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Thinking about making a plunge into remote work but still have some doubts? That’s absolutely normal. Despite you really want to do it you’re hesitant due to the uncertainty and not knowing what awaits you around the corner.

Remote work is on the rise, it’s a fact. And the number of companies which adopt this concept is also growing. There are some well-known companies with fully teams all over the globe – Automattic, Zapier, Buffer, Trello, InVision, HotJar and many others.

Seeing all those breathtaking photos of digital nomads who work and travel on social media, more and more people want to adopt this lifestyle. The benefits of working remotely are not limited to the ability to work and travel at the same time, there’s much more to it.

In order to ease your anxiety and help you take the leap joining a distributed workforce, we decided to show you what is waiting for you on the other side. Let’s have a look at 7 main benefits the remote work has got in store for you.

1. Health benefits

Working from the comfort of your home, a coffee shop or a co-working space you have more flexibility to introduce more physical activity into your daily schedule: go for a walk outside during a lunch break, hit the gym or hop on your bicycle instead of an hour of the commute. The choice is yours. You can even combine the work and healthy lifestyle while traveling. Why not working somewhere in the nature breathing in the fresh air? Just don’t forget your portable battery.

Also, you can take better care of your diet and eat healthier meals. And don’t forget that remote work is closely linked with stress reduction which holds great benefits for your health.

Since you’re designing the workplace for yourself you can make it ergonomic and comfortable. Therefore, staying at the desk for several hours in a row won’t hurt your health that much.

2. Flexibility

We’re humans and not machines. Each of us has his/her own biological rhythm. Some cannot be dragged out of bed in the morning, others can’t digest any information in the evening. Remote work makes it possible to create your own schedule, to organize the day in a way that fits your personal needs and your daily agenda.

When you have the flexibility to work during the hours that prove to be the most natural, you’re becoming the most productive. You’re location independent, not attached to a certain place to do your job. You can work from a different city every week, from the comfort of your home or hop to a nearby coworking for the rest of the day when you feel like you need some communication.

3. No commute

I would love to commute to the office today. Said no one, ever. I’m sure you won’t be the one to miss the morning and evening traffic jams or wasting 2-3 hours of your day in the subway. By the time you get to work, you’re already burned out. And by the time you leave the office, you’re already dreading the next morning. Not the best way to spend a big part of your life. Instead of commuting to the office on daily basis travel to a different country or continent. Discover a new culture, see amazing places of our planet while doing the job you love.

People who commute regularly show lower life satisfaction, lower levels of happiness and higher anxiety compared to those who don’t have to commute.

4. Increased productivity

Knowing your supervisor or manager is closely watching you does not guarantee that the work is actually getting done. Quite the contrary, often office distractions decrease the productivity and slow down the work rhythm. Being able to avoid standard working distractions like loud colleagues, unnecessary lengthy meetings or water cooler gossip will have a positive impact on your productivity.

Besides, you’ll be free to choose the environment in which you’re more comfortable to work. It can be organizing your home office to suit your needs or grabbing a laptop and working from your favorite coffee shop or even another country. Working from your preferred happy place can give a great boost to your productivity.

5. Better work-life balance

Don’t miss such small pleasures of life as having a breakfast with your family not having to rush for the office commute. Go to the playground with the kids during your break or play basketball with your son right after you turn off your computer. Get to see how your children grow, be able to present on important family events, make more time to enjoy the things you love.

Dreaming to discover the world? You don’t have to wait for that once per year vacation. Pack your laptop, find a place with stable wi-fi and work from that bucket list destination you longed to see. We live just once so why not work from somewhere amazing.

6. Positive effect on the environment

Making a transition to remote work lifestyle you should look not only at the benefits it holds for you personally but at the larger picture. Have you given a thought that your desire to work remotely would benefit not only you but the planet overall? For the working population of the city dwellers working remotely means lowering the amount of traffic during the day. As the result, the quality of air in the cities will improve. Which also means that people’s health will improve thanks to better quality of the air they breathe.

You can also escape oversaturated cities and travel to remote destinations, as a laptop is all you need to get the job done, where you can enjoy the tranquility. Less commuting also means a smaller carbon footprint, decrease in greenhouse gas emissions and energy savings. Nice to realize that your workplace choices have a positive impact on the world around you.

7. Happiness

Remote workers report increased happiness level comparing to people working in the office. Why? It’s quite easy to explain. Since you can escape the regular 9-to-5 office routine you’ll be able to have the freedom of choice. Being able to spend more time with your family and friends and to choose the hours you want to work will definitely help to increase the level of happiness. You’ll be more satisfied with your work-life balance and will feel more accomplished.

Wouldn’t you be happier if I told you that you could work from Bali, Thailand, Canary Islands, or any other destination of your choice? Thought so!

Remote work is definitely the future of work. Making the transition from traditional working routine to remote takes some preparation and determination. But once you do it you’ll be wondering why you haven’t done it sooner. On top of all the benefits mentioned above, there’s another one – you can work in your pyjamas (but I didn’t tell you that)!

What’s your motivation to switch to location independent lifestyle? Let us know in the comments.