Let's face it, with people around the world working together to socially distance themselves, it’s clear that working from home has become a workplace norm. Now, three weeks into self-quarantine, we can see our “WFH” routines start to develop. While outside may be scary, there are still several benefits with learning to navigate our workload in a time of togetherness through social distancing. Every day is a new experience for everyone, but we can still find ways to improve.

At the surface of it all, here are three and a half benefits of working from home.

Flattening the Curve

The most significant impact of working from home today is flattening the curve. COVID-19 is affecting all of us and we need to act together to reduce the spread of the virus. That means making the effort to stay inside unless on essential business, washing your hands regularly, and staying at least 6 feet away from other individuals. In case you’re not caught up on the current CDC guidelines to protect yourself and others, you can visit CDC.GOV to get updates.

Time Back in Your Day.

One benefit of working from home is sure to provide is time. With a typical workday commute taking almost an hour and a half during rush hour, road rage became a daily routine. Yes, you might be missing on your podcast time, but eliminating the need to leave your home to work opens up possibilities to get things taken care of with a flexible schedule.

If you start your day at the same time, you can now squeeze in a little self-care in your day. You can start with a hearty breakfast that will give you the energy you need to keep you going. That workout you’ve been meaning to try or your goal of taking an early morning run is now easier to accomplish when you’re not wasting a chunk of your day looking at someone else's brake lights. Even if you just want to take that extra time to sleep, you are making productive use of your time by simply catching up on what you usually miss out on, and that’s just before work.

Some are finding that taking on new hobbies or honing existing skills as they hunker down indoors. Less time commuting means more time to do what you want. You can get creative with arts and crafts, make music, or tighten your culinary skills with new recipes. With millions of ‘how-to’ videos available to us on the internet, nothing is out of our reach.

Reducing Your Carbon Footprint

It’s no surprise here. Fewer people on the road means less greenhouse gas emissions. By working from home, we reduce the consumption of fossil fuels and considering Americans use an average of 393 million gallons of gas every day, any reduction is worth the effort.

Let’s not forget about reduced office expenses. Employers can cut down on everything from printer paper to the use of plastic by allowing for a work from home initiative. Employees telecommuting will typically prefer to use email and digital tools for messaging, taking notes and sending files.

Heating and cooling an entire office building also takes a lot of energy just to keep employees at a comfortable temperature, while working from home gives the employee control of how cold or hot they want their space.

Work More Productively!

One of the biggest benefits of working from home is creating your own productive workspace to optimize your processes and accomplish more in your day. While you’re sure to miss social interactions around the water cooler and chatting with your neighbors in the office, there were likely distractions that kept you from staying on track. 8x8 helps teams around the world collaborate, communicate, and accomplish more by keeping them connected. You can even try out video meetings for free with friends and colleagues.

8x8 is focused on business continuity, so when it comes to working from home, you can read How to Set Up a More Productive Remote Workspace to get the insights on keeping your business going.