The pandemic introduced that working from office is not the only option. Employees can work from remote locations and complete their tasks without compromising the quality of work or delaying the deadlines. 

However, this model has benefitted the employees and employers, but another entity has benefitted from this model as well. That entity is Earth, and the impact of remote working is positive in many aspects of the environment. 

According to a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, remote workers have a carbon footprint of less than half that of in-person employees. It is because there is less road traffic, and this means less carbon dioxide emissions. This is one of the examples, and there are many others to support the fact that remote-first work is one of the best approaches to protect the environment. 

Working from remote locations revolutionizes the way employees utilize resources, contributing to a greener and healthier environment. Understanding these advantages will allow more hiring managers to adopt remote work policies and create a positive impact on the environment.

Hiring Remote Workers for a Positive Environmental Impact

When companies hire remote talent, it isn’t just good for employee satisfaction and productivity but also plays a major role in paving the way for a greener, more sustainable future. Hiring remote workers means employees work from home rather than travelling back and forth to an office. It means they use less electricity, reduce fuel consumption, and contribute less to rising pollution levels.

Here are five of the most notable ways your organization benefits from remote team management: 

• Decreased Greenhouse Gas Emissions

The most definitive environmental effect of hiring remote workers is the decreased volume of greenhouse gas emissions. Studies have revealed that particulate matter concentrations were 23% lower than expected when stay-at-home orders took effect in 2020. Nitrogen dioxide pollution in northern China, the United States, and Western Europe also decreased by around 60% compared to the previous year.

People working from home and not commuting to an office helps with less greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. This not only benefits the environment but also helps companies meet their carbon emissions targets easily.

• Lower Natural Resource Consumption

Remote work means less dependency on paper because of the use of digital documents. Office supplies, food, paper, appliances, and energy are just some of the few resources that a business needs to maintain a physical work environment.  When working from home, employees generally use the resources within their own space. This helps alleviate some of the pressure on the company to spend and consume resources and also helps reduce its overall carbon footprint.

•  Increased Energy Savings

Workspaces often require a lot of energy to operate. Air conditioners, laptop chargers, photocopiers, lights, kitchen appliances, and more all contribute to a higher energy bill. According to a report, companies can save up to $10,600 per employee due to reduced energy costs by adopting remote work.

The more energy resources employees use, the more expenses a particular business has and also contributes to the degrading of the environment. When companies hire remote talent, it does increase residential energy use, but the commercial energy bill is reduced. For instance, due to the remote business model and services, Andela, one of the global companies, has had no direct emissions from its workplace.

• Reduced Oil Consumption and Pollution

Burning fuel is bad for the environment; however, this resource is still aggressively harvested. Remote work does not require employees to drive or commute to and from work daily, which can significantly reduce the amount of oil consumed. When fossil fuels are used, it leads to the production of greenhouse gas emissions, leading to low air quality. 

When employees function in a remote work environment, they spend considerably less time in traffic. This helps them mitigate rising air pollution levels and contribute to a cleaner atmosphere, allowing sufficient oxygen levels.

Additional benefits of an eco-friendly remote work

How to Hire Remote Talent?

While remote opportunities can significantly impact employees, organizations, and the environment, they can also have some disadvantages. For instance, there is a lack of human interaction, which is essential to building a sense of loyalty and teamwork. Remote work is dependent upon timely updates, and miscommunication or delayed responses can hamper productivity. 

Hence, hiring talent is best so that you find the right people for the remote work model. There are two ways to hire your remote team: 

• Conventional Hiring Method: In this method, you follow the same method to hire remote workers as you do for hiring onsite employees. You drop a requirement of a remote work job opportunity in your company on social media and recruiting websites. Based on the applications you receive, you sort the candidates and conduct interviews to find the best one. 
• Staff Augmentation: Staff Augmentation is an approach where you outsource your employee requirements to a third-party company. The employees act as an extension of your team and can work from remote locations. 

Staff augmentation is perfect when your internal team is unable to meet the existing requirements. However, hiring is usually based on a project basis. 

Meanwhile, conventional hiring is a tedious process, and it can take 15-30 days to close one job requirement. The time span to fill the job vacancy might increase if the role is related to a senior position or the job responsibilities are complicated. 

Hence, if you want to close the requirement and hire a skilled person quickly, then it is best to use platforms like Hyqoo. Hyqoo is an AI-based talent cloud platform that holds the records of 14 million talented professionals. 

They have a vetted pool of professionals, so you do not have to spend your time and energy sorting the applications. You will have to explain your requirements, and the Hyqoo team will provide the list of the best candidates. You can take an interview with them, and you can close the vacancy within 2-3 days. 

The best part? Hyqoo offers remote-based talent, so you can build your team of remote workers from anywhere in the world. 

The Bottom Line

Working remotely is good for your employees and for the environment, contributing to a healthier planet. As hiring managers, it’s now time to adopt remote work and contribute to a greener environment. Whether you want to hire software engineers or team leads, everyone can work from remote locations, provided that you have hired the right people in your team. 

With a remote team, you save significantly on energy bills, operational costs, and office space. All of these savings translate into a reduction in carbon emissions, which is what we require to protect our planet.