Why Work in a Cloud Computing Environment?

What would you do with an extra two hours (or more) of free time every work day? This article will discuss what Cloud Computing does and some of the reasons/motivations for wanting to work in such an environment.
Cloud Computing allows your company/employer to deliver the tools, data, and information you need to do your work from your home or wherever you are connected to the internet. One of the effects of Cloud Computing is its ability to untether workers from working in a traditional office environment at set hours of the day.
We have operated our investment advisory business from our homes since the company’s inception in 1998. We have found numerous benefits to this arrangement for working:

Elimination of Work Commutes
My work ‘commute’ takes 15 seconds, the time it takes for me to walk into my home office from any other room in my home. Before we moved our offices into our homes, I would spend an hour a day getting ready for work, driving a car, parking the car, and walking to the office. Another hour was spent returning home from work. The time spent commuting could easily be more if you live in a large city. If you take four weeks of vacation every year and work Monday through Friday each week, that time spent commuting represents 480 hours every year just getting to and from your traditional office environment. It’s the equivalent of an additional 60 days of work each year—or an additional 12 weeks of work annually. Most of us would just love to find an additional 1-3 weeks of free time each year. Cloud computing provides a multiple of that to help you focus on other elements of your life that are important to you. This liberation from the office environment may have a profound impact on the way people live their lives over the coming decade. It certainly did for us.

Personal Safety
We live in a northern climate. There are several days or more each winter that you don’t want to go out because of ice or snow-packed road conditions. These days are gone with Cloud Computing.

Children’s Needs
This is huge. Parents have much greater flexibility in meeting the needs of their children by being at home if and when a situation arises. Having raised four children (two of them during the pre-cloud computing era), I was able to develop a deeper dimension in my relationships with my two younger children simply by being around them when I was needed instead of being away “at the office” like I was while my two older children were growing up.

Better Spousal Communication
My wife also operates her business from our home. Over the years, this proximity facilitated several additional daily conversations and updates between us that made the raising of four children and the operation of the household easier to manage.

Time for Recreation/Exercise/Volunteering
The time saved by not commuting can be used for improving your health—mind, body, and spirit. My wife enjoys reading and finishing a new book every day. I love to exercise—walking, biking, enjoying the outdoors and nature with nearby parks, lakes, and biking paths. We also donate some of our time to local charitable organizations.

Relaxed/Healthy Work Environment
I believe that people are more productive when they are relaxed. Having time to exercise daily has earned me an “excellent” health ranking from my doctor. I’ve suffered fewer illnesses from not being in a traditional office environment during the cold/flu season. Pets in your home can be soothing and remind us to relax and take a breath occasionally.

Greater Flexibility in Taking Care of Household Needs
When something in the house needs fixing and requires calling a service person—you are there to meet them. No more need to take paid time off from the office to go home and wait for them to show up.

A More Satisfied Workforce
Employers need to be aware that allowing working from home can lead to a more satisfied workforce—leading to lower employee turnover rates, reducing worker replacement and recruitment costs.

Societal Transformation
At a time that our world is increasingly bathed in carbon emissions from traffic congestion, Cloud Computing allows workers to reduce their usage of carbon emitting vehicles—promoting a ”green” lifestyle for everyone.

Tackles Labor Shortages
If the talent necessary to power your business is not available locally, Cloud Computing helps you find that talented worker wherever they are located—globally.

Attracting Top Young Talent
Financial firms that focus on providing a Cloud Computing/untethered work lifestyle to young people (Net Generation) will have a competitive advantage. Utilizing Cloud Computing with the right tools and policies will provide companies with access to a young and talented global workforce.

Connectivity
People want to be connected to each other, and if they are not, they will find a way. Cloud Computing facilitates video conferencing and collaboration/camaraderie with talented investment professionals from around the world.