Working from home has become a way of life for millions of us since March 2020, and as restrictions lift, there has been a noticeable shift in the way we view our working life. Many employees may not want to come back to the office on a full-time basis, or perhaps your organisation has found that flexible or remote working has benefitted your business.
So what is the best way to move forward with remote working?
A Homeworking Policy
While you may currently have homeworking staff, do you have an official policy in your organisation covering it? The COVID-19 situation has meant that we need to be flexible and sensitive to the needs of our employees, and having a policy in place ensures consistency in the workplace, as well as determining the following:
- How your team will be set up to work from home, including how you will carry out risk assessments
- Who will provide and pay for any equipment required
- How homeworkers will be managed or communicated with
- How important areas like expenses and information security are handled.
It may be the case that you have all of this in place for your employees, but this activity can also help to future-proof your workforce as you expand or hire new staff.
Should we keep remote working in place?
Like many you may find that this routine has become a way of life for many. While working from home has no doubt brought many challenges, there can also be tangible benefits to your team and organisation.
Increased productivity – giving your team flexibility to work remotely with fewer distractions (especially now the kids are back at school) has been shown to improve productivity levels.
Less employee absence – staying at home tends to lend itself to less illness due to staff mingling together in closer quarters.
No stressful commute – avoiding the time spent on a commute gives your team the chance to work more flexibly, and also start and end the day with less stress.
The Work-Life Balance
Much has been discussed over work-life balance during the pandemic, with many workers feeling the strain of longer hours, adapting to working from home and learning how to switch off. Support your staff by considering what positive changes you can implement to help with this, which could include:
- Limiting the number of scheduled calls and meetings each day
- Avoiding sending emails out of hours
- Promoting lunch hours and non-desk time
Remote Worker Safety
You also don’t need to worry about keeping your workers safe while they’re on their own, as we offer affordable app-based safety solutions to protect lone workers. As part of this service, your staff can add three emergency contacts and set a time for periods of high risk.
Our PG Smart App can also activate an SOS alarm when they feel in danger. This will alert emergency contacts of their location and reassure your workers that you’re taking your duty of care seriously.
If you’d like to speak to us about safety solutions for your remote team, get in touch with us today.