With the advancements of technology, it’s becoming less necessary for companies to hire workers who commute to a physical location. One example is Uber—they’ve become the biggest taxi company in the world, but they don’t actually own any cars. How do they do this? By hiring remote workers who already own their own cars.

Many businesses are trending towards existing solely online and hiring employees who can work from anywhere they have an internet connection. But, does this actually provide tangible benefits?

According to recent research it does, and here’s how.

Productivity

According to recent research, workers who work remotely are actually more productive than their counterparts bound to a physical office.

This is for two main reasons: the first is working from home allows employees to avoid the distractions of the workplace, and truly focus in an environment where they feel relaxed and at ease. There are no incessant meetings that could have been emails, and there’s no office gossip to get in the way of their ability to focus—they can give all their attention to the task at hand.

Secondly, they have more freedom to work hours during which they are more productive. While some people certainly thrive working a 9-5, others don’t—working remotely often means being able to work at one’s own pace. Employees who feel they are more productive during the early afternoon or even evening can take advantage of this and work when they know they will get the most done.

Reduces Costs

One of the biggest costs associated with running a business is office space. It’s expensive to rent out space for staff—especially if you’re in a large city where space is at a premium. However, domain names are incredibly cheap by comparison.

A recent study found the average business could save $10,000 per employee per year in real estate costs by replacing on-location workers with remote workers.

Employee Retention

The cost associated with training a new employee can be staggering—it often requires a significant number of resources, including a substantial investment of someone’s time, spent actually training said employee, so it’s important for companies to ensure they are able to keep the employees they hire.

According to recent research, 95 percent of companies reported that working remotely has a significant impact on them keeping their employees—which makes sense considering a poor commute is one of the biggest reasons 66 percent of employees choose to change jobs.

It’s Environmentally Friendly

Whether you believe climate change is a real, looming catastrophe or not, the fines and taxes many governments are implementing on businesses that aren’t making an effort to go green are very real, as are the tax breaks and incentives they’re offering for businesses that are making an effort to reduce their carbon footprint.

According to recent studies, if employees with jobs that can accommodate working from home/remotely did so just half the time, it would save $20 million in gas, prevent 54 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions, and save 640 million barrels of oil.