Young Living today announced employees at the company’s U.S. headquarters will continue working from home through at least the end of this year.
The announcement comes out of an abundance of caution as the company continues its efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
More than 1,200 employees at Young Living’s headquarters in Lehi, Utah, have been working from home since March 13, when the company undertook the process of implementing a remote work strategy in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, the company has seen increases in employee productivity and happiness as workers adjust to their new, more flexible working environments. Notably, the IT department has seen a 25 percent productivity increase in productivity while the sales department has seen a 13 percent increase.
The company also estimates that by allowing 95 percent of the global headquarters’ workforce to continue working from home, they will eliminate 20,175 pounds of carbon emissions per day.* Extending working from home through the end of the year, they could potentially eliminate over 3 million pounds of carbon emissions, or the amount of carbon sequestered by 64,700 mature trees.
“Prior to the current crisis, I didn’t believe in working from home on a regular basis,” said Jared Turner, president and COO of Young Living. “But seeing the positive impact the additional flexibility has had on our employees, their families and the environment has given me a new perspective. I now believe Young Living can be even more successful and innovative as a work from home company.”
Young Living’s U.S. remote employees will continue to work from home until the end of 2020 to help reduce building traffic. Employees who are working on-site will continue to work under enhanced safety measures and practice social distancing. The company continues to evaluate the dynamic COVID-19 situation regularly and is committed to ensuring the health and safety of all employees as well as of the wider community.
Turner penned an opinion piece in the Salt Lake Tribune that further explains Young Living’s work from home extension:
“…after weeks of observing my company working remotely, I am proud to say I’m a working-from-home convert, and I’ll be pushing to keep more employees at home moving forward. Young Living has seen productivity increases across the board, from 25% in IT teams to 13% in sales teams. My employees exhibit the same proactiveness and creativity they always have; they’re just doing it at a distance (and in boxers). They don’t take naps during meetings or spend their days playing video games — they’re engaged, available and building business value.
*(Based on a 30-mile round trip commute estimate using the Utah Travelwise Emissions calculator.)
