistance, concern over productivity losses, and a lack of jobs suitable for flexible work.
• A 2015 research review found that some drawbacks of telecommuting include social and professional isolation, fewer opportunities for information sharing and a blurring of boundaries between work and personal life.

Canadian Companies

•  World Vision Canada offers flexible hours, compressed workweek options, and telecommuting.
•  Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre offers a shortened workweek, compressed work week, and telecommuting options.
•  Telus allows around 47% of its workforce to work outside the office on any given day.

Other Relevant Information

• In the US, 57% of workers had a flexible schedule in 2018, and 25% worked at home some of the time.
• Of remote workers in the US, 54% work remotely at least once per month and 48% work remotely at least once per week.
• The three departments most represented among people who work remotely are Facilities/ Operations/ IT, Customer Support, and Sales.
• A survey of Canadian businesses revealed that while 88% of Canadian businesses offer flexible work arrangements, 45% of those companies only offer it to their most senior employees.