It’s understandable that, for many people, the shift to remote working has been highly stressful. Even in more certain times, transitioning the workforce from an office environment to their homes could be disruptive and require consideration and planning.

But just because things are different, it doesn’t have to mean that it is all bad. In fact, remote working provides many new opportunities.

We wanted to take a few minutes to accentuate the positives! Here’s six ways that the home office can be beneficial to your peoples’ productivity, health and wellbeing:

#1: If you can’t stand the heat, get in the kitchen

You might not realise how lucky you are to now be working next to your own home kitchen. Rather than relying on meal deals, food stalls around your office or braving the shared office kitchen, you have the opportunity to eat healthy and time to cook. You could still meal prep and batch cook to save time, but make the most of your ability to relax in the middle of the day with your favourite snack. Lunches will never be the same again.

#2: Savings stack up

The savings made by working from home might not be obvious at first, but they quickly stack up. The most obvious is commuting, think of all the money spent on petrol, parking, bus passes and railcards. Depending on where you work, things like food and drinks can also be surprisingly expensive. You’ll be surprised how much money is saved once replaced with multipacks, your own freshly brewed coffee and home cooked meals.

As well as saving money from not commuting, you have more time in the day to yourself, here’s our ideas for using the extra time to start your day in the best way.

#3: Easier to balance the needs of home and work

Working from home is currently a necessity rather than a choice, but there is also the same flexibility that you’d find in more traditional forms of home working. So, when it comes to spending time with the kids, putting on a load of washing, or sorting urgent personal tasks, people will have way more leeway when balancing the needs of home and work.

#4: Fewer distractions from colleagues

Those with children might disagree, but many people actually find that it is much easier to buckle down and focus on certain pressing tasks at home. Not only are there fewer distractions from coworkers and lower noise levels, home workers have more control over their approach to work. When stacking up these small benefits, you start to realise the amount of independence remote workers have.

#5: Embracing new ways of working

Many of us are now relying on technology to work and communicate in more ways than we ever have before. Even previous technophobes are using video and conference call technology to check in with colleagues, customers as well as family and friends as an almost daily occurrence. The skills to use the technology, as well as perfecting the art of a good video call, can all be used when we return to the office, saving time and money whilst still being able to enjoy face-to-face contact with clients.

#6: Empowerment through independence

Speaking of independence, where this really comes into its own is when people have to find solutions for themselves. Yes, teamwork is important, and we all need to find new and improved ways of sharing knowledge, but some people will find it empowering to seek out solutions for themselves and this could result in more creative thinking.

We’ll also see new skills develop out of necessity. We are already seeing more clear and concise emails and a new level of sensitivity to colleagues’ different schedules. Businesses may reap benefit from a different kind of engagement in their workforce.

Read next: How can I manage remote and hybrid teams effectively?