The remote workforce continues to grow, and both employers and employees are finding numerous benefits. This ebook offers a practical look at the tools that can facilitate collaboration and communication, telepresence, project and time management, and security.

From the ebook:

Seemingly overnight, remote work has gone from that rare unicorn of workforce arrangements to a standard component of many people’s workweek. According to one Gallup poll, 43 percent of employed Americans log at least some out-of-office, on-the-clock time. A full 31 percent of those who work remotely at least some of the time spend four or five days a week out of the office.

What explains the change? Some of it has to do with the rise of the freelance worker. Nearly 50 percent of millennials are freelancers, and employers are limited in how and when they require contract employees to be onsite.

But many employers are also allowing or even encouraging their traditional employees to work remotely, and for good reason. While the battle rages on between proponents of out-of-office time on one hand and the serendipity of workplace encounters on the other, it turns out there are some compelling benefits to remote work arrangements that shouldn’t be overlooked.

What are the biggest benefits of a remote workforce?
For employers, those benefits come in the form of a larger potential labor pool. When an employee pool isn’t geographically restricted, the likelihood of finding the right employee rises. And out-of-area employees can be cheaper in many cases, saving employers money.

There’s also evidence that remote workers are more productive. According to a Global Workplace Analytics survey, 53 percent of remote workers said they were likely to work overtime. That’s compared to just 28 percent of in-office workers.