Enjoy the summer months: 3 remote working benefits

It’s summer! Well nearly – someone should probably contact Met Eireann about that. Anyway, the summer feeling is well and truly in the air. It won’t be long now until 99s are selling as fast as Ed Sheeran tickets and your local beach as full as Bondi. One things for sure, being stuck in an office 5 days a week would most definitely dampen the summer vibes.

Picture this – you’re in a boiling hot office trying to sprint through your task list as the sun’s beaming through the window. There’s no air con or a fan in sight, and the ice cream van's playing its very noticeable theme tune. Your head is like the ice cream itself – melted.

Sound familiar? Well, this doesn’t have to be the case anymore. The conversation of remote working improving work/life balance has been highlighted like never before. With the right to request remote work having recently passed, many people will be working remotely during the summer months. There are so many benefits this can bring, and here are just three that accountants should really know about.

3 benefits of remote working

1. Improving your work/life balance

With remote working, you can customise your workday to fit your lifestyle, complete tasks in a quieter setting, and enjoy more leisurely activities (like not standing in a twenty-minute queue for Starbucks) beyond the office walls. With the ability to focus on the tasks at hand, many remote workers find themselves more productive and satisfied than ever. According to a recent survey among Irish workers, 92% of workers who had worked remotely in the previous 12 months were satisfied or very satisfied with their job. Imagine not having to suffer through an hour-long roasting car ride home after a long day at work. Instead, you can savour your evenings under the warm sun, doing what you love.

2. Flexible hours

Some companies offer flexible hours, gifting you the freedom to spend more quality time with your loved ones or pursue passions you’ve been putting on hold. Whether you're an early bird or a night owl, request the schedule that suits you best. For instance, if you typically work 9:00 am - 5:00 pm, you could start two hours earlier and finish at 3:00 pm. If you need to step out during the day, you can just make up the hours at your convenience. Work flexibility is like an ice-cold drink on a warm day – refreshing.

3. Prioritising tasks

It’s crossed most of our minds at some point – wouldn’t it be easy to become distracted? Well, it’s really not as bad as you think. There are processes and systems you can put in place to support you. Let’s take practice management software for example, like AccountancyManager. You can view what tasks need to be completed, the deadline of each, the progress so far, and who's working on it. You can break down big tasks into subtasks, so not even the smallest of tasks will slip through the cracks this summer. And because it’s in the cloud, it gives you that full visibility of what your team’s working on in real-time – whether you’re in the office, at home, or by the pool in sunny Spain.

Can your team work remotely?

With the summer months just around the corner, now is the time to get the processes and systems in place to work from home efficiently. With less commuting, improved work/life balance, and more time to spend with family and friends during the good weather, remote working could be just the thing you need. If you'd like to see our practice management software in more detail, you can book a free one-to-one demo below.