Six months ago, in June 2022, Verdacity gave up our physical office space and moved to an entirely remote work environment. In that time we've been able to engage with the latest research, analyze our own data, and share what we've found.
Give a Hoot, Don't Commute Based on a survey of our staff, our previous daily commute added up to 90 miles per day. Since we no longer use our vehicles to get to work we're saving 1,054 gallons of gasoline, which is the annual equivalent to over 10,000 pounds of coal burned, energy used by one and a half homes, or 9.4 metric tons of CO2. In addition, studies suggest that telework can reduce energy consumption by up to 77%.
Flexibility Isn't Such a Stretch The time and money saved by not having a daily commute can also contribute to a better work/life balance, which cascades into many parts of our lives. Reduced stress, increased productivity and job satisfaction, and greater flexibility with personal schedules, for example. As a company, we also see savings on direct office expenses.
The Good and the Bad Of course, there are aspects of working from home that we have to be proactive about. Mental health and ergonomics are areas that we pay close attention to. Mentally, teleworkers can be prone to workaholism or feeling socially isolated. At home we're more likely to stay sedentary, not take proper breaks, and face real occupational hazards from poor ergonomic conditions. In response, Verdacity invited an ergonomic specialist to train our team on proper ergonomics and we have provided supportive furnishings and equipment to ensure comfortable work conditions. We're also mindful about taking time each day to socialize as a group and meeting up in person when we can.
Additionally, Verdacity has maintained our JUST certification from The Living Future Institute. JUST is a voluntary disclosure tool for organizations to disclose their operations, including how they treat their employees and where they make financial & community investments. This disclosure tool allows us to ensure the well-being of our employees’ health. Some of the investments that we make in our employees include a monthly wellness plan to address the possible decrease physical activity from telework.
Verdacity’s step toward telework reaffirms our commitment to our staff and our mission. Though there are many more lessons to learn as we continue our endeavor in a full telework environment, we look forward to the opportunities for reduced carbon impact and increased benefit.