Are you considering allowing your employees to work from home during the pandemic? COVID-19 has forced many companies to allow their employees to telecommute. In fact, in many industries working from home has been absolutely vital in keeping businesses up and running during these challenging times. And most employers – many of whom would never have endorsed telecommuting just a few short months ago – are now starting to realize the benefits of allowing their employees more flexibility in their working lives.

This work-from-home phenomenon isn’t just taking place in the US. You should know that company owners and managers from all over the world are realizing that businesses can survive this pandemic, especially those that embrace telecommuting. Researchers have compiled rankings of which countries and cities are considered to be the best for working from home. The ranking takes into account a variety of factors, including Internet accessibility/speed; the cost of living (i.e., the most affordable areas); a livable climate; low crime rate; acceptable air quality; and the cultural/entertainment options available to residents. What follows are some of the best examples of cities/countries that rank among the best locations for telecommuters.

• Prague – This historic city is widely considered to be among the most accommodating for people who work from home. Prague offers telecommuters several benefits, including superior Internet capabilities, a beautiful town center, and a relatively low cost of living.
• Other cities – The remaining cities that made the top 5 for telecommuters include Johannesburg, South Africa; Auckland, New Zealand; Amsterdam, Netherlands; and London, England.
• Canada – One of the most telecommuter-friendly countries in the world is our neighbor to the north. In fact, recent studies show that Canada is the home to 4 of what are considered to be the top 10 cities in which to work from home: Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa and Toronto.
• United States – If you prefer to keep your telecommuters inside the US, there are two regions that stand out right here at home as being particularly suitable for telecommuting – Silicon Valley and Boston, Massachusetts.

While all of the more exotic locations may sound appealing, the truth is that people can telecommute from almost anywhere. All they need is the opportunity to do it. That’s where you, as a manager, come in. There’s a good reason why telecommuting has become the “new normal” in this time of COVID-19. Employers from virtually every industry are quickly realizing all the advantages in allowing employees to work from home – so much so that many of them intend to extend these telecommuting opportunities to employees for the foreseeable future. MySammy was designed especially for managers of telecommuters. If you worry about allowing your workers to telecommute – that maybe they won’t be as productive as they can be when working from home -- MySammy can help. Our cloud-based software measures your workers’ productivity levels and even provides charts and graphs that will help you to effectively manage your stay-at-home workforce. And we accomplish all this without spying on workers or blocking their access to certain websites. MySammy is an essential management tool for anyone who supervises telecommuters. Sign up for your free trial today!