Davinci Virtual Blog

Too many workers spend hours sitting in their vehicles or standing in a packed commuter train every day. This adds up to hundreds of hours in wasted time annually—not to mention the detrimental social, environmental, and health impacts. Poor community planning and a myopic insistence by business leaders to locate their offices in select zip codes where “everyone else” is based certainly contribute to the worker commuting problem.

In response, other companies recognize the value of providing their workers with workplace options—from telecommuting to coworking spaces in locations closers to where workers live. And while some businesses remain entrenched in maintaining offices in locations that require long commutes for workers and insist on having their employees in the office five days a week from 9 to 5, others see substantial advantages in offering their workers flexibility and using coworking and other rented office space options like Davinci Meeting Rooms. On this front, small businesses are leading the charge in transforming how, when, and where we work. 

This reduces the commute and adds up to benefits for workers, businesses, and society. While others could be cited, the following are seven benefits of a short commute—factors that all businesses should weigh when evaluating their workplace policies:

1. Attracting—and Keeping—Top Talent.

Workers want flexibility when it comes to where and when they work, and many actively seek out employers that are willing and able to do so. A recent study shows that adding 20 minutes to a commute is the equivalent to taking a 19% pay cut. It thus makes sense that workers are willing to take less pay in exchange to work—almost half say they would take a 10% pay cut for flexible work hours. More than two-thirds say work flexibility is “very important” to them. 

2. Recaptured Lost Productivity.

69% of workers indicate they become more productive when they transitioned to a shorter commute. Rather than sitting in vehicles and packed in public transit for upwards of 9 to 10 hours each week, workers can dedicate some of that time for work-related activities. In addition, healthier and happier, workers are more focused and collaborative when they have shorter commutes. Nearly three-quarters of workers contend team performance goes up as commute time goes down. 

3. Worker Health.

Long commutes are linked to various health issues—starting with high blood pressure and mental strain. Obesity is also connected to long commutes, not to mention back pain. In addition to contributing to higher rates of absenteeism, these health issues can lead to other more serious issues, including death.

4. Work-Life Balance.

Spending hours commuting each day minimizes the amount of time workers can spend with family and friends and on projects and causes that they value. In one study, almost 60% of workers with long commutes complained that they have no time to pursue their own interests—even an occasional outing with friends. Another study of small businesses reveals that the quality of personal/family life tops the list of benefits cited by workers who have flexible work options. 

5. Job Satisfaction and Engagement.

The longer workers spend commuting, the less likely they are to be satisfied with their work. This impacts their engagement—impacting everything from their mood, to productivity, to retention rates. 

6. Less Environmental Impact.

Reducing the amount of time workers spend in their cars or even using local transit also reduces environmental impact—less gas, less pollution, less congestion. For the workers themselves, studies show they are exposed to harmful air pollution as they spend more time in their vehicles or even on public transportation.

7. Social Engagement.

Workers with long commutes have less time and energy to volunteer and participate in social activities. This has an adverse effect on local communities and charities, as becomes harder and harder to attract volunteers and generate engagement when citizens are commuting long distances.

For businesses looking to break the vicious cycle of long commutes, there are many different options available. It starts with the fact that you don’t need an address in that special zip code to be respected. Virtual office addresses such as Davinci Virtual Offices enables businesses to secure address listings in those locations without securing a permanent office there. Then, no longer requiring a permanent office, businesses can leverage coworking spaces and rented day offices and meeting rooms through resources such as Davinci Meeting Rooms. These shorten commutes while offering various other advantages to a small business.

According to Flexjob’s report “The State of the Remote Job Marketplace”, there are now 3.9 million Americans working from home at least half of the time. This is 2.9% of the total US workforce. 

Yet working from home is not exactly what it is cut out to be. Don’t get us wrong, there are definitely some perks to it, like not paying for rent or gas for commuting; yet, working from home can be detrimental to professional performance and mental and physical health. 

Working from home entails isolation, which has led to a loneliness epidemic among remote workers. This affects our mental health and our productivity  levels. Then there’s also the fact that there are way too many distractions at home: the kitchen, laundry, cleaning duty, food, if you have kids then kids, the list is endless. And to top it all off, setting a routine for home working is hard and it often feels like one is working 24/7. 

Luckily for remote workers today, there are a plethora of coworking options out there. Coworking has boomed over the past couple of years and recent research suggests that there are 14,411 coworking spaces in the world today (this number has likely increase since the results were published in early 2018). 

Coworking spaces can be said to be the ideal solution for home workers. Although the come at a cost, it’s a price worth paying for; especially when you take into consideration all of the perks and benefits that come from using one. 

