5 Reasons Remote Work is the Future of Church Staff Culture

We live in an age when creating a remote work culture is easy and can bring a lot of benefits to your staff and volunteers.

Internet and technology have advanced, allowing you to work from anywhere.

We’re going to deep dive into the reasons your church should seriously consider implementing remote work into your church staff culture. It affects everything from productivity to church staff salaries.

Benefit #1: Work anywhere, anytime

Work from home. Work from a cafe. Work at the beach.

Work can be done anywhere and any time of the day. 

As long as the work gets done on time, does it matter specifically where and exactly when it gets done? Think about it. Everyone (including yourself) prefers to work at different times, and there are times during the day when we are more productive than others. When working remote, people on your team can work during their peak times of performance. 

Benefit #2: Less distraction

Ask Jason Fried and he’ll tell you that most people say they are more productive outside of the office.

At church, where talking to people is a huge part of what we do, distractions abound for staff and volunteers.

Working remotely eliminates many distractions and allows staff and volunteers to have long periods of sustained work.

Benefit #3: More flexibility for life matters

Working remotely allows a lot more flexibility for staff members to pop to a doctors appointment, pick up the dry cleaning, or drop the kids at school. Generally, this type of flexibility results in higher employee satisfaction, and therefore longer employee retention. 

If you allow flexible work hours, then you build trust with your staff and volunteers as well. This kind of culture can foster a feeling of ownership and accountability with your team. 

Benefit #4: Better work/life balance

Working remotely frees up space for things outside of work, like hobbies and exercise.

So many people commute an hour or more each day, which leaves little time for anything else.

Working remotely gives much more space and time for a healthy life balance.

Benefit #5: More family time

Apart from our relationship with God, family should be our number one priority.

Giving your people more time to pick up their children from school, have lunch with their spouse, and be home at a reasonable hour adds so much value to their lives.

Disadvantages

There is never a silver bullet to anything so we’d be remiss not to point out some of the disadvantages. 

Some of the disadvantages to working remotely include:

• Can miss out on socializing and having face-to-face conversations
• Can be difficult to “switch off” without a set work environment
• Can be tempting to work longer hours
• Separation of work and home life can be challenging
• Communication among team members can suffer
• Non-work distractions can occur
• You may end up paying for more electricity
• Can be easy to stay at your desk for longer periods
  

A lot of these disadvantages can be counteracted with some practical training and creative thinking. 

The way we see it, the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages.