The trend of working from home, or Work from Home, has been seriously implemented during the global COVID-19 pandemic. Various organizations, both public and private, around the world have adopted this approach, including in Thailand, leading to noticeable changes in work behavior to adapt to the situation.

According to data from the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI), working from home benefits both organizations and employees in terms of reduced direct costs, saved commuting time, and increased productivity. Most of the benefits are enjoyed by employees in the form of saved commuting time, which allows them more time for personal activities and improves their quality of life.

 

Although this research only covered all 136 employees of TDRI, with 92 being researchers, most employees (81%) can work from home at least one day a week, especially research staff who work from home nearly 99% of the time, averaging 3.9 days per week.

When calculating the quantitative benefits, TDRI and its employees collectively gain from working from home an estimated value of approximately 420,000 baht per month.

Over 88% of employees' direct costs have decreased. Additionally, employees save time from commuting, which can be used for desired activities, totaling an opportunity cost of approximately 1.7 million baht per month.

In addition to reducing office expenses, working from home has enabled the new generation of remote workers to be more efficient. We are now seeing many global businesses, particularly in the technology sector, embracing remote work as a new way of working and supporting it as a permanent work model.

Modern organizations are increasingly opting for suitable digital tools to adapt to the situation, especially seeking tools that facilitate smooth Work from Home operations. Recently, a tool that supports Work from Home is LARK, a suite of programs that enables collaboration through digital systems, providing an All-in-One solution that ensures smooth coordination across departments within a single tool.

This includes tracking the work of production facilities, where LARK helps coordinate and update work information, ensuring that executives or business owners can trust that every production step follows the planned process.

This program suite includes Lark Mail, Lark Messenger, Lark Docs, Lark Calendar, Lark Video Conferencing, and Lark Workplace, supporting operating systems such as Mac, PC, iOS, and Android. More information can be found at www.larksuite.com.

            Amid uncertainty, even though COVID-19 may eventually pass, new diseases may emerge in the future. Therefore, Work from Home remains a top choice for businesses to adopt as a permanent policy in the New Normal and look forward to the Next Normal, which aligns with the lifestyle and work preferences of the new generation seeking high flexibility and cost savings for modern businesses, especially concerning office space rental and other related costs.