These types of spaces are located near where people live, which means the commute shouldn’t be an issue. They also help with the loneliness issue and since you will likely be surrounded by people working, you will notice that you are more motivated and inspired to work. In other words, your productivity levels will improve and you won’t feel like you are working nonstop 24/7. 

Moreover, since you are actually going into a place to work, it will help you establish a routine while also eliminating most of the distractions: you won’t hear the washer buzz when the clothes are clean, you won’t be tempted to go check out what’s in your fridge, and you won’t have kids running around asking for your help. 

Last but not least coworking spaces are great for networking opportunities. You will be surrounded by individuals that work in different industries and that might be interested in collaborating with you. These spaces also often a list of curated events, workshops, or seminars; providing you with unique opportunities to interact with. 

There’s a reason coworking spaces have exploded over the past few years; but if you aren’t yet convinced about them here’s a little something else: these spaces have great coffee, fast Wi-Fi, meeting rooms, office supplies, and much more.

Setting up or expanding a business to a new market is no easy task. There are many things that business owners need to think about when establishing or growing their businesses, from product development and marketing, all the way to administrative tasks and real estate strategy. 

The concept of virtual offices has been around for a long time, however new technologies have made the virtual office more desirable, especially among companies seeking to establish themselves in new markets and hoping to attract talent away from their headquarters. 

But, what exactly are virtual offices? 

Davinci virtual office locations tend to offer individuals and businesses with a premium business address, mail handling and forwarding services, lobby  directory listings, access to meeting space, and other business services like printing and access to desks. 

Virtual offices are a great solution as they are cheaper than renting a traditional office space, and they can be beneficial for SEO purposes and business marketing. Moreover, cities often require for businesses to be registered in commercial areas, as opposed to residential ones, which is why virtual offices are a smart solution even among entrepreneurs and professionals who work from home. 

Regardless of what stage your business is in, virtual offices can be beneficial. Here’s why:

• They are cost effective

• You get access to a premium address, which can improve your business’ image and make you appear more professional

• Mail handling and forwarding, especially if you are starting a business or if you are entering a new market and need to receive local correspondence

• It can help protect against legal action, especially when setting up and licensing a business

• Access to meeting space that is professional, private, and has cutting-edge technology installed and ready to use

• A team of professionals that is ready to greet and meet you or your clients and that is trained to receive and handle mail and calls 

• Access to day offices, which can be especially beneficial when you are traveling for business and have a virtual address in a city other than where you reside

• Access to additional business services such as presentation tools, videoconferencing technology, projectors, screens, and the like

Virtual office solutions are great to reduce overhead costs and manage a business remotely even when laws and regulations require a local address. Moreover, they help companies and individuals present a professional image at all times, they help with search engine optimization, and provide access to business tools that can help take your business to the next level--without directly incurring on the costs.

The concept of a permanent office space is something to which many solopreneurs and small businesses understood to be a critical component to their business. And while that may be true for some, it is no longer a valid requisite for many. The explosion of mobile devices, smart apps, and cloud services make it possible to work from virtually anywhere and at any time. 

For solopreneurs and small businesses that are just launching, you may want to think twice before signing an expensive lease that locks you into a fixed location. In the case of startups that erroneously secured a permanent office space, you may want to start planning your exit strategy. Virtual office space offers most startups a more compelling office strategy than the permanent leased office space. So, why is a virtual office better? What advantages does it afford a startup?

1. Lower Cost.

Startups can spend upwards of 10% of their total budgets on office space. Your lease is just the start of the costs. You also must cover high-speed Internet, security, janitorial services, a receptionist, utilities … the list can go on and on. In the case of a virtual office, you pay for shared, on-demand office space (pay for when you need it), and you don’t need to pay for these extra expenses.

2. Great Address.

Few startups can afford permanent office space that comes with a professional address in a great location. The age-old adage, “location, location, location” extends far beyond a person’s private residence; it also applies to your office address that is closely tethered to your brand. Setting up your virtual address should be relatively easy, since virtual address services come with most virtual office solutions (or are an additional option in the case of Davinci Virtual Office Addresses and Davinci Meeting Rooms). 

3. Office Greeter/Receptionist.

Hiring a full-time receptionist and office greeter is beyond the realm of possibilities for many startups. This means employees take turns juggling incoming calls and handling visitors, answering their questions, routing them to the right person within your organization, and more. This not only consumes valuable time, but these are disruptive, diminishing worker productivity. In the case of virtual offices, they come with a lobby greeter who serves as the interface for visitors. And for startups that require more than a lobby greeter, you may want to look to live receptionist services such as Davinci Live Receptionists. These on-demand live receptionist services cost a fraction of a full-time employee while making your business look and act much larger than it is. 

4. Peer Startup Business Interactions.

On-demand office space—particularly coworking—affords you with a chance to network with other startups. In addition to sharing ideas and innovating, startups may find there are substantial business synergies that add value to both parties—from customer referrals to partnerships. 

5. Professional Office Space.

With on-demand virtual office solutions, startups have access to highly professional office space—from day offices, to coworking space, to rented conference rooms—that comes with everything you need such as wireless internet, presentation and audio technology, food and beverage catering, and much more.

6. Attracting and Retaining Talent.

Many workers prefer flexibility when it comes to where they work. Few professionals abide by the 9-to-5 workday, and flexibility around time in the office and work ranks high on the list of priorities for many workers. Many will take a lower paying job over one with higher pay in exchange for a more flexible work model. Note: Ironically, remote coworkers were cited two-thirds of the time by employees as their favorite coworkers in a recent study. 

7. Flexibility.

Leases and permanent offices lock startups into contractual agreements and a finite office space. As often occurs with startups, scaling up and down isn’t an option; fixed office space results in a fixed cost and office configuration. On the one hand, as is too often the case, startups pay for unused office space. On the other hand, they also have fixed space constraints that will only scale to the boundaries of the four surrounding walls. 

8. Results, Not Time in Office.

Businesses are tempted to measure performance based on time spent in the office when they maintain a permanent office environment. In those situations, some businesses may require workers to come to the office every day and to work from 9 to 5. This myopic approach kills worker productivity while obfuscating meaningful business results. (Reminds me of a Silicon Valley company that implemented a daily 9-to-5 mandatory work policy for its technology workers. They literally took “roll” every morning at 9 and every evening at 5 to confirm that their employees were at their desks working at the beginning and end of their workday. Not surprisingly, the company has huge issues when it comes to worker productivity, recruitment, and retention.)

9. Better Meetings.

Internal and external meetings have different requirements, and a one-size-fits-all meeting room doesn’t always suffice. Virtual meeting rooms come with the technologies such as web conferencing and whiteboards and business services such as catering and administrative support that can be the difference between a highly productive meeting and one that was a waste of time. 

10. Easier, Faster Expansion.

When startups expand into new regions, locating and securing a permanent office space and address should be one of the last things on the mind of the business leaders. Rather, with virtual offices, startups can secure a local address and on-demand office space—including meeting rooms—quickly and easily. 

11. Work-Life Balance.

Depending on where a startup is located, its employees can spend hours each day in their cars and riding trains and buses to and from the physical office location. In addition to impacting the work-life balance of each employee, which reduces their productivity and their job-hopping tendencies, a mandatory work-from-the-office policy impacts the communities in which startups are based—from environmental factors such as more pollution, to unhealthier workers who lack the time to exercise and detach themselves from work, to social issues such as traffic congestion.

Virtual offices are a true paradigm change when it comes to workspace and workstyle. Digital technologies such as mobile devices, smart apps, and cloud services make this transformation possible. For startups that embrace virtual offices, the future holds promise. For those that remain attached to the past and refuse to understand the value proposition virtual offices offer, success may be increasingly difficult to achieve.

With the number of digital nomads on a steady increase, it’s not surprising that virtual office adoption has increased as well. However, the switch to a virtual office is not an easy one, especially when it comes to former traditional office workers that now find themselves working from home. 

Whether you are a one person company or the manager of a team using a virtual office, here are some tips that can help you ease into the transition and get the best out of this offering. 

Use different communication channels

Communication is key to the success of any project or business. The traditional office setting allows for workers to interact face to face with one another, which makes communication easier and more natural. To maintain this dynamic, you need to think about different channels that can aid in your communications; think about email, collaboration tools like Slack, messaging apps like WhatsApp or messenger, and the like. 

Conference Calling

The right conference calling platform can make or break your communications. Whether you are thinking about doing just audio or video, you need to make sure that the platform you choose can host several individuals at the same time. Additional aspects you should consider include recording options and screen sharing. 

“Off time”

Working from home and having a virtual office service means that you will be connected 24/7. In order to keep yourself from burning out and to help you  maintain a healthy work-life balance, you should establish off times for yourself and/or team members. 

Embrace the services of a virtual office

Most virtual office providers typically offer services like live receptionists, VoIP, and mail handling. Make sure you get the most of your remote work by taking advantage of these services, as they can help you manage the administrative side of business and help you maintain the line between work and life. These services also help in providing you with an extra layer of privacy, especially if you’re starting a new business venture or project and need to share your address and number with a several individuals or institutions. 

Last but not least, don’t forget the human side of virtual offices. Though technology and these types of services have made it easy for people to work anywhere, any time, it’s important to always keep in mind that face to face meetings are always beneficial and can go a long way. Luckily, virtual offices allow you to use physical meeting and work space as part of the service offering. 

Looking for a Virtual Office? Davinci offers Virtual Office rentals across the globe